Agent Perception in Children with and Without Imaginary Companions

Abstract

This study examined whether children with and without imaginary companions differed in their attributions of agency to inanimate objects. In Study 1, preschool children were shown animation movies in which two geometric figures moved with systematic interaction or randomly. Then, children were asked about biological, emotional and cognitive properties of the figures. The results revealed that children with imaginary companions were more likely to attribute biological properties to the geometric figures that moved randomly compared to children without imaginary companions, but children with and without imaginary companions did not differ in their attributions of cognitive and emotional properties. In Study 2, children were asked about the biological, psychological and perceptual properties of a puppet and a human. Results showed that children with and without imaginary companions did not show the differences in the biological and psychological attributions. Results are discussed in terms of children's agent perception systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mind perception of God in Japanese children

“…These results indicated that children attributed more mental capacities to a human compared to a puppet and a ball, which was consistent with previous studies (Jipson & Gelman, ; Moriguchi et al, ). We also showed that children's attributions might differ according to mental capacity.…”

“…The pilot study assessed the validity of the questions used in the main study. We used a human (a female adult we referred to as “a lady”), a bear puppet and a ball as agents because previous studies have shown that children can attribute numerous, some and no psychological properties, respectively, to these items (Jipson & Gelman, ; Moriguchi et al, ; Moriguchi & Shinohara, ). We employed some of the 18 questions devised by Gray et al () where 11 questions were for assessing experience and 7 questions were for assessing agency.…”

“…Moreover, we also included an invisible person as an additional agent to assess whether children treat God in the same way as they do an invisible person. It is well known that preschool children enjoy interacting with invisible friends or imaginary companions (Gleason & Kalpidou, ; Moriguchi, Shinohara, & Ishibashi, ; Moriguchi & Todo, ; Taylor, ). Furthermore, some researchers have investigated whether God is a form of imaginary companion (Boyer, ; Taylor, ).…”

Prevalence of imaginary companions in Japanese children

“…In this regard, some researchers have addressed the effect of culture on ICs (Motoshima, Shinohara, Todo, & Moriguchi, ; Taylor & Carlson, ). Specifically, research from Asia, such as Japan and China, has reported that IFs are relatively rare in Asian children, whereas POs are relatively prevalent (Lin, Fu, Wan, Zhou, & Xu, ; Moriguchi, Sakata, Ishibashi, & Ishikawa, ; Moriguchi & Shinohara, ; Moriguchi, Shinohara, & Ishibashi, ; Motoshima et al, ). The sample size was relatively small (at most, N = 160), and the age range of the children was relatively narrow (e.g., 3–6 years) in previous studies.…”

Amigos imaginarios y la comprensión de las emociones aparentes en niños con edades entre los 3 y 6 años*

“…La existencia de amigos imaginarios (AI) en un número importante de niños entre los dos años y medio y los seis años, es un hecho reportado en múltiples investigaciones (e.g., Ames y Learned, 1946;Carter y Bath, 2016;Gleason, 2002;Gleason, Sebanc y Hartup, 2000;Moriguchi, Shinohara y Ishibashi, 2016;Moriguchi y Todo, 2019;Pearson et al, 2001;Svendsen, 1934;Taylor 1999). Varias hipótesis han surgido alrededor de la aparición de AI en los niños, pero la relación entre la existencia de éstos y la conducta social, ha sido ampliamente analizada (e.g., Gleason y Kalpidou, 2014;Lin, Fu, Wan, Zhou y Xu, 2018).…”