Elizabeth Loftus

American psychologist whose misinformation and false-memory research rebuilt the science of eyewitness testimony.

Specifications & Metrics

lifespan

1944-

nationality

American

tradition

Cognitive psychology / memory law

Core Principles & Analysis

• Her leading-question studies from 1974 showed wording can rewrite memory for witnessed events.
• The lost-in-the-mall implantation work with Pickrell (1995) demonstrated whole childhood events can be fabricated.
• She has testified or consulted in hundreds of legal cases and is among the most-cited psychologists alive.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Elizabeth Loftus