Developmental Implications of Mental Imagery in Childhood Imaginary Companions

Abstract

Mental imagery in children is discussed in terms of self-concept and identity development. We examine areas in this article that contribute to these developments in children including play, fantasy and imagery, imagined interactions, and imaginary companions. The interface among these areas of developmental psychology is the role of mental imagery (e.g., imagination) in cognitive, social, and emotional development. A study using binary logistic regression is reported in which the dependent variable is presence or absence of childhood imaginary companions. Two significant predictors of having an imaginary companion were identified: playing with dolls and the presence of siblings as opposed to being only children. Results are discussed in the creative role of imagery in fostering role development.

The Development of an Imaginative Thinking Scale

“…Vygotsky (1987) also considered that creative images may be based on basic elements from past experience, but they are so transformed that the person could not pinpoint from where they came. The viewpoint of Vygotsky is similar to the dissertation of Honeycutt, Pecchioni, Keaton, andPence (2011-2012, p. 82) that the creation of these pretend games requires them to create a world with a set of rules that are often quite different from their everyday environments.…”

Habilidades pragmáticas, imaginación y comprensión de los estados mentales en los niños

“…Es claro que el desarrollo del lenguaje, la ToM, así como la aparición de los juegos de simulación y ciertas formas de imaginación infantil aparecen de forma simultánea a partir de los 3 años y tienen una relación, que aún no está del todo explicada. La existencia de AI en un número importante de niños entre los 2 y los 6 años es un hecho comprobado por los investigadores (Davis, Meins y Fernythough, 2011;Gleason, 2002;Gleason, Sebanc y Hartup, 2000;Honeycutt, Pecchioni, Keaton, y Pence, 2011;Taylor, 1999). Actualmente, la existencia de niños que crean AI se considera un fenómeno que se presenta en el 28% de la población entre los 5-12 años (Pearson et al, 2001).…”

The Relationship between Imaginary Companions, Social Competence and Behavioral Problems of Preschool Children

“…Fenomen izmišljenih prijatelja prisutniji je u predškolskih djevojčica nego u dječaka (2,3,11,(18)(19)(20), a u djevojčica je ta pojava i nešto ranija (14). Dječačka je imaginacija nerijetko i nešto drugačija od one u djevojčica, pri čemu dječaci osmišljavaju prijatelje s kojima proživljavaju razne avanture, a djevojčice se češće uključuju u igru pretvaranja koja zahtijeva brigu ili njegu.…”

“…Dječačka je imaginacija nerijetko i nešto drugačija od one u djevojčica, pri čemu dječaci osmišljavaju prijatelje s kojima proživljavaju razne avanture, a djevojčice se češće uključuju u igru pretvaranja koja zahtijeva brigu ili njegu. Sukladno tome, djevojčice će češće imati izmišljene prijatelje koji imaju važnu ulogu u stvaranju sociodramatičke igre, dok će dječaci češće utjeloviti snažniji i kompetentniji lik ili personificirati određeni objekt o kojima manje ovisi kreacija same igre (7,10,14,19). Te razlike ipak ostaju primijećene samo kod mlađih dobnih skupina, jer na uzorcima djece ranog škol-skog uzrasta, ali i kasnije, autori ne pronalaze statistički značajne spolne razlike u javljanju fenomena izmišljenih prijatelja (7,18).…”

“…Ponekad su izmišlje-ni prijatelji ljudskih karakteristika (23), ali javljaju se i oni životinjskog oblika (18) neovisno o dobi javljanja (21). Druga pak istraživanja ukazuju da pojava izmišljenih prijatelja i psihopatologija nisu značajno povezane (12,14) te da čak izmišlje-ni prijatelji mogu imati važnu ulogu za mnoge pozitivne razvojne ishode (8,10,18,(28)(29)(30).…”