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Professor Fiona Gabbert

Fiona is an expert in applied cognitive psychology, studying the reliability of human memory via understanding its strengths and weaknesses.

Staff details

Professor Fiona Gabbert

Position

Professor and Director of Goldsmiths' Forensic Psychology Unit

Department

Psychology

Email

f.gabbert (@gold.ac.uk)

Summary

Fiona is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Forensic Psychology Unit at Goldsmiths. She also chairs the Scientific Committee of the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG), and acts as Associate Editor for the academic journal 'Memory'. Fiona has an international reputation for her research on the suggestibility of memory and investigative interviewing, that has had an international impact on police operational procedure and policy. She is currently working with the United Nations advising on the development of a Universal Protocol on investigative interviewing. Her work has been recognised by awards for Academic Excellence, Mid-Career Excellence, and Public Engagement.

Grants and Awards

Fiona has received external grant funding from a variety of organisations to support her work including: ESRC, CREST, Leverhulme Trust, British Academy, the Carnegie Trust, the College of Policing, and the BIAL Foundation.

Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange

Fiona is committed to the public understanding of research, as evidenced by frequent ambitious Public Engagement activities undertaken by the Forensic Psychology Unit. These include award-winning educational immersive theatre events that have attracted 1000s of members of the public to Goldsmiths (see https://www.gold.ac.uk/forensic-psychology-unit/). Some other examples include:
• Organising seminars, panel discussions, and a range of research events designed to connect the wider public with relevant research conducted by members of the Forensic Psychology Unit and the Forensic and Clinical Science Group.
• Providing seminars and research consultancy to organisations to facilitate knowledge-exchange.
• Engaging in public-facing events including festivals, lectures, school events, and panel discussions.
• Engaging with the media, including television, radio, and press interviews.

Publications and research outputs

Edited Book

Ridley, Anne; Gabbert, Fiona and La Rooy, David, eds. 2013. Suggestibility in Legal Contexts: Psychological Research and Forensic Implications. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-470-66369-1

Ridley, Anne; Gabbert, Fiona and La Rooy, David, eds. 2013. Suggestibility in Legal Contexts: Psychological Research and Forensic Implications. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0470663684

Book Section

St-Yves, M; Griffiths, A; Cyr, M; Gabbert, Fiona; Carmans, M; Sellie, C; Bruneau, G and Powell, M. 2014. Training in Investigative Interviewing: observations and challenges. In: M St-Yves and A Griffiths, eds. Investigative Interviewing: The Essential Handbook of best practices. Canada: Carswell, pp. 245-269. ISBN 978-0-7798-6273-3

Ridley, Anne; Gabbert, Fiona and La Rooy, David. 2013. Suggestibility in Legal Contexts: What do we know? In: Anne Ridley; Fiona Gabbert and David La Rooy, eds. Suggestibility in Legal Contexts: Psychological Research and Forensic Implications. London: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 217-226. ISBN 978-0470663684

Gabbert, Fiona and Hope, Lorraine. 2013. Suggestibility and memory conformity. In: Anne Ridley; Fiona Gabbert and David La Rooy, eds. Suggestibility in Legal Contexts: Psychological Research and Forensic Implications. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-470-66369-1

Article

Sleigh-Johnson, Phoebe; Gabbert, Fiona and Scott, Adrian J.. 2024. An exploration into why there is an overrepresentation of BAME people in missing person cases. International Journal of Missing Persons, 2(1), 4. ISSN 2769-7037

van Langeraad, Amy; Gabbert, Fiona and Scott, Adrian J.. 2024. Racial bias in risk allocation and resource utilisation: A contributing factor to ethnic minority overrepresentation in missing person investigations? International Journal of Missing Persons, 2(1), 2. ISSN 2769-7037

Wheeler, Rebecca L.; Gabbert, Fiona and Hope, Lorraine. 2024. Self-Generated Cues: The role of cue quality in facilitating eyewitness recall. Journal of Criminal Psychology, ISSN 2009-3829

Conference or Workshop Item

Gabbert, Fiona; Hope, Lorraine; Jamieson, Kat and Lang, Katie L.. 2010. 'An innovative method for improving accident investigation'. In: Society of Petroleum Engineers Middle East Health, Safety, Security and Environment Conference and Exhibition (SPE MEHSSE),. Manama, Bahrain.

Report

Gabbert, Fiona and Hope, Lorraine. 2012. Field Evaluation of the Self-Administered Interview. Technical Report.

Hope, Lorraine and Gabbert, Fiona. 2010. The Impact of Conferring on Individual and Collaborative Recall in a Policing Context.. Technical Report.

Research Interests

Fiona's research has a strong focus on improving the usability, credibility, and reliability of evidence from witnesses. This has led to the introduction of new evidence-based investigative interview tools and training resources to the field, such as the Self-Administered Interview, the Structured Interview Protocol, and the Timeline Technique. Key areas of interest are listed below.

• Eyewitness memory
• Investigative interviewing
• Facilitating recall
• Building trust and rapport
• Metacognition
• Suggestibility of memory
• Social influences on memory
• Memory conformity