Psychology journal honours Abertay expert Dr Fiona Gabbert

An academic at Abertay University in Dundee has been honoured by an acclaimed journal.

Selected work by psychology expert Dr Fiona Gabbert has been recognised as one of the highlights in psychological research in the last 25 years.

Dr Gabbert’s study into how eyewitnesses can influence each other’s memory of an event was included as one of the outstanding reports by the respected Applied Cognitive Psychology journal.

Professor Don Read, a leading authority on the psychology of memory, nominated her study.

The study concluded that when people were allowed to discuss their memories of a crime together they often influenced each other’s memory making the other person believe they had seen something they did not.

“In fact over 70% of people were susceptible to having their memory distorted in this way,” Dr Gabbert said. “This of course has enormous implications for the legal system when determining the reliability of eyewitness testimony.”