Céline LEMERCIER

Céline Lemercier is Full Professor of Cognitive and Ergonomic Psychology at Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès (UT2J) and member of the joint CNRS laboratory Cognition, Languages, Langage, Ergonomie (CLLE). Since 2020 she co-leads the “Cognition in Complex Situations” research team and the interdisciplinary TIMH-Lab (Toulouse Innovative Mobility Human-factors Lab), and since 2018 she heads the educational innovation programme Cog’Cap for Bachelor students in Psychology.

Education

• Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, Université de Poitiers (1996–1999)
• Master in Psychology, University of Angers (1991–1996)

Research Interests

Her work is organised around four tightly linked axes:

1. Attention & Automated Driving – studying how age, emotion and expertise influence takeover behaviour in Level 2–5 automated vehicles and designing human-machine interfaces that facilitate safe transitions of control.
2. Illusion of Control & Gambling – investigating cognitive biases underlying persistent gambling, especially among older adults, in collaboration with Prof. Valérie Le Floch.
3. Agriculture & Industry 4.0 – examining acceptability factors of smart HMIs for operators in viticulture and agri-food contexts.
4. Fundamental Mechanisms of Attention – re-examining the Stroop effect and related cognitive control processes across development.

Scientific Awards & Funding

The research programmes she coordinates have received eight external grants, including funding from MILDECA (Inter-ministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviours) and the French National Research Agency (ANR). Two completed PhD theses and three ongoing PhD projects directly stem from these programmes.

Doctoral Supervision & Teaching

Prof. Lemercier currently supervises several PhD students whose topics range from takeover behaviour in automated vehicles (Sharon Ouddiz, Maxime Delmas, Robin Cazes) to flow and gamification in mobility applications (Célia Vancaemelbecke) and gambling in ageing populations (Maylis Fontaine). At the undergraduate level she is responsible for the compulsory module “Experimental Methodology” and the optional course “Attention & Technological Innovations”.

Laboratories & Teams

She leads the TIMH-Lab research group, a cross-disciplinary hub focusing on human factors in future mobility systems, and co-directs the “Cognition in Complex Situations” team within CLLE.