Elizabeth Loftus and Repressed Memories
Elizabeth F. Loftus: The Reality of Repressed Memories
Alyssa Ellis Killebrew
11/9/2010
Elizabeth Loftus Brief Biography
Childhood & Personal Recollections Elizabeth (fondly known as Beth) Fishman Loftus ' parents met and married while stationed at Fort Ord, during World War II. Sidney Fishman, Elizabeth’s father, was an Army doctor and her mother, Rebecca was an army base librarian. Beth was the oldest of three children. In 1944, Elizabeth Fishman was born and then her two brothers followed. After the war, Dr. Fishman opened a general practice in Santa Monica, Calif. (Boss, 1994). Elizabeth described two personal and traumatic events during her youth that impacted her greatly, in an interview with Neimark (1996). She reported that when she was 6, a baby-sitter molested her, and then when she was 14 years old her uncle found her mother dead in a swimming pool, (Neimark, 1996). Because “her mother had earlier been sent away for treatment for depression”, Neimark (1996) wrote, “There is still family speculation about whether her mother’s death was a suicide, and family questions about how her father’s emotional coldness could have contributed to it”. In the interview by Neimark (1996), Elizabeth indicated that her father believed it was suicide even though her mother’s death was listed as accidental (Neimark, 1996). According to Boss (1994), Elizabeth said, “I do remember, when my mother died, deciding there was no God” (Boss, 1994). The tragic death of her mother and molestation as a child may have helped to shape her career as a psychologist. Her father remarried two years after her mother’s death, to a woman who also had three children (Boss, 1994). In her interview, Neimark (1996) reported that Elizabeth described her stepmother as being “nicer to her own kids (Neimark, 1996)”. Beth also said that she “really had to fight and claw to get attention of any sort (Neimark, 1996)”. Before college, she had plans to be a
Alyssa Ellis Killebrew
11/9/2010
Elizabeth Loftus Brief Biography
Childhood & Personal Recollections Elizabeth (fondly known as Beth) Fishman Loftus ' parents met and married while stationed at Fort Ord, during World War II. Sidney Fishman, Elizabeth’s father, was an Army doctor and her mother, Rebecca was an army base librarian. Beth was the oldest of three children. In 1944, Elizabeth Fishman was born and then her two brothers followed. After the war, Dr. Fishman opened a general practice in Santa Monica, Calif. (Boss, 1994). Elizabeth described two personal and traumatic events during her youth that impacted her greatly, in an interview with Neimark (1996). She reported that when she was 6, a baby-sitter molested her, and then when she was 14 years old her uncle found her mother dead in a swimming pool, (Neimark, 1996). Because “her mother had earlier been sent away for treatment for depression”, Neimark (1996) wrote, “There is still family speculation about whether her mother’s death was a suicide, and family questions about how her father’s emotional coldness could have contributed to it”. In the interview by Neimark (1996), Elizabeth indicated that her father believed it was suicide even though her mother’s death was listed as accidental (Neimark, 1996). According to Boss (1994), Elizabeth said, “I do remember, when my mother died, deciding there was no God” (Boss, 1994). The tragic death of her mother and molestation as a child may have helped to shape her career as a psychologist. Her father remarried two years after her mother’s death, to a woman who also had three children (Boss, 1994). In her interview, Neimark (1996) reported that Elizabeth described her stepmother as being “nicer to her own kids (Neimark, 1996)”. Beth also said that she “really had to fight and claw to get attention of any sort (Neimark, 1996)”. Before college, she had plans to be a
References: Bass, E. & Davis, L. (1988, 2008). The courage to heal: A guide for women survivors of child sexual abuse Boss, K. (1994, September 25, 1994). Into the past imperfect - Elizabeth Loftus challenges our total recall. The Seattle Times Company, p. 8. Conkle, A. (August, 2007). Inside the Psychologist’s Studio: The Road Taken. Observer, Association of Psychological Sciences. Retrieved from: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2190 Haggbloom, S Hoult, J. (2005). “Remembering dangerously” & Hoult v. Hoult: The myth of repressed memory that Elizabeth Loftus created Hunt, J. (1991, May 2, 1991). Just memories: Psychologist states the case against 'infallible ' witnesses. Seattle Post-Intelligencer, p. D1. Neimark, J. (1996). The diva of disclosure, memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus. Psychology Today, 29(1), 48. Retrieved on November 9, 2010 from the World Wide Web http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/ Loftus, E.F Loftus, E. F. & Ketcham, K. (1994). The myth of repressed memory: False memories and allegations of sexual abuse. New York: St. Martin 's Press. Loftus, E.F. (2002, May/June). Dear Mother. Psychology Today, 35, 68-70. Loftus, E.F., Polonsky, S., & Fullilove, M.T. (1994). Memories of childhood sexual abuse: Remembering and repressing