Premium
The ability of children with imaginary companions to differentiate between fantasy and reality
Author(s) -
Bouldin Paula,
Pratt Chris
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1348/026151001165985
Subject(s) - the imaginary , monster , fantasy , confusion , psychology , psychoanalysis , art , literature
This study investigated the ability of children with and without imaginary companions (N = 80) aged 4‐8 years to differentiate fantasy from reality. Following children's descriptions of a monster, a monster‐shaped silhouette was unexpectedly projected in the room. Video‐recordings of each child's reaction to the silhouette and responses to a subsequent series of questions indicated that a significantly larger number of imaginary companion than non‐imaginary companion children thought that an imaginary entity could be reflected in reality. However, as a number of nonimaginary companion children also thought that an imaginary entity could be reflected in reality, differences in children's level of credulity, rather than the presence or absence of the imaginary companion, was considered to account for the fantasy‐ reality confusion.