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Dr Marie Poirier

Honorary Research Fellow

School of Health & Medical Sciences Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Contact details

About

Overview

Originally from Quebec, Canada, Dr Poirier obtained her PhD in 1989 from Laval University. She was a lecturer at Sherbrooke University (Canada) and then at Laval University where she became the director of the Cognitive Psychology Research Laboratory.

She moved to City in 2001, where she teaches cognitive psychology, memory, and research methods; she has set up and directed the Memory Research Unit (MRU) (now known as the Human Memory Research Group).

Teaching

Undergraduate

- PS1003 Cognitive Approaches to Mind and Behaviour (module leader)
- PS1002 Professional and Academic Skills for Psychologists (module leader: Dr Lydia Tan)
- PS3001 Honours Projects in Psychology (module leader)
- PS3004 Memory: Trends and Issues (module leader)

Postgraduate

- PSM511 Contemporary Issues in Psychological Research

Research

Dr Poirier's research interests are in the area of human memory. Previous publications have mainly been in the area of memory over the short term.

Current interests include memory over the short term, the role of memory in evaluating past experiences, and the determinants of successful retrieval - as well as memory in special populations.

She has collaborations in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia and her research has been funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the British Academy and the Economic and Social Research Council (UK).

Publications

Featured publications

  1. Mair, A., Poirier, M. and Conway, M.A. (2024). Nonepisodic autobiographical memory details reflect attempts to tell a good story. Psychology and Aging, 39(4), pp. 391-399. doi:10.1037/pag0000805

    [publisher’s website]

  2. Félix, S.B., Poirier, M., Nairne, J.S. and Pandeirada, J.N.S. (2024). The breadth of animacy in memory: New evidence from prospective memory. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 31(3), pp. 1323-1334. doi:10.3758/s13423-023-02406-y

    [publisher’s website]

  3. Saint-Aubin, J., Poirier, M., Yearsley, J.M., Robichaud, J.-.M. and Guitard, D. (2023). Modeling verbal short-term memory: A walk around the neighborhood. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 49(2), pp. 198-215. doi:10.1037/xlm0001226

    [publisher’s website]

  4. Saint-Aubin, J., Yearsley, J.M., Poirier, M., Cyr, V. and Guitard, D. (2021). A model of the production effect over the short-term: The cost of relative distinctiveness. Journal of Memory and Language, 118, pp. 104219-104219. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2021.104219

    [publisher’s website]

  5. Mair, A., Poirier, M. and Conway, M.A. (2019). Memory for staged events: Supporting older and younger adults’ memory with SenseCam. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72(4), pp. 717-728. doi:10.1177/1747021818765038

    [publisher’s website]

Publications by category

Books (9)

  • Neath, I., Brown, G.D.A., Poirier, M. and Fortin, C. (2005). Short-term/Working Memory: The second Quebec conference on short-term/working memory. Psychology Press. ISBN 9781841699653.
  • Poirier, M., Neath, I., Brown, G.D.A., Poirier, M. and Fortin, C. (1999). Short-Term/Working Memory. Hove: Psychology Press.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R., Perreault, K., Morizot, J., Maranda, J. and Freeston, M. (1999). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Parent Version : User’s Guide. Québec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R., Perreault, K., Morizot, J., Maranda, J. and Freeston, M. (1999). Behavior Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Parent Version. Québec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R. and Freeston, M. (1996). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Teacher Version : User’s Guide. Québec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Parent, N., Poirier, M., Freeston, M. and Tremblay, R. (1994). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Version : Validity, Reliability, and Normative Data for High School Children. Quebec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R. and Freeston, M. (1993). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Teacher Version : User’s Guide. Quebec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R. and Freeston, M. (1992). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Teacher Version. Quebec: La Jeune-Lorette.
  • Poirier, M., Tremblay, R. and Freeston, M. (1992). Behaviour Dimensions Rating Scale - French Canadian Teacher Version : User’s Guide. Quebec: La Jeune-Lorette.

Chapters (2)

  • Poirier, M. and Martin, J. (2008). Working Memory and Immediate Memory in Autism Spectrum. In Boucher, J. (Ed.), Memory in autism Cambridge Univ Pr. ISBN 9780521862882.
  • Neath, I., Brown, G.D.A., Poirier, M. and Fortin, C. (1999). Short-Term/Working Memory: An Overview. Short-Term/Working Memory Hove: Psychology Press.

Conference papers and proceedings (14)

  • Poirier, M., Saint-Aubin, J., Mair, A., Tehan, G. and Tolan, A. Semantic Networks and Order Recall in Verbal Short-Term Memory. .
  • Pamplin, M. and Poirier, M. A Learner-Centred Induction to Moodle. .
  • Heussen, D., Poirier, M., Hampton, J.A. and Aldrovandi, S. An effect of semantic memory on immediate memory in the visual domain. European Conference on Cognitive Science.
  • Poirier, M., Dhir, P., Saint-Aubin, J., Tehan, G. and Hampton, J. The Influence of Semantic Memory on Verbal Short-term Memory. European Conference on Cognitive Science.
  • Aldrovandi, S., Poirier, M., Kusev, P., Heussen, D. and Ayton, P. Now I like it, now I don't: Delay effects and retrospective judgment. In L. Carlson, C. Hölscher, & T. Shipley (Eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.
  • Aldrovandi, S., Poirier, M., Heussen, D. and Ayton, P. Memory strategies mediate the relationships between memory and judgment. 31st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society.
  • Gagnon, S., Poirier, M. and Turcotte, J. Implicit learning and normal aging: A neuropsychological perspective. Science & Behaviour, 26.
  • Poirier, M. The effect of long-term memory representations on immediate serial recall: The reconstruction hypothesis. Science & Behaviour, 26.
  • Poirier, M., Schweickert, R. and Oliver, J. Word length, lexicality, and memory span: Is the representation duration constant? .
  • Poirier, M. and Turcotte, J. Useful duration of the verbal short-term memory trace: Is phonological similarity a good indicator ? .
  • Poirier, M. and Saint-Aubin, J. Semantic similarity and immediate serial recall: Is there a detrimental effect on order information? .
  • Poirier, M. Effect of spatial suppression on visuospatial short-term processing. .
  • Poirier, M. and Rousseau, R. Subjective Mental Workload, Attention, and Operation of a Computer Terminal. .
  • Fortin, C., Bergeron, M., Poirier, M. and Martel, J.M. Decision Making Under Uncertainty. .

Journal articles (53)

Poster

Working paper

Professional activities

Editorial activity

  • Memory, Associate Editor.