Imaginary friend

Caliban has a conversation with his imaginary friends in Folger Theatre's production of Shakespeare's The Tempest

Source and function

Imaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They often have elaborate personalities and behaviors. Although they may seem very real to their creators, children usually understand that their imaginary friends are not real.^[1] The first studies focusing on imaginary friends are believed to have been conducted during the 1890s.^[2]

Imaginary friends are made often in childhood, sometimes in adolescence, and rarely in adulthood. They often function as tutelaries when played with by a child.^{[citation needed]} They reveal, according to several theories of psychology, a child's anxieties, fears, goals and perceptions of the world through that child's conversations.^{[citation needed]} They are, according to some children, physically indistinguishable from real people, while others say they see their imaginary friends only in their heads, and still others cannot see the friend at all but can sense his/her presence.^{[citation needed]} Imaginary friends are more often seen as abnormal in adults, whereas quite common in children.

Few adults report having imaginary friends; however, as Eileen Kennedy-Moore points out, "Adult fiction writers often talk about their characters taking on a life of their own, which may be an analogous process to children’s invisible friends."^[3] In addition, Marjorie Taylor and colleagues have found that fiction writers are more likely than average to have had imaginary companions as children.^[4]

Research

It has been theorized that children with imaginary companions may develop language skills and retain knowledge faster than children without them, which may be because these children get more linguistic practice than their peers as a result of carrying out "conversations" with their imaginary friends.^[5]

Kutner (n.d.) reported that 65% of seven-year old children report they have had an imaginary companion at some point in their lives. He further reported:

Imaginary companions are an integral part of many children's lives. They provide comfort in times of stress, companionship when they're lonely, someone to boss around when they feel powerless, and someone to blame for the broken lamp in the living room. Most important, an imaginary companion is a tool young children use to help them make sense of the adult world.^[6]

Taylor, Carlson & Gerow (c2001: p. 190) hold that:

despite some results suggesting that children with imaginary companions might be superior in intelligence, it is not true that all intelligent children create them.^[7]

Some psychologists have suggested that older children may retain but stop speaking about imaginary friends due to adult expectations and peer pressure.^{[citation needed]}

Pediatrician Benjamin Spock believed that imaginary friends past age four indicated that something was "lacking" in the child or his environment. Some child development professionals believe that the presence of imaginary friends past early childhood signals a serious psychiatric disorder.^[8][9] Some have theorized that children who hold on to imaginary friends past school-age are stigmatized.^{[citation needed]}

Other professionals feel that imaginary friends are common among school-age children and are part of normal social-cognitive development.^[10]

Marjorie Taylor identified middle school children with imaginary friends and followed up six years later as they were completing high school. At follow-up, those who had imaginary friends in middle school displayed better coping strategies but a "low social preference for peers." She suggested that imaginary friends may directly benefit children's resiliency and positive adjustment.^[11]

Famous imaginary friends

In movies

• Wilson, imaginary friend of Chuck Nolland in Cast Away.
• Tony, imaginary friend of Danny in The Shining.
• Charles Herman, imaginary friend of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind.
• Captain Howdy, imaginary friend of Regan McNeil in The Exorcist.
• Ivan, imaginary friend of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist.
• Fred, imaginary friend of Elizabeth Cronin in Drop Dead Fred.
• Tyler Durden, imaginary friend of the unnamed narrator in Fight Club.
• Harvey, imaginary friend of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey

In Other Media

• Bloo and many of the characters from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
• Hobbes, imaginary friend of Calvin in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.
• Plank, imaginary friend of Johnny 2x4 in Ed, Edd n Eddy.
• Marc Imran and Elle Maya friends of Hareez, in Real Life.
• Elizabeth's (Stephanie Berrington) imaginary friend Gretchen in Father Goose.

See also

• Paracosm
• Imagination
• Tulpa
• Bicameralism

References

Further reading

• Dierker, L. C., Davis, K. F., & Sanders, B. (1995). 'The imaginary companion phenomenon: An analysis of personality correlates and developmental antecedents.' Dissociation: The Official Journal of the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation, 8, 220–228.
• Gleason, T. (2002). 'Social provisions of real and imaginary relationships in early childhood.' Developmental Psychology, 38, 979–992.
• Gleason, T. (2004). 'Imaginary companions: An evaluation of parents as reporters.' Infant and Child Development, 13, 199-215.
• Gleason, T. (2009). 'Imaginary companions.' In Harry T. Reis & Susan Sprecher (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relationships (pp. 833–834). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Gleason, T., Sebanc, A., & Hartup, W. (2000). 'Imaginary companions of preschool children.' Developmental Psychology, 36, 419–428.
• Hall, E. (1982). 'The fearful child's hidden talents [Interview with Jerome Kagan].' Psychology Today, 16 (July), 50–59.
• Hurlock, E., & Burstein, M. (1932). 'The imaginary playmate: A questionnaire study.' Journal of Genetic Psychology, 41, 380–392.
• Manosevitz, M., Fling, S., & Prentice, N. (1977). 'Imaginary companions in young children: Relationships with intelligence, creativity and waiting ability.' Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18, 73–78.
• Manosevitz, M., Prentice, N., & Wilson, F. (1973). 'Individual and family correlates of imaginary companions in preschool children.' Developmental Psychology, 8, 72–79.
• Mauro, J. (1991). 'The friend that only I can see: A longitudinal investigation of children's imaginary companions' (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon, Eugene, 1991). Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, 4995.
• Meyer, J., & Tuber, S. (1989). 'Intrapsychic and behavioral correlates of the phenomenon of imaginary companions in young children.' Psychoanalytic Psychology, 6(2), 151–168.
• Nagera, H. (1969). 'The imaginary companion: Its significance for ego development and conflict solution.' Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 24, 165–195.
• Partington, J., & Grant, C. (1984). 'Imaginary playmates and other useful fantasies.' In P. Smith (Ed.), Play in animals and humans (pp. 217–240). New York: Basil Blackwell.
• Imaginary Friends with Dr Evan Kidd podcast interview with Dr Evan Kidd of La Trobe University