Study claims 40% of us have ‘fictional first memory’

Thursday, 19 July 2018 07:00

Researchers have conducted one of the largest surveys of people’s first memories, finding that nearly 40 per cent of people had a first memory which is fictional.

The study, carried out by teams from several universities including the University of Bradford, found that 38.6 per cent of a survey of 6,641 people claimed to have memories from two or younger, with 893 people claiming memories from one or younger.

This was particularly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults.

However, current research indicates that people’s earliest memories can only date from around three to three-and-a-half years of age.

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