Elizabeth F. Loftus
Born	1944[1]
Nationality	United States
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Stanford University
Known for	Studies of human memory
Awards	Grawemeyer Award (2005) APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Applications of Psychology (2003) Election to: National Academy of Sciences (2004) Royal Society of Edinburgh (2005) Honorary degrees from: Miami University (Doctor of Science, 1982) Leiden University (Honoris Causa, 1990) John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Doctor of Laws, 1994) University of Portsmouth (Doctor of Science, 1998) University of Haifa (Honoris Causa, 2005) University of Oslo (Honoris Causa, 2008)
Scientific career
Fields	Psychology
Institutions	University of California, Irvine;

Elizabeth F. Loftus (born 1944) is an American psychologist and expert on human memory. She has conducted extensive research on the misinformation effect and the nature of false memories. Loftus has been recognized throughout the world for her work, recieving numerous awards and honorary degrees. In 2002, Loftus was 58th in a list of the 100 most influential researchers in psychology in the 20th century, and the highest ranked woman on the list.

Loftus received her bachelor's degree in mathematics and psychology from University of California, Los Angeles in 1966. She went on to receive her MA (1967) and Ph.D (1970) in psychology from Stanford University.

Loftus is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society, and the Department of Cognitive Sciences, and a Fellow of The Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine. She is also Professor of Law.^[2][3][4]

One of her studies is the reconstruction of automobile destruction study, which is an example of the misinformation effect. She also developed the lost in the mall technique as a method of testing her hypothesis that false memories can be clinically created. Her pilot study of the lost in the mall technique has been criticized for the ethics used in acquiring subjects^[5] and for being used to draw inappropriate conclusions about false memories and therapeutic techniques.^[5][6][7]

Loftus has also been involved in the trials of Ted Bundy, O. J. Simpson, the Hillside Stranglers, and the McMartin preschool trial workers.^[8] Loftus is a member of the Scientific and Professional Advisory Board of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation.^[9]

After criticizing the theory of recovered memory and testifying about the nature of memory and false allegations of child sexual abuse as part of the day care sex abuse hysteria, Loftus was subject to on-line harassment by Diana Napolis. A conspiracy theorist, Napolis believed Loftus was engaged in satanic ritual abuse or assisted incovering up these crimes as part of a larger conspiracy.^[10] After addressing a scientific conference in New Zealand, Loftus was accosted by a group of protesters who alleged she had abused children, in part basing their accusations on Napolis' web postings.

A study published by the Review of General Psychology identifying the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century ranked Loftus 58th on the list, and was the top ranked woman.^[11] Loftus has been the president of the Association for Psychological Science, the Western Psychological Association, and the American Psychology-Law Society.

Loftus has also received six honorary doctorates for her research, the first in 1982 from Miami University, the second in 1990 from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and the third in 1994 from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York - an honorary doctorate of laws. Her fourth honorary doctorate, from the University of Portsmouth in England, was awarded in 1998; the fifth, from the University of Haifa in Israel, was awarded in 2005. Her sixth, from the University of Oslo, was awarded in 2008.

"Jane Doe" was the subject of a case study published in 1997 by Dr. David Corwin on issues of repressed and recovered memory.^[14] Neither the study nor later follow-up studies and articles referred to her by her real name. As a psychiatrist retained in a divorce case, Corwin had videotaped an interview with Jane Doe - then six years old - in which she claimed to have suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her biological mother. Eleven years later, Corwin showed Jane Doe the original tape after obtaining approval from her and her guardian. Corwin then videotaped a follow-up interview in which Jane Doe appeared to spontaneously recall another abusive event she had suffered despite having had no conscious memory of abuse in the years since the initial interview. Corwin published a transcript of the tape and an explanatory article. With Doe's permission, Corwin also played portions of both videotapes to numerous professional audiences.

Loftus hired a private investigator in California and together with co-researcher Melvin Guyer undertook a subsequent investigation into the case, reviewed extensive court records and interviewed Jane's mother and foster mother. In 2002, based on the information obtained, Loftus and Guyer published an article entitled "Who Abused Jane Doe? The Hazards of the Single Case History" in the Skeptical Inquirer. The article was highly critical of the scientific validity of Corwin's 1997 article, and questioned the factual accuracy of his account.^[15]

On February 23, 2003, "Jane Doe", using her real name of Nicole Taus, sued Loftus, the University of Washington and others alleging invasion of privacy and other torts. Twenty of the twenty-one counts against Loftus were dismissed by the trial court or reviewing courts as a "strategic lawsuit against public participation", intended to punish the defendants for academic activity protected by the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment. In February, 2007, the California Supreme Court ordered dismissal of all but one count, allowing Taus to proceed on her claim that Loftus misrepresented herself as Corwin's supervisor in interviewing Taus's foster mother.^{[16][17][18][19]}

The case was settled on August 28, 2007, when Loftus's acceptance of Taus's offer was filed. Loftus agreed to pay $7,500, instead of the amount of over $1,000,000 that was requested by Taus and both were responsible for their own legal costs. In November 2007, Taus was ordered to pay the other people she sued over $246,000.^[20][21][22]

On October 26, 2006, Loftus was called as the first defense witness in a pretrial hearing in the federal perjury case against Lewis Libby.^[23] Under cross-examination by Patrick Fitzgerald, Loftus struggled to explain her research and apparent contradictions between her testimony and her work, also stating that based on comments by her peers and even her own work that there were limitations in her methods and conclusions.^[24]

Loftus attended and was a speaker at the Beyond Belief symposium on November 2006.

• Loftus, Elizabeth F. (1996). Eyewitness Testimony. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-28777-0.
• Ketcham, Katherine; Loftus, Elizabeth F. (1991). Witness for the defense: the accused, the eyewitness, and the expert who puts memory on trial. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-08455-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Ketcham, Katherine; Loftus, Elizabeth F. (1996). The myth of repressed memory: false memories and allegations of sexual abuse. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-14123-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Template:Worldcat id