Dr. Marike Polak

Biography

Marike Polak is an associate professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, affiliated with the Department of Psychology, Education, and Child Studies. She is a member of the Methods & Skills team and plays a key role in research activities with a specialization in statistical methods. In addition to her research contributions, she is involved in teaching research methods and statistics, and in professional skills education. Polak contributes to the educational development of the Bachelor program in Psychology, serving as the coordinator for the academic skills learning line and chair of the Examination Board of the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her research interests center around psychometrics, focusing on validation methods for clinical diagnostic instruments and the assessment of personality disorders. Moreover, she collaborates with mental health care professionals on projects related to psychodynamic assessments of personality pathology. Polak also supports doctoral research projects and collaborates with researchers from the Erasmus Medical Centre, specifically in the Department of Clinical Genetics, to enhance informed decision-making in clinical settings. She is an active member of the Dutch Committee for Tests and Testing and participates in drawing up guidelines for test usage, while also being part of the Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics and Sociometrics.

Research Interests