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I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University.
I received my PhD in Developmental Psychology and MSc in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. Prior to joining Laurier, I held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Waterloo, Brock University, and McMaster University.
My program of research examines children’s social and emotional development, with a particular focus on individual differences in temperamental shyness. I use a multi-method, developmental framework that integrates psychophysiological measures (e.g., ECG, EEG), naturalistic behavioural observation, structured and semi-structured interviews, and longitudinal designs. My work spans both typically developing samples and clinical populations (e.g., children with selective mutism or social anxiety).
- 2025: Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science (APS)
- 2025: Early Career Research Contributions Award, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
- 2021: Dissertation Award, International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP)
- 2021: Outstanding Dissertation Award in Developmental Psychology, Division 7, American Psychological Association
I welcome undergraduate students interested in volunteer or course-based research experiences on a rolling basis.
Students interested in graduate work in either the Cognitive Neuroscience or Developmental program are encouraged to contact me directly before applying (kpoole@wlu.ca). I am currently accepting graduate students for Fall 2027.
- Poole, K. L., English, S. D., Sosa-Hernandez, L., Dockrill, M., & Henderson, H. A. (2025). Children’s sharing behavior with an unfamiliar peer across repeated social interactions. Developmental Psychology, 61(10), 1849–1859. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001938
- Poole, K.L. & Willoughby, T. (2024). Children’s shyness and early stages of emotional face processing. Biological Psychology, 187, 108771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108771
- Poole, K.L. & Schmidt, L.A. (2023). Latent profiles of shyness in children: Physiological, behavioral, and affective components. Child Development, 94, 1068–1077. https://doi:10.1111/cdev.13920
- Poole, K.L. & Henderson, H.A. (2022). Shyness, self-focussed attention, and behavioral mimicry in social interaction. Journal of Research in Personality, 98, 104225. https://doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104225
- Poole, K.L., Degnan, K., Harrejiwin, A., Almas, A., Fox, N.A., & Henderson, H.A. (2022). Trajectories of socially anxious behavior from age 5 to 13: Temperamental and socio-cognitive pathways. Child Development, 93, 1334–1346. https://doi:10.1111/cdev.13767
- Poole, K.L. & Schmidt, L.A. (2021). Vigilant or avoidant? Children’s temperamental shyness, patterns of gaze, and physiology during social threat. Developmental Science, 24, e13118. https://doi:10.1111/desc.13118
- Poole, K.L., Hassan, R., & Schmidt, L.A. (2021). Temperamental shyness, frontal EEG theta/beta ratio, and social anxiety in children. Child Development, 92, 2006–2019. https://doi:10.1111/cdev.13564
- Poole, K.L. & Schmidt, L.A. (2021). While a shy child waits: Autonomic and affective responses during the anticipation and delivery of a speech. Emotion, 21, 1103–1113. https://doi:10.1037/emo0000951
- Poole, K.L., Cunningham, C.E., McHolm, A.E., & Schmidt, L.A. (2020). Distinguishing selective mutism and social anxiety in children: A multi-method study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 1059-1069. https://doi:10.1007/s00787-020-01588-3
- Poole, K.L., Saigal, S., Van Lieshout, R.J., & Schmidt, L.A. (2020). Developmental programming of shyness: A longitudinal, prospective study across four decades. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 455–464. https://doi:10.1017/S0954579419000208
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