Imaginary Companions in Childhood: What Can Prospective Longitudinal Research Tell Us about Their Fate by Adolescence?

Autor/inn/en	McAnally, Helena M.; Forsyth, Bridget J.; Taylor, Marjorie; Reese, Elaine
Titel	Imaginary Companions in Childhood: What Can Prospective Longitudinal Research Tell Us about Their Fate by Adolescence?
Quelle	In: Journal of Creative Behavior, 55 (2021) 1, S.276-283 (8 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (McAnally, Helena M.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0175
DOI	10.1002/jocb.468
Schlagwörter	Adolescents; Imagination; Memory; Early Experience; Recall (Psychology); Gender Differences; Cognitive Processes; Reliability + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Gedächtnis; Frühbeginn; Abberufung; Geschlechterkonflikt; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Reliabilität
Abstract	Do adolescents remember imaginary companions (ICs) from early childhood? Researchers interviewed 46 adolescent participants in a prospective longitudinal study about their ICs from early childhood (age 5 1/2). The existence of one or more ICs was documented in early childhood for 48% of children (G. Trionfi & E. Reese, 2009). At age 16, most adolescents had forgotten their early childhood ICs: Only 5 of the 23 participants who had early childhood ICs recalled those ICs later. Eight participants who had forgotten their early childhood ICs recalled a later IC, and four participants who did not have an IC at age 5 ½ reported one by age 16. Ten of the 23 participants who had early childhood ICs claimed never to have had an IC. Girls were more likely to recall their early childhood ICs. Retrospective reports of ICs in adolescence or later life may be unreliable for investigating differences between those with and without imaginary companions. Those with ICs may not be a homogenous group, with some creating ICs throughout childhood and some desisting from this behavior in early childhood. Findings indicate that both the remembering and forgetting of ICs has potential to illuminate cognitive and creative processes surrounding both memory and imagination. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01