A Brief History of the False Memory Research of Elizabeth Loftus Lynn Crook, M.Ed. The lost- in- a-shopping-mall study (Loftus and Pickrell, 1995) provided  initial   scientific support for the claim that child sexual abuse accusations are false memories planted by therapists.  However, the mall study researchers faced a problem early on—the participants could tell the … Continue reading A Brief History of the False Memory Research of Elizabeth Loftus