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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

Is the Proust phenomenon fact or fiction? A systematic review and meta-analysis of odor-evoked autobiographical memory

  • Ovidiu I. Bobei1,2
  • Dragos Cîrneci3
  • Ioana R. Podina1,4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Laboratory of Cognitive Clinical Sciences, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
  2. 2Interdisciplinary School of Doctoral Studies, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
  3. 3Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Spiru Haret University, Bucharest, Romania
  4. 4MINDCARE FOR ALL Association, Bucharest, Romania
  5. 5COGLAB R&D Solutions, Bucharest, Romania
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Abstract

Odors are widely believed to be the most powerful trigger for autobiographical memory (AM). This meta-analysis provides the first comprehensive meta-analytic test of this claim, known as the Proust phenomenon. Eighteen experimental/quasi-experimental studies were included in this meta-analysis. Olfactory cueing was compared with a variety of cueing modalities, and seven key characteristics of evoked AMs (specificity, vividness, emotional intensity, pleasantness, rarity, evocativeness, and age of AMs) were assessed. Olfactory cues showed a greater effect (advantage) over other cue types for emotional intensity, pleasantness, evocativeness, and age of AMs. Sample size was negatively associated with effect sizes for emotional intensity, pleasantness, and rarity, although the overall effect for rarity was not significant. Higher proportions of females and more recent publication years were each associated with smaller effects for evocativeness and pleasantness, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that the advantage of olfactory cues for emotional intensity was stronger in within-subject than between-subject designs. Moreover, their advantage in terms of pleasantness was greatest relative to label cues, followed by visual and auditory cues. Although olfactory cues showed an advantage for four characteristics of AMs, these results do not fully confirm the Proust phenomenon. Overall, these findings suggest that the olfactory advantage is selective rather than universal, and future studies should clarify the conditions under which it emerges.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{bobei2026proust,
  title = {{Is the Proust phenomenon fact or fiction? A systematic review and meta-analysis of odor-evoked autobiographical memory}},
  author = {Ovidiu I. Bobei and Dragos Cîrneci and Ioana R. Podina},
  journal = {Psychonomic Bulletin \& Review},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3758/s13423-026-03025-z},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-026-03025-z},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Is the Proust phenomenon fact or fiction? A systematic review and meta-analysis of odor-evoked autobiographical memory
AU  - Ovidiu I. Bobei
AU  - Dragos Cîrneci
AU  - Ioana R. Podina
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
DO  - 10.3758/s13423-026-03025-z
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-026-03025-z
AB  - Odors are widely believed to be the most powerful trigger for autobiographical memory (AM). This meta-analysis provides the first comprehensive meta-analytic test of this claim, known as the Proust phenomenon. Eighteen experimental/quasi-experimental studies were included in this meta-analysis. Olfactory cueing was compared with a variety of cueing modalities, and seven key characteristics of evoked AMs (specificity, vividness, emotional intensity, pleasantness, rarity, evocativeness, and age of AMs) were assessed. Olfactory cues showed a greater effect (advantage) over other cue types for emotional intensity, pleasantness, evocativeness, and age of AMs. Sample size was negatively associated with effect sizes for emotional intensity, pleasantness, and rarity, although the overall effect for rarity was not significant. Higher proportions of females and more recent publication years were each associated with smaller effects for evocativeness and pleasantness, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that the advantage of olfactory cues for emotional intensity was stronger in within-subject than between-subject designs. Moreover, their advantage in terms of pleasantness was greatest relative to label cues, followed by visual and auditory cues. Although olfactory cues showed an advantage for four characteristics of AMs, these results do not fully confirm the Proust phenomenon. Overall, these findings suggest that the olfactory advantage is selective rather than universal, and future studies should clarify the conditions under which it emerges.
SN  - 1069-9384
SN  - 1531-5320
ER  -