Rate My Professor Karen Murphy

Dr. Karen Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, part of Griffith Health on the Gold Coast campus. She holds the position of Program Director for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and convenes key courses including Cognitive Neuropsychology (3019PSY), Honours Research Project Year 1 (6000PSY_Y1), and Honours Research Project Year 2 (6000PSY_Y2). Her commitment to innovative teaching practices earned her a Highly Commended award in the Innovation in Technology Enhanced Learning category at the 2018 Griffith Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Murphy supervises doctoral students on topics such as assessing cognitive functioning and the role of executive functions in repetitive negative thinking.

Murphy's research centers on cognitive psychology, with specializations in executive functions, working memory capacity, cognitive training programs for older adults, semantic priming, visual attention, media multitasking, and cognitive mechanisms in social anxiety disorder. Her studies examine individual differences in cognitive performance, the efficacy of single-domain versus multidomain training interventions, and factors influencing attentional control and memory processes. Notable publications include Nguyen and Murphy (2019), 'Immediate and Long-Term Efficacy of Executive Functions Cognitive Training in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,' published in Psychological Bulletin (cited over 230 times); Machingura et al. (2022), 'Effectiveness of sensory modulation for people with mental illness: A systematic review,' in Australian Occupational Therapy Journal; Murphy and Creux (2022), 'Frequent media multitasking is not associated with better cognitive flexibility'; Nguyen et al. (2022), 'A Game a Day Keeps Cognitive Decline Away?'; Andrews and Murphy (2010), 'Does Video Game Playing Improve Executive Functioning?'; Murphy (2012), 'Examining Semantic Priming in a Delayed Naming Task,' in International Journal of Psychological Studies; and recent works such as 'A comparison of single-domain and multidomain executive functions cognitive training for enhancing cognition and well-being in older adults' (2026) and 'Older Adults’ Perceptions, Experiences, and Preferences of a Gamified Cognitive Training Program' (2024). With approximately 850 citations from 49 publications, her contributions advance understanding of cognitive enhancement strategies and their applications in aging and mental health.