Deconstructing the lost in the mall study

Abstract

In their frequently-cited “lost in the mall” study from two decades ago, Loftus and Pickrell claimed their findings “reveal that people can be led to believe that entire events happened to them after suggestions to that effect.” The study continues to be cited by the media and by academics to support claims that adults who recover memories of childhood sexual abuse have been led to believe such claims by therapists. The study parallels claims that parents coach children to falsely accuse and thus alienate the other parent in child custody cases. We describe how laws passed by state legislatures led to the need for a new defense for abuse accusations and how a foundation was established to promote that defense. We report that Loftus, who designed the study to support the new defense, testified over 20 years later that the study results apply only to the 24 subjects and cannot be applied to other populations.