“The Signal” is a quarterly publication that is publicly available with archived editions available to SAA Members. If you have information or suggestions for the newsletter, please send an email to SAA Communications Committee Chair – R. Ross MacLean at ross[dot]maclean[at]yale[dot]edu.
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Conference Information
Get ready for SAA 2026 in Vienna, Austria
Next year, the SAA annual conference will take place in Vienna. Professor Laura M. König and the Health Psychology Group will host us from 3 to 5 August 2026. An online participation option will be offered for those who are unable to travel to Vienna. More information will follow soon on the conference website: https://univie.eventsair.com/saa2026/
Key dates:
- Abstract submission: 1 December 2025 – 16 January 2026
- Acceptance notifications and start of registration: end of March 2026
- End of early bird registration: end of April 2026
The 2026 Society for Ambulatory Assessment Conference will offer options for in-person AND virtual attendance. Virtual participants can view conference presentations in real time and be able to ask questions, as if present in the audience. Additionally, researchers will have the opportunity to submit talks and present virtually if they are unable to attend the conference in person. Presentations will not be recorded. For updated information, please see the conference website: https://univie.eventsair.com/saa2026/
You can also follow the conference social media accounts on BlueSky (@saa2026.bsky.social) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/society-for-ambulatory-assessment-conference-2026/).
SAA Spotlight
Early Career SAA Members: Joana Thiel, M.Sc. and Whitney Ringwald, Ph.D.
For this Spotlight, we interviewed two early career SAA members to learn about how emerging researchers view our society and explore possible opportunities for new members.
Joana Thiel (M.Sc.), a doctoral student in the Institute of Psychology at RWTH Aachen University, was interviewed by Anne Grünert (Ph.D.) from the SAA Communications Committee.
Anne Grünert: Hi Joana! How did you first hear about the SAA?
Joana Thiel: I first heard about the SAA through my PhD supervisor Andreas Neubauer, who is very active within the community, as well as from other colleagues who spoke enthusiastically about it. After getting involved myself, I completely understand why everyone was so positive!
AG: What motivated you to become a member?
JT: Quite pragmatically, membership made it cheaper to attend conferences, and the membership fee itself is quite reasonable. Looking back, it was also a great decision because being a member allowed me to participate in the poster award, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I also appreciate the regular newsletters and emails about workshops and other opportunities.
(Above) Joana Theil, M.Sc. presenting at the 2025 SAA Conference in Leuven
AG: What does the phrase “ambulatory assessment” mean to your research program?
JT: I use ambulatory assessment to compare personality measurement methods, particularly when it comes to stress reactivity. For example, I’m interested in the link between the occurrence of stressors in daily life and negative affect—and then comparing those dynamic patterns to trait measures. Ambulatory assessments allow me to capture experiences in real time, rather than relying solely on retrospective reports, which may differ from people’s actual experiences (keyword: “memory-experience gap”).
AG: Have you ever attended an SAA conference? If yes, which ones have you participated in so far?
JT: Yes, I attended the 2024 conference in Ann Arbor and the 2025 conference in Leuven.
AG: What has your experience been like at the SAA conferences you’ve attended so far?
JT: The SAA conference in Ann Arbor in 2024 was my very first academic conference—not just my first SAA, but the first one I attended as a doctoral student. Naturally, I was excited, and it turned out to be a very positive experience. SAA conferences aren’t too large, which creates a warm and friendly atmosphere. I also appreciate seeing familiar faces from year to year—it makes networking feel more natural and helps foster meaningful conversations. The content is highly relevant and focused, and I always come away with new ideas and insights that are valuable for my own research.
AG: Were there any moments or formats that stood out to you in particular?
JT: The keynotes were truly inspiring! This year, a new format was introduced in Leuven, integrating audience discussions into the main sessions— a format I really liked because it was so well moderated and clearly linked research to practical applications. And I want to mention the conference dinner: It’s a great opportunity to talk to people in a more relaxed setting—exactly the kind of context that facilitates conversations, especially with people you might be hesitated to approach during formal sessions.
AG: What do you value most about the SAA community?
JT: What I appreciate most is the enthusiasm that everyone brings to the table. You can feel that everyone is truly passionate about their work, and that is absolutely contagious!
AG: Where do you think the field of ambulatory assessment will be in the next 5 to 10 years?
JT: I believe that the field will continue to grow—this was already evident at the conference in Leuven 2025, which was much larger than the one in Ann Arbor 2024. With growth, the scope may also expand: I can imagine that other fields outside psychology will join in, making especially the conferences increasingly interdisciplinary and opening up new opportunities for collaboration between different disciplines.
AG: What would you like to see in the future development of the SAA—such as new formats, topics, or networking opportunities?
JT: I think that networking activities at conferences can be expanded and simplified through the use of apps that allow participants to organize informal meetings. I noticed this last year at another conference I attended: An app was used to suggest activities such as bouldering, city tours, or group dinners. You could sign up for these activities yourself and also organize something yourself. This lowered the barrier to participation and ultimately led to the formation of many smaller groups that were very well suited for discussions.
AG: What would you recommend to other early career researchers who are new to the SAA?
JT: Don’t hesitate to approach senior members—everyone at the SAA is very warm and open to connect. Also, definitely attend the SAA conference dinner! Even if you have to pay for it yourself, it’s definitely worth it— the food is a bonus, but the real value lies in the conversations and the networking opportunities.
Whitney Ringwald (Ph.D.), an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota, was interviewed by Lauren DiPaolo (Ph.D.) from the SAA Communications Committee.
Lauren DiPaolo: How did you first hear about the SAA?
Whitney Ringwald: I first learned about the SAA through my graduate school advisor, Dr. Aidan Wright. However, even after graduating, it was an organization that stayed on my radar by following updates on Bluesky and Twitter. It was an organization that everyone spoke very highly of.
LD: What motivated you to become a member?
WR: I really loved talking about ambulatory assessment methods and hearing all of the interesting and innovative things that people are doing with them. In graduate school, I took for granted being part of a lab that does EMA and was always around people who were talking about it. Now as an assistant professor, I’m in an environment where this expertise is more unique. While I’m able to offer a different and valued perspective for my colleagues, I really appreciate having a community of researchers where I can still connect with others who have shared interests and experience with these methods. It’s fun and instrumental for staying connected and accessing necessary resources.
LD: What does the phrase “ambulatory assessment” mean to your research program?
WR: To me, it means capturing experiences in life as it is lived. Experiences from a multi-modal perspective, which includes the use of passive sensing data and self-report responses. It means assessing people in their natural environments and contexts and capturing important dynamics.
LD: Have you ever attended a SAA conference?
WR: Not yet.
LD: What were some of the barriers to attending the SAA conference?
WR: It’s mostly been user error. I haven’t encountered any organizational barriers.
LD: If you are able to attend in the future, what are some of your expectations for the SAA conference?
WR: I expect it’ll be fun to nerd out with people who have similar interests. I’ve heard there are many active components to the conference, such as interactive workshops that I’d be excited to attend.
LD: What do you value most about the SAA community?
WR: I like having an outlet for shared methodological interests. I really appreciate the spirit of sharing information and resources for advancing other people’s research. I value the commitment to open science. Ambulatory assessment is a unique method, so you don’t always have a sense of belongingness without being able to connect with other researchers in this area.
(Above) Whitnney Ringwald, Ph.D.
LD: If you are able to attend in the future, what are some of your expectations for the SAA conference?
WR: I expect it’ll be fun to nerd out with people who have similar interests. I’ve heard there are many active components to the conference, such as interactive workshops that I’d be excited to attend.
LD: What do you value most about the SAA community?
WR: I like having an outlet for shared methodological interests. I really appreciate the spirit of sharing information and resources for advancing other people’s research. I value the commitment to open science. Ambulatory assessment is a unique method, so you don’t always have a sense of belongingness without being able to connect with other researchers in this area.
LD: Where do you think the field of “ambulatory assessment” will be in the next 5-10 years?
WR: With access to passive and automated data collection increasing through smartphones and ambient sensors such as cameras in public spaces and devices that are continuously collecting data on us, I think we’ll see less reliance on self-report responses. As we start to develop tools to more easily collect and analyze these new data streams, like facial expressions, acoustics, and language, we can draw on more than just what people say. I think with advancements in large language models we’ll see greater use of open text responses. Rather than using standardized measures, we can just have people talk about stuff, which will be less burdensome, and we’ll get more information. We’ll start to see rich, multi-modal data and be able to use it in new ways we haven’t been able to yet.
LD: What would like to see in the future development of the SAA — such as new formats, topics, or networking opportunities?
WR: It would be nice to have a way to meet with other SAA members in between annual conferences. Maybe some virtual meetings, which are better than nothing. Also, members go to other conferences. It would be nice to have a formalized way to know where others are going and maybe set up mini meetings at other commonly attended conferences. I’d like to have opportunities to bridge formal meetings and connect more socially. I also think having more opportunities for resource sharing would be helpful, for example, a repository for open EMA datasets where researchers could coordinate across studies. I have pieces of EMA data collected as part of my research posted on the Open Science Framework (OSF), but to have data like these in one place would help to use it a lot more. It could also be really beneficial for people who are new to EMA research and help foster collaborations.
LD: What would you recommend to other early career researchers who are new to SAA?
WR: I would recommend not being afraid to reach out to people and participate in things. I’ve found that SAA members are universally friendly and foster a helpful community. People want to talk about their research and use of ambulatory assessment methods!
Research Brief
Last May, Myrte Schoenmakers, Melisa Saygin (both from Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) and Magdalena Sikora (University of Twente, Enschede) published their paper on the development of the Stress in Action Wearables Database (SiA-WD); a new, open-access resource, designed to help researchers select optimal wearable devices for ambulatory physiological monitoring, especially in stress research Methods (https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13428-025-02685-4). The database systematically compiles technical specifications, available signals, data access, and—crucially—evidence on reliability, validity, and usability for over 50 consumer and research-grade wearables.
SiA-WD researchers: Myrte Schoenmakers, Ph.D. (left), Magdalena Sikora, Ph.D. (center) and Melisa Saygin,Ph.D. (right)
The paper details the database’s structure, inclusion criteria, and illustrates its use with two research scenarios. The SiA-WD aims to support informed and efficient device selection for diverse research needs. While the paper already includes the link to the database in the form of an Excel sheet, a Shiny app* is currently in development that will enable researchers to easily search via filterable criteria, and compare wearables in the database in a user friendly manner. SAA the Signal spoke with Myrte on their enormous effort.
Q: What motivated you to start this wearable database project?
A: The world of wearables is expanding rapidly, with new devices appearing almost every day. We noticed that researchers often choose a device simply because it’s already being used in their department or because it’s familiar, without really considering whether it’s the best fit for their research question and what the reliability and validity is of the wearable. Our motivation was to change that: we wanted to create an overview that helps researchers make more conscious and well-founded choices, tailored to what they want to measure and why.
Q: How did you approach building the database?
A: We started by defining the structure: which features and signals should we include, and how do we keep it clear and usable? That was already a big task, since different aspects matter for different studies—like signal type (ECG, PPG), wear location, battery life, and price. After that, we extended the number of wearables in the database by team effort, each of us researching a portion the devices. It was an iterative process: sometimes a new device would have a feature we hadn’t considered, so we’d update the structure. The database kept evolving this way.
Q: What were the main challenges?
A: A major hurdle was that many manufacturers provide little or unclear information about their products. Important specs like sampling frequency or how certain parameters are calculated are often not public. We frequently had to email manufacturers for more details. Some companies were quick and helpful, others didn’t respond at all. This made it difficult to create a complete and fair overview. We developed a standard procedure to always request missing information.
Q: What are the key lessons you learned? Has it changed the way you look at wearable selection?
A: First lesson: there’s no such thing as the perfect wearable. You always have to weigh what’s most important for your research, because some requirements are mutually exclusive. Also, there’s a striking lack of good validation and usability studies, which makes it difficult to judge if a device is truly suitable. Finally, collaborating as three first authors was both very beneficial and sometimes challenging, but ultimately very rewarding. We hope our database will help researchers make better choices and that it will contribute to further professionalization of the field.
*launch will be announced via the website and LinkedIn of Stress in Action
Education Opportunities
Do you know of an upcoming free training workshop or are an SAA member and presenting for a paid workshop opportunity? Send an email to the SAA Communications Committee so we can spread the word to other SAA members! You can email info[at]ambulatory-assessment[dot]org and the Communications Chair at ross[dot]maclean[at]yale[dot]edu
SMaRT Workshops ($)
Want to learn about new analysis methods taught by SAA members? SMaRT workshops, co-founded by SAA member Dr. Aidan Wright, provide synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities for students, trainees, faculty, and other research professionals. For more information, check out the website here: https://smart-workshops.com/.
Notifications and Recognition
Share your successes and milestones with SAA!
One of the primary goals of the SAA Communications Committee is to create spaces for SAA members to network, share experiences, and build a sense of community for ambulatory assessment researchers around the world. If you are an SAA member and have recently received a promotion, major grant, or achieved another personally important milestone, please let us know! We would love to include this in the next edition of The Signal.
Community Information
To promote your research on social media, follow us on BlueSky @ambulatory-assessment.org. When you write a BlueSky post, tag the SAA account and we will repost to our BlueSky feed and share your hard work with other SAA members.
If you have job postings or faculty searches, please send them to SAA (info[at]ambulatory-assessment[dot]org) and we can send them out to SAA members. We will also post them here in each newsletter!
JOB OPENINGS
RWTH Aachen University
Postdoctoral researchers (max. 4 years after obtaining their PhD) who are currently based outside the European Union are eligible to apply.
The call is open to all disciplines. If you have an idea for an interesting project in the area of ambulatory assessment / lifespan developmental psychology that you would want to conduct at RWTH Aachen University, Germany – ideally centered around our currently ongoing research topics: https://www.psych.rwth-aachen.de/cms/psy/~bektfq/forschung/?lidx=1 – feel free to reach out to me ([email protected]).
Please find more information on the call, eligibility criteria and application deadline here: www.rwth-aachen.de/porttoeurope
University of Marbug
The newly established Professorship Digitalization in Psychological Domains at the University of Marburg is seeking applications for a doctoral researcher (PhD student) position.
Doctoral researcher (65%, 3 years) – Application deadline: September 14, 2025
https://stellenangebote.uni-marburg.de/jobposting/9885b929e966b1f1a72b79f03763f915b7c33e890
The successful candidate will join a research team exploring the role of digital technologies such as smartphones and social media in well-being. We understand well-being comprehensively—ranging from psychological well-being (e.g., affect, life satisfaction, flourishing) to physiological aspects (e.g., sleep) and social well-being (e.g., loneliness, relationship satisfaction). The group primarily uses research designs and data collection methods that enable real-life studies with high ecological validity and the collection of behavioral data: experience sampling, daily diary studies, or field experiments combined with mobile sensing, digital behavioral traces, and physiological measurements such as actigraphy.
Please share this opportunity with anyone who may be interested.
SAA Communication Committee Members
- R. Ross MacLean, Ph.D. (Committee Chair), Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut Healthcare System
- Lauren DiPaolo, Ph.D., Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center
- Anne Grünert, Ph.D., RWTH Aachen University
- Haijing Hallenbeck, Ph.D., VA National Center for PTSD and Stanford University Medical Center
- Laura König, Ph.D., University of Vienna
- Femke Lamers, Ph.D., Amsterdam University Medical Center