This study represents the integration of several smaller studies and articles on how the fantasies of children between age 5 and 7 become structured by the socialization pressures of the media and the school and how this helps or hinders the growth of children's own imaginative processes. Paper 1 is a research review and theoretical overview of the character of play which addresses the relation between imagination and play and the function of play in adaptive potentiation. Papers 2-4 comprise the methodological section in which the kinds of data collection and methodology employed in this study are discussed. The section on results includes papers 5 through 15. Papers 5 and 6 present results of developmental and cross-cultural studies in which universal parameters of development in children's games are identified. Papers 7 through 12 center around systems for analyzing plot structures in children's narratives. In paper 13, results are presented from a study of age-related changes in the interrelationships within and between expressive media. Paper 14 explores developmental and sex differences in the dreams and stories of boys and girls. Paper 15 deals with the effects of media influence on storytelling. A bibliography and appendix are included. (JMB)