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Poole, Debra

EMERITI

Biography

Deb Poole received her Ph.D. in Developmental and Experimental Child Psychology from the University of Iowa in 1980. She taught for seven years at Beloit College, where she chaired the Psychology Department, before relocating to Central Michigan University in 1987.

More about Debra Poole

Dickinson, J. J., Lytle, N., & Poole, D. A. (2020). A comparison of children’s eyewitness testimony in face-to-face and tele-forensic interview modes. Submitted manuscript.

Bainter, Sierra. A., Tibbe, T. D., Goodman, Z. T., & Poole, D. A. (2020). Child eyewitness researchers often bin age: Prevalence of the practice and recommendations for analyzing developmental trends. Law & Human Behavior, 44, 327–335.

Rezmer, B., Trager, L. A., Catlin, C., & Poole, D. (2020). Pause for effect: A 10 second interviewer wait time gives children time to respond to open-ended prompts. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 194, 1-9

Brubacher, S. P., Poole, D. A., Dickinson, J. J., La Rooy D., Szojka, Z., & Powell, Martine B. (2019). Effects of interviewer familiarity and supportiveness on children's recall across repeated interviews. Law & Human Behavior, 43, 507–516.

Lytle, N. E., Dickinson, J. J., & Poole, D. A. (2019). Techniques for interviewing reluctant child witnesses. In J. J. Dickinson, N. Schreiber-Compo, R. N. Carol, B. L. Schwartz, B. L., & M. McCauley (Eds.), Evidence-based investigative interviewing. New York, NY: Routledge.

Dickinson, J. J., & Poole, D. A. (2017). The influence of disclosure history and body diagrams on children’s reports of inappropriate touching: Evidence from a new analog paradigm. Law & Human Behavior, 41, 1-12.

Oakley, B., Poole, D., & Nestor, M. (2016). Creating a sticky MOOC. Online Learning, 20(1), 1-20.

Bruck, M., Kelley, K., & Poole, D. A. (2016). Children’s reports of body touching in medical examinations: The benefits and risks of using body diagrams. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 22, 1–11.

Dickinson, J. J., Brubacher, S. P., & Poole, D. A. (2015). Children’s performance on ground rules questions: Implications for forensic interviewing. Law & Human Behavior, 39, 87-97.

Brubacher, S. P., Poole, D. A., & Dickinson, J. J. (2015). The use of ground rules in interviews with children: A synthesis and call for research. Developmental Review, 36, 15–37.

Poole, D. A., Brubacher, S. P., & Dickinson, J. J. (2015). Children as witnesses.  In B. L. Cutler & P. A. Zapf (Eds.), APA handbook of forensic psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 3-31). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Poole, D. A., Dickinson, J. J., & Brubacher, S. P. (2014). Sources of unreliable testimony from children. Roger Williams University Law Review, 19, 382-410.

Poole, D. A., Dickinson, J. J., Brubacher, S. P., Liberty, A. E., & Kaake, A. M. (2014). Deficient cognitive control fuels children’s exuberant false allegations. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 118, 101-109.

Poole, D. A., & Dickinson, J. J. (2014). Comfort drawing during investigative interviews: Evidence of the safety of a popular practice. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38, ​192-201.

Dr. Poole is interested in the social policy implications of basic research in language and cognitive development. Her primary research program, on children's eyewitness testimony and forensic interviewing of children, has been funded by grants from The National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. In addition to conducting studies to evaluate interviewing techniques, Dr. Poole works with policy groups to draft interviewing guidelines and frequently presents to professionals in child protective services, law enforcement, and other fields.