Chapter 6. What's Your First Memory?

From the Pages

You might expect that your earliest recollection would be dramatic—yet for most of us, it is fairly mundane. Only about a quarter of people report a first memory that involves a trauma, according to a 2005 study. Scientific American Mind’s online survey of readers’ first memories uncovered the same pattern [see chart below].

Young children are more likely to recall an event if they are prompted to talk about it and probed for details. Perhaps that is why the age at which a memory first sticks varies across cultures. Among the Maori of New Zealand, for example, most children’s memories start a year earlier than they do in North America—a function of a culture in which memories are honored and much discussed, according to researcher Carole Peterson of Memorial University in Newfoundland. —V.S.

Quiz