Lost in the Mall

"Lost in a Shopping Mall"�A Breach of Professional Ethics

Lynn S. Crook
Richland, WA

Martha C. Dean
Sydney, Australia

ABSTRACT: The "lost in a shopping mall" study has been cited to support claims that psychotherapists can implant memories of false autobiographical information of childhood trauma in their patients. The mall study originated in 1991 as 5 pilot experiments involving 3 children and 2 adult participants. The University of Washington Human Subjects Committee granted approval for the mall study on August 10, 1992. The preliminary results with the 5 pilot subjects were announced 4 days later. An analysis of the mall study shows that beyond the external misrepresentations, internal scientific methodological errors cast doubt on the validity of the claims that have been attributed to the mall study within scholarly and legal arenas. The minimal involvement�or, in some cases, negative impact�of collegial consultation, academic supervision, and peer review throughout the evolution of the mall study are reviewed.

Key words: research ethics, false memories, mall study, autobiographical memory

[Note: Footnotes are listed at the end of the main text, before the references.]

The "lost in a shopping mall" study (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995) originated as five single-participant "pilot" experiments conducted at the direction of University of Washington researcher Elizabeth Loftus. Loftus (L oftus & Ketcham, 1994) described the study in terms that suggest that proper research guidelines were not followed in these pilot experiments. The results of the mall study continue to be misrepresented in the media in sworn testimony and in scholarly publications. The roles of mechanisms currently in place to ensure the integrity of such research are reviewed here.

EVOLUTION OF THE "LOST IN A SHOPPING MALL" STUDY

Loftus (Loftus & Ketcham, 1994) provided a revealing account of the evolution of the mall study. In August 1991, Loftus attended a

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