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Lion Kings or puppies: the influence of fantasy on children’s understanding of pretense
Author(s) -
Lillard Angeline S.,
Sobel David
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/1467-7687.00057
Subject(s) - fantasy , psychology , character (mathematics) , theory of mind , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , literature , art , neuroscience , mathematics , geometry
Many have thought that children have an early appreciation of the mind in the case of pretend play. Results from several experiments are against this. However, an experiment by Lillard (Body or mind: children’s categorizing of pretense, Child Development , 67 (1996), 1717‐1734, Experiment 4) suggested that when a pretense is about a fantasy character, instead of a real entity, children might have a better understanding of the mind’s involvement. The present experiment tested this, and found that indeed, when pretending to be a fantasy character is at issue, 4‐year‐olds are significantly more apt to indicate the mind’s involvement. Several possible reasons for this result are discussed.