About
Gillian Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, where she leads the Everyday Cognition Lab and serves as Chair of Teaching & Learning. She also acts as Student Champion on the School's Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, reflecting her commitment to inclusive education.
Education:
- PhD in Cognitive Psychology, University College Cork (2017)
Research Focus: Dr. Murphy investigates attention and memory in everyday contexts, with emphasis on distraction in driving environments, eyewitness memory vulnerabilities, and misinformation susceptibility. Her work examines how false memories form in political contexts (e.g., referendums, Brexit), develops interventions against conspiracy theories, and pioneers ethical frameworks for misinformation research. Recent projects explore deepfake-induced memory distortions and automated driving attention.
Publication Trends: Her 2023-2025 output reveals a sharp focus on digital misinformation, particularly deepfakes and conspiracy theories. Over 60% of recent work addresses ethical implications of false memory research and debriefing efficacy, while driving safety studies now integrate AI-driven scenarios. Methodologically, she combines experimental paradigms with real-world applications, often using political events as natural laboratories.
Scientific Recognition:
- Charlemont Award (Royal Irish Academy, 2018)
- Fulbright Scholar at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2015)
- APA Division 3 Best Poster Award (2015)
- Famelab National Audience Choice Award (2015)
Supervision & Funding: She actively supervises 5 doctoral students on deepfake interventions, conspiracy theory resistance, and cancer misinformation. Major grants include €322,300 from Science Foundation Ireland for 'Deep Fake' research (2021-2025) and €82,500 from the Irish Research Council for conspiracy theory interventions. Her €72,000 IRC project 'What's Driving Selective Attention?' established foundational work on perceptual load in driving.
Collaborative Networks: Leads the Everyday Cognition Lab with partners at UC Irvine (Elizabeth Loftus), UCD (Ciara Greene), and Nottingham Trent University (John Groeger). Her team frequently collaborates with emergency medical services and legal professionals to validate real-world applicability of findings.
