Past research with 152 preschoolers found that having an imaginary companion or impersonating an imaginary character was positively correlated with theory of mind performance. Three years later, 100 children from this study were retested to assess the developmental course of play with imaginary companions and impersonation of imaginary characters…

Partially replicates Elkind and Bowen's (1979) investigation of adolescent egocentrism. Studies the relations between imaginary audience and operational thought by testing children and adolescents on a Piagetian-based written test of operational thought and the Imaginary Audience Scale. (Author/AS)

Two studies examined 19 preschoolers' ability to distinguish between pretense and reality, testing whether emotionally charged events can cause children to lend probability to pretense. Subjects were assigned to various conditions including termination or no termination of pretense and emotionally colored pretense play scenarios. Found that, even…

Coping behavior was assessed for 74 children, at 2-1/2 years of age in an experimental barrier situation and at 7-1/2 years of age a novel play situation. Analyses indicate relationships between effective coping behaviors and other measures of child development in the preschool and early school-age periods. (SDH)

The social, imaginative, and self-regulatory behavior of 141 children in Head Start centers was observed before and during one of the following four experimental treatments: (a) neutral films, (b) prosocial TV only, (c) prosocial TV plus related play materials, and (d) prosocial TV plus related materials plus teacher training for rehearsal using…

This study compared perceptions of relationships with parents, best friends, siblings, and imaginary companions among 4-year-olds with invisible friends, object companions, or no imaginary companion. Findings indicated that parents afforded instrumental help, and siblings were associated with conflict. Real and imaginary friendship provisions were…

Tested the ability of 19 older adults, given additional training in a mental imagination technique, to approach the performance of 16 younger adults on serial word recall tasks. Results indicated that negative age differences in older adults' performance were substantial, resistant to extensive practice, and applicable to all subjects. (BC)