Sticky brain or memory like a sieve?

Do you struggle to remember details? And what does this mean for your psychological wellbeing?

To find out, first read these descriptions: Dave earns £73,412 and is described by his colleagues as a nice guy who works hard and is a pleasure to be around. He often has lunch at the local café, where the staff say he is polite and pleasant. He always gives a generous tip.

Frank earns £78,305 and is described as grumpy and rude. He skives as much as possible and is a pain to be around. He often has lunch at the local café, where the staff describe him as bad-mannered and unpleasant. He never gives a tip.

Now get a piece of paper and list all your GCSE grades or equivalent.

Finally, without checking above, answer this question: how much do Dave and Frank earn?

What do your answers say about you? A growing body of research suggests having a bad memory is good for your psychological wellbeing. People who forget the correct figures tend to recall a salary that was too high for the nice guy (Dave) and too low for the grumpy one (Frank). Your memory does you a favour by righting perceived wrongs. And what about those GCSE results (go on, dig them out and check)?

Another study found that while university students had almost perfect memory for their As (89% correct) they tended to conveniently forget their Ds.

So having a bad memory can actually be a good thing: in the absence of the facts, your brain concocts a story that actually suits you rather nicely.

Fancy some more quizzes? Order Psy-Q by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books, £8.99, or £6.99 from bookshop.theguardian.com)