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Elizabeth F. Loftus

Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science; Criminology, Law & Society; Cognitive Science; and Law

Joint appointment in Psychological Science
Criminology, Law & Society
Cognitive Sciences
School of Law

Elizabeth F. Loftus

Expertise:

Psychology and law, human memory, eyewitness testimony, courtroom procedure

Background:

Prof. Elizabeth Loftus is one of the nation's leading experts on memory. She has been an expert witness or consultant in hundreds of cases, including the McMartin preschool molestation case, the trial of Oliver North, the trial of the officers accused in the Rodney King beating, and litigation involving Michael Jackson, Martha Stewart, Scooter Libby and the Duke University Lacrosse players.

(Log in to view full course descriptions in the UCI Law Course Catalog)

  • Interpreting eyewitness confidence: Numeric, Verbal and Graded Verbal Scales, (with R.L. Greenspan), Applied Cognitive Psychology (in press)
  • Repressed Memories (of Sexual Abuse Against Minors) and Statutes of Limitations in Europe (with D. Deferme, H. Otgaar, O. Dodier, A. Korner, I. Mangiulli, H. Merckelbach, M. Sauerland and M. Panzavolta), Topics in Cognitive Science (2024, in press)
  • Loftus, E.F., Thinking or Acting Like A Lawyer? What We Don’t Know About Legal Education and Are Afraid to Ask in The State of Legal Education Research: Then and Now and Tomorrow (eds. Ben Golder et al.) (2019).
  • Loftus, E.F. & Greenspan, R.L. (2017)  If I’m certain, is it true?  Accuracy and Confidence in eyewitness memory.   Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 18, 1-2
  • Loftus, E.F. (2017)  Eavesdropping on Memory.   Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 1-18.>
  • Grady, R.H., Butler, B.J. & Loftus, E.F. (2016)  What should happen after an officer-involved shooting?  Memory concerns in police reporting procedures.  Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition, 5, 246-251.>
  • Loftus, E. F. (2016) Illusions of Memory.  Skeptical Inquirer, 40, 22-23. (Honorary Doctorate Acceptance  Speech)
  • Daily Journal: "Boy Scout file release: the benefits...and harms" (PDF)
  • The New York Times Opinion: "The Risk of Ill-Informed Juries" (PDF)
  • The Wall Street Journal book review: "In the Memory Palace"
  • Goodman-Delahunty, J., Granhag, P.A., Hartwig, M. & Loftus, E.F. (2010) "INSIGHTFUL OR WISHFUL: Lawyers’ Ability to Predict Case Outcomes" (PDF). Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 16, No. 2, 133-157
  • Science magazine: "Bad Theories Can Harm Victims" (PDF)
  • Bernstein, D.M. & Loftus, E.F. (2009) The consequences of false memories for food preferences and choices. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 135-139
  • Peterson, T., Kaasa, S.,O. & Loftus, E.F. (2009). Me too! : Social Modeling Influences on Early Autobiographical Memories. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 267-277
  • Prof. Loftus' Scholarly Papers on SSRN
  • February 8, 2025
    Panelist, “Tech Challenges to Truth in the Age of AI and Algorithms,” UC Irvine Forum for the Academy and the Public 2025’s Annual Conference, “Facts Under Fire: Reporting in Impossible Times”
  • October 2024
    Lecture, “The Illusion of Memory: How False Memories Form (and What Consequences They Have)," BergamoScienza Festival in Bergamo, Italy
  • October 2024
    Speech, BergamoScienza Festival, Bergamo, Italy
  • July 21, 2024:
    Speaker, Woxsen University in Hyderabad, India
  • March 29, 2019:
    Speaker, Jeeves Lecture, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, UK
  • Oct. 29, 2018:
    Speaker, “The Fiction of Memory,” Neuroscience Research Day 2018, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
  • April 27, 2018:
    Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree and Distinguished Speaker, “Eavesdropping on Memory,” Western Psychological Association Annual Convention, Portland, OR
  • April 12, 2018:
    Keynote Speaker, “The Fiction of Memory,” Houston Bar Association 2018 Criminal/Appellate Bench Bar Conference, Houston, TX
  • Feb. 24, 2018: 
    Speaker, “Illusions of Memory,” The Science of Learning and Its Applications Symposium, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA