B.H.Ecol., B.Sc. (Honours), MA, PhD
Instructor, Psychology
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
School of Social Sciences
Psychology
604.986.1911 ext. 3129
Fir Building, room FR417
danabernier@capilanou.ca
Education
PhD, Psychology, University of Waterloo, 2020
MA, Psychology, University of Manitoba, 2014
B.Sc., (Honours), Psychology, University of Manitoba, 2010
B.H.Ecol., Foods and Nutrition, University of Manitoba, 1998
Bio
Dana Bernier (PhD, University of Waterloo, 2020) is a developmental psychologist whose research interests focus on the ways experience impacts development. Her early research focused on language experiences of infants and toddlers, in particular the role of other children (siblings and peers). Her current research explores the role of lifestyle factors on mental health and well-being.
While working on her education in her home province of Manitoba, Bernier had the opportunity to work with preschool-aged children with developmental disabilities as an ABA tutor for St. Amant, as well as a Child Care Assistant for Munroe ECEC. After completing her PhD, Bernier worked as a sessional instructor at various post-secondary institutions in the lower mainland, and has been a Faculty Member with Thompson Rivers University Open Learning Division since 2021.
My teaching focuses on human development across the lifespan. I see development as fundamentally multi-disciplinary, so in my classroom, theories from various social and biological sciences are integrated to help students appreciate the multifaceted ways in which our experiences and our biology together impact how we grow and change over time.
My current research interests involve how lifestyle factors such as dietary, sleep, and exercise habits affect our mental health. In particular, I am interested in understanding whether changes in these lifestyle factors can help improve the mental health of today's youth.
Publications
Bernier, D. E. & White, K. S. (2019). Toddlers process common and infrequent childhood mispronunciations differently for child and adult speakers. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 62, 4137-4149. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-H-18-0465
Bernier, D. E. & White, K. S. (2019). Toddlers’ processing of other children’s speech. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 185, 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.04.021
Bernier, D. E. & Soderstrom, M. (2018). Was that my name? Infants' listening in conversational multi-talker backgrounds. Journal of Child Language, 45, 1439-1449. https://doi.org/ 10.1017/S0305000918000247.
Bernier, D. E. & White, K. S. (2017). What’s a foo? Toddlers are not tolerant of other children’s mispronunciations. In M. LaMendola and J. Scott (Eds.), Proceedings of the 41st Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 88-100). Somerville, MA: Cascadillia Press.
Conference Presentations
Bernier, D. E. & White, K. S. (2017). Experience impacts toddlers’ processing of other children’s speech. Paper presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, Regina, SK.
Bernier, D. E. & Soderstrom, M. (2017). Did you say something? Infants perceive names but not sentences
in a naturalistic multi-talker background. Paper presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, Regina, SK.
Alards-Tomalin, D., Bernier, D. E., Leboe-McGowan, L. C., & Leboe-McGowan, J. P. (2017). Gendered numbers: Does the precision of numbers have any impact on perceptions of gender, or likeability? Paper presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science, Regina, SK.
Bernier, D. E. & White, K. S. (2016). What's a foo? Toddlers are not tolerant of other children's mispronunciations. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Boston, MA, USA.
Soderstrom, M. & Bernier, D. E. (2011). Comparing and contrasting the daycare and home environments using LENA. Paper presented at the 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language. Montréal, QC.
Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo, 2017
President’s Graduate Scholarship, University of Waterloo, 2014
Postgraduate Scholarship Doctoral, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2014
Manitoba Graduate Scholarship, 2011
Postgraduate Scholarship Masters, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2010