Elizabeth Loftus was born on October 16th 1944 in Los Anglos California to Sydney and Rebecca Fishman. (“Biographical information - the life and achievements of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus,” 2008) Her mother was a librarian and her father a U.S army technician. As a child she became very interested in fiction and non-fiction crime television shows and books. Despite her love for crime, she became interested and strong in mathematics which was influenced by her father who also had a love of math. Loftus said that math was the only place where she and her Father could connect. Unfortunately, Loftus’s mother died by drowning in a pool when Loftus was 14 years old. When she was younger, her uncle told her that she was the first one to find her mother lying face down in the pool but he was mistaken, it was her dad who found her. She had created false memories surrounding the event of the discovery of her mother’s body. That is what lead her to studying false memories in the future because she experienced it herself. …show more content…
She thoroughly Psychology and continued pursuing the subject along with her math curriculum. Earning her degree, in the Bachelor of Arts in Math and Psychology. She continued her education by attending Stanford University where she earned her M.A in psychology in 1967. (Zagorski, 2005) While at Stanford, she discovered her passion for a specific section of psychology; long term memory. She remained at Stanford to earn her PhD in psychology. Later in her life, Loftus married George Loftus in 1970. (Zagorski,