Do we really lose imagination with age? New research reveals a surprising truth

For generations, society has clung to the romantic idea that children are the true dreamers—limitless in creativity, untouched by the rational rigidity of adulthood. Adults, it is often assumed, merely trade their whimsical wonder for a practical, more realistic inner world. But according to a growing body of psychological research, that narrative might be more fiction than fact.

As per a report from the New Scientist, a recent wave of studies reveals a fascinating truth: imagination doesn’t fade with age—it transforms. As it turns out, adults may be more imaginative than we think, just in a different, more refined way.

Imagining with Experience
Harvard University’s developmental psychologist Paul Harris challenges the prevailing belief that imagination wanes as we grow older. In a 2021 review, he argued that children's pretend play tends to be grounded in everyday experiences—tea parties, superheroes, and make-believe kitchens. The real shift, he observed, begins around age four, when children start to imagine truly conflicting scenarios—two possible, incompatible outcomes of a single event.

This aligns with problem-solving tests where young children often stumble. Take, for instance, the classic test involving a pipe cleaner and a bucket. The goal is to retrieve the bucket using the pipe cleaner by bending it into a hook. Children under five usually fail. Why? Because the imaginative leap needed to see a straight object as something that can change form comes only with age and mental flexibility.

Grey Hair, Bold Ideas
If you're picturing imagination as something that peaks in childhood and then diminishes into mental dullness, think again. Angela Nyhout from the University of Kent conducted a unique study at Dover Castle in the UK. Visitors were asked how they might use obscure historical objects like a warrior god mould or an old dress fastener. Older adults didn’t just match the creativity of younger participants—they often surpassed them in the number of creative ideas, although within more familiar domains.

It’s not an isolated case. Andrew Shtulman, in his 2023 book Learning to Imagine, proposes that imagination is like any other skill—it strengthens with practice. Unlike the freewheeling, trial-and-error method used by children, adults bring layered experience, refined intuition, and contextual awareness to their imaginative processes.

Think that children are imaginative and have the creativity beaten out of them as they get older? Cognitive scientist (& former Harvard grad student) Andrew Shtulman asks us to think again about this in his book Learning to Imagine — Harvard University Press… pic.twitter.com/qdOpJIpbT4

— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) December 17, 2023

The Other Side of the Coin
Of course, not everyone agrees. Psychologist Alison Gopnik of UC Berkeley reminds us that young minds have an edge in one critical area—openness. Without decades of accumulated assumptions or expectations, children freely explore a multitude of possibilities, even the improbable ones. As Nyhout notes, they simply don’t yet know enough about the world to be constrained by it.

And yet, what younger children offer in spontaneity, they sometimes lack in insight. In one of Nyhout’s story-based tasks, younger kids suggested magical wind control to stop papers from flying away. Older children, meanwhile, offered grounded, practical solutions. Both types of responses reflect imagination—just channeled through different cognitive pathways.

Imagination, Refocused
Perhaps the most revealing insight into how our imagination matures lies in how we remember. Jessica Andrews-Hanna of the University of Arizona explains that older adults tend to focus on the "gist" or emotional significance of memories rather than the finer details. This doesn't indicate a loss of mental clarity—it signals a shift in what we value. Adults may trade vivid imagery for narrative meaning and emotional resonance.

Rather than fading, imagination simply adapts to the needs of each life stage. A preschooler may invent new worlds, while an older adult might envision solutions to global crises by drawing on decades of life experience.

One Mind, Many Lifetimes
The evolving nature of imagination is not a story of loss—it’s a story of transformation. Children and adults may play in different imaginative arenas, but neither space is inherently superior. As Nyhout puts it, imagination across the lifespan is context-specific: what’s optimal for a four-year-old won’t always work for a forty-year-old—and vice versa.

In fact, our collective imagination may be strongest when generations collaborate. Whether it’s designing sustainable cities, reimagining social justice, or tackling inequality, bringing together the playful chaos of youth with the reflective insight of age might just be the creative leap humanity needs.

So no, we don’t lose our imagination as we age, we just learn how to wield it differently. And maybe, just maybe, more powerfully.