儿童的假想伙伴:理论与实证研究

假想伙伴是在儿童生活中普遍存在的现象,研究者发现拥有假想伙伴的儿童约占52%至65%左右。尽管早在上世纪初就存在相关研究,但是直到近二十年它才获得众多学者关注,成为一个新兴领域。本文总结介绍了假想伙伴的早期背景,以及在理论与实证研究中取得的多方面成果,并且对该领域未来研究的发展方向提出了展望。     

儿童假装游戏中假想角色现象初探

通过对145名4~5岁儿童进行结构式访谈,调查幼儿假装游戏中假想角色现象的概况,包括假想同伴和角色扮演现象。结果如下:42.7%的儿童有假想同伴,绝大多数是玩具形式,女孩更多有假想同伴;男孩倾向于选择动物类型的假想同伴,而女孩倾向于人物类型;假想同伴绝大多为同性别并且比自己年龄小。44.8%的儿童有角色扮演活动,其中男孩倾向于装扮动画中的英雄人物,女孩倾向于装扮现实人物。     

"我永远不会去天堂"——亚伯拉罕·林肯的宗教怀疑主义

本文通过亚伯拉罕·林肯的家人、亲属、邻居、朋友及政治伙伴等不同人的回忆和口述,呈现出了林肯个人在生活中和政治生涯中对于宗教信仰所持的怀疑的态度和做法,勾勒出林肯作为一个非宗教信仰者的人生轨迹.     

"郑和下西洋"现象的文化解读

人类历史是由一组组现象构成的,而任何一个影响深远的历史现象实质上都是一种文化现象.郑和下西洋作为一个对世界航海史产生重大影响的历史现象,包含着经济、政治、文化、外交、贸易、航海等丰富的内涵.郑和以一种积极进取的精神,不畏艰难险阻,创造了七次率领庞大的远洋船队下西洋的奇迹,体现了一个和平友好使者的形象.然而,在国外的郑和研究中,也存在着一些诸如郑和下西洋是"侵略论"之类的"误读".通过对"郑和下西洋"现象进行文化解读,可以看出郑和远航在走向世界开展和平外交的过程中,以"共享太平之福"为宗旨,弘扬"和为贵"的精神,为传播中华文明作出了杰出的贡献.     

浅析"《梨园春》现象"

《梨园春》自1999年改版之后,就一直保持着较为理想的收视率,成为地方电视台坚持地方特色的一个成功典范,也成为一种被许多专家、学者研究和关注的现象.《梨园春》是一种文化现象.但《梨园春》文化承载的多元性和巨大的文化功能,在全国同类栏目中是极为少见的,因而被许多专家称之为"《梨园春》现象"或"新文化现象".     

"日常生活审美化"的主体问题

当代的日常生活审美化现象实际上意味着中产阶级的价值观念对整个社会的同化,也就是它自身的普泛化。把中产阶级作为日常生活审美化的主体来研究,不仅是因为目前的日常生活审美化现象是以中产阶级的价值理想为基础的,而且在可见的将来,中产阶级价值观念的普泛化也是一个难以逆转的趋势。     

伙伴选择对合作行为的影响作用与机制

伙伴选择是指个体根据其他个体能否给自己带来获益而选择或拒绝与他们建立伙伴关系的行为。伙伴选择对合作行为具有非常重要的影响, 表现为：个体只要有离开或自主选择伙伴的机会即可促进合作; 若能了解到伙伴的行为或特质层面的信息, 则可以进一步促进合作。基于目前研究, 伙伴选择主要可能通过4种具体机制促进合作行为, 即离开或拒斥的惩罚机制, 寻求合作者的奖赏机制, 分类匹配机制以及生物市场中的竞争机制。未来还需要从厘清伙伴选择的概念, 提升研究的生态效度, 深入探索其促进合作的内在机制, 尝试用伙伴选择解决伙伴控制条件下的合作问题, 以及探索中国文化背景下的伙伴选择与合作等方面开展进一步研究。     

现象学下的建筑设计

现象学是实用主义哲学,其中心论点是"直接面向和认知"。人与建筑的关系历经自创造、依附到伙伴,人对于建筑的认同感和归属感构成了建筑的发展血脉,同时建筑的现象也直接作用于人。文章进一步挖掘现象学更深层次的精神内核,并以此为背景去探索在知觉体验中能够引起观者情感共鸣的建筑品质。     

"心理品质"之我见

众所周知,心理品质是心理学概念体系中顶“半边天”的概念,动态过程和静态品质构成心理活动的两维。稳定的心理品质构成了人的个性,决定其心理发展水平。因此,正确理解心理品质直接关系对个性的培养,是一个急待要解决的问题。关于心理品质的表述,未见有争议文章,似乎已成定论,其实颇值得研讨。本文试图澄清心理品质表述中的混乱现象,旨在构建科学的心理学基本理论体系,同时企图理顺概念体系的逻辑关系,并对能力和性格培养提出有针对性的建议,帮助初学者形成良好的心理学基本理论的知识结构。     

注意瞬脱现象及其理论解释

注意瞬脱(attention blink,简称AB)现象是近年来注意研究的一个新聚焦点。文章简要介绍其发现过程,各国学者对其影响因素的初步探索,五种主要的理论解释和研究注意瞬脱现象的意义,并展望其研究之未来。     

Imaginary companions of preschool children

The developmental significance of preschool children's imaginary companions was examined. Mothers of 78 children were interviewed about their children's social environments and imaginary companions (if their children had them). Results revealed differences between invisible companions and personified objects (e.g., stuffed animals or dolls) in terms of the pretend friends' stability and ubiquity, identity, and relationship with the child. Relationships with invisible companions were mostly described as sociable and friendly, whereas personified objects were usually nurtured. Mothers reported that personification of objects frequently occurred as a result of acquiring a toy, whereas invisible friends were often viewed as fulfilling a need for a relationship. Compared to children without imaginary companions, children with imaginary companions were more likely to be firstborn and only children.     

Social provisions of real and imaginary relationships in early childhood

Preschool-aged children's perceptions of their social relationships were examined, including those with parents, best friends, siblings, and imaginary companions. Sixty 4-year-old children participated in an interview designed to measure perceptions of the degree of conflict, nurturance, instrumental help, and power available in their relationships. Three groups were compared: children with (a) invisible friends, (b) companions who were personified objects (e.g., dolls), and (c) no imaginary companion. Results indicated that children differentiated the relationships in their social networks according to provisions. Parent-child relationships afforded instrumental help and siblings were associated with conflict. Provisions of real and imaginary friendships were similar, although imaginary friends were preferred as objects of nurturance. Results imply that 4-year-old children have developed differentiated relationship schemas and that those of children with invisible friends may be particularly distinct.     

Invisible friends across four countries: Kenya,Malawi, Nepal and the Dominican Republic

Cross‐cultural comparisons of the prevalence of invisible/imaginary companions are difficult due to the use of various methods of data gathering and the lack of sampling in developing countries. The present study took place among 443 children (3–8‐year‐olds) in four different countries (Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and the Dominican Republic) employing the same interview method. Among all the children 21% affirmed that they had invisible/imaginary companions at the time of the interview. But the rates between countries varied significantly from a low of 5% in Nepal to a high of 34% in the Dominican Republic. The results suggest that the potential for the phenomenon transcends cultural particularity even as culture plays an important role for supporting or discouraging invisible/imaginary companions.     

Agent Perception in Children with and Without Imaginary Companions

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.     

The characteristics and correlates of fantasy in school-age children: imaginary companions, impersonation, and social understanding

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 and how these types of role play were related to emotion understanding, self-perception, and personality. The results showed that school-age children interact with imaginary companions and impersonate imaginary characters as much as preschoolers. Overall, 65% of children up to the age of 7 had imaginary companions at some point during their lives. School-age children who did not impersonate scored lower on emotion understanding. Theory of mind at age 4 predicted emotion understanding 3 years later.     

Characteristics of preschool and school-age children with imaginary companions

The authors investigated the prevalence and characteristics of children who experience or who have experienced imaginary companions. For the study, a self-administered questionnaire that sought information regarding the characteristics of children with and without imaginary companions was completed by 478 parents of children within the age range of 3 to 9.5 years. A significantly larger number of children with imaginary companions were reported to be first-born children, to be very imaginative, to incorporate myth in their play, and to explain events as magical. Overall, these results are interpreted to indicate that birth order, combined with characteristics such as imaginativeness and a predisposition to engage in fantasy, characterizes children with imaginary companions.     

Individual differences in children’s private speech: The role of imaginary companions

Relations between children’s imaginary companion status and their engagement in private speech during free play were investigated in a socially diverse sample of 5-year-olds (N = 148). Controlling for socioeconomic status, receptive verbal ability, total number of utterances, and duration of observation, there was a main effect of imaginary companion status on type of private speech. Children who had imaginary companions were more likely to engage in covert private speech compared with their peers who did not have imaginary companions. These results suggest that the private speech of children with imaginary companions is more internalized than that of their peers who do not have imaginary companions and that social engagement with imaginary beings may fulfill a similar role to social engagement with real-life partners in the developmental progression of private speech.     

Pretend companions (imaginary playmates): the emergence of a field

Over the last century, investigation of pretend companions has developed as an emerging field. Although pretend companions are a commonplace childhood phenomenon and perhaps an epitome of children's imagination, that topic received little attention before the end of the 19th century. Only since the last decade has attention to it truly begun to burgeon. Broad developments in the history of thought and research on pretend companions fall into 6 stages: (a) early history, (b) early theory, (c) earliest empirical research, (d) midcentury lull, (e) a renewal of empirical attention, and (f) emergence into a significant field whose investigators are committed to reliable, increasingly sophisticated methods and to the examination of pretend companions within the broader context of pretend play. Following depictions of the field's past and current status, the authors present future directions for its progress.