Invisible friends (also known as pretending friends or invisible friends ) is a psychological and social phenomenon in which friendships or other interpersonal relationships occur in imagination rather than external physical reality. Although they seem real to their creators, children usually understand that their imaginary friends are not real. The first study focusing on imaginary friends is believed to have been done during the 1890s. There is little information about the development and appearance of imaginary friends in children. However, Klausen and Passman (2007) reported that imaginary friends were originally portrayed as supernatural beings and spirits that were thought to link people to their past lives. Adults in the early days of history had entities like house gods and guardian angels, and thoughtfuls who served as imaginary friends to provide comfort, guidance and inspiration for creative work. Finally the phenomenon of imaginary friends bequeathed to the children. The era when children begin to have imaginary friends is unknown, but it is possible that the phenomenon arose in the mid-20th century when childhood was emphasized as an important time to play and to imagine.
Video Imaginary friend
Description
In some studies, imaginary friends are defined as children who imitate certain characters (imagined by them), or objects or toys that are personified. However, some psychologists will define imaginary friends only as separate created characters. Imaginary friends or imaginary friends can be human, but they can also take on other characters such as animals or other abstract ideas such as ghosts, monsters, or angels. These characters can be created anytime during a lifetime, although Western culture shows that they are most acceptable in preschool and school-aged children. They often function as bodyguards when played by a child. They reveal, according to some psychological theories, children's anxieties, fears, goals and world perceptions through the child's conversation. They, according to some children, are physically indistinguishable from real people, while others say they see their imaginary friends only in their heads, and others can not see friends at all but can sense their presence. Most studies agree that girls are more likely than boys to develop imaginary friends. Previous studies agree that boys are more likely to participate in fantasy games, and they combine superhero themes and adventures in their fantasy games, while most girls play in play and play home. As children reach school age, boys and girls are equally likely to have imaginary friends. Research often reiterates that there is no particular "type" of the child who creates imaginary friends.
Research has shown that imaginary friends are a normative part of childhood and even adulthood. And some psychologists suggest that imaginary friends are much like the fictional characters created by a writer. As Eileen Kennedy-Moore points out, "Adult fiction writers often talk about the character of those who take their own lives, which may be a process similar to the children's invisible friends." In addition, Marjorie Taylor and colleagues have found that fiction writers are more likely than average to have imaginary friends as children.
There is a difference between a common imagination companion created by many children, and an imaginary friend of psychopathology. Often when there is psychological disturbance, and imaginary friends are present, the creator believes that this companion is real, and does not distinguish between real and imagined.
Imaginary friends or friends can serve a variety of functions. Playing with imaginary friends allows children to validate behaviors and events that they have not yet experienced. Imaginary play allows children to use their imagination to build world knowledge. In addition, imaginary friends can also fulfill the innate desire of children to connect with others before actually playing among peers is a common thing. According to psychologist Lev Vygotsky, cultural tools and interactions with people mediate psychological functions and cognitive development. Imaginary friends, who are regarded as real beings, can teach children how to interact with others along with many other social skills. Vygotsky's sociocultural view of child development involves the notion of a "child-proximal development zone", which is the difference between what children can do with and without help. Imaginary friends can help children learn about things that the world can not learn without help, such as appropriate social behavior, and thus can act as scaffolding for children to achieve little above their social abilities.
In addition, imaginary companions also serve as a means for children to experiment with and explore the world. In this sense, imaginary friends also relate to the developmental theory of Piaget's child because they are fully constructed by the child. According to Piaget, children are scientific problem solvers who build their own experiences and build internal mental structures based on experiments. Creation and interaction with imaginary friends helps children build such mental structures. The relationship between a child and their imaginary friend can serve as a catalyst for the formation of a real relationship in later development and thereby provide a prelude to the practice of real-life interaction.
Maps Imaginary friend
Research
It has been theorized that children with imaginary friends can develop language skills and retain knowledge faster than children without them, which may be because these children are getting more linguistic practice than their peers as a result of having "conversations" with friends - their imaginary friends.
Kutner (n.d.) reports that 65% of 7-year-olds report they have had imaginary friends at some point in their lives. He further reports:
Imaginary friends are an integral part of many children's lives. They provide comfort in times of stress, friendship when they are lonely, someone to rule when they feel helpless, and someone to blame for a broken lamp in the living room. Most importantly, imaginary friends are tools that young people use to help them understand the world of adults.
Taylor, Carlson & amp; Gerow (c2001: p.Ã, 190) argues that:
Apart from some results that show that children with imaginary friends may be superior in intelligence, it is not true that all intelligent children create them.
If imaginary friends can provide assistance to children in developing their social skills, they must serve as an important role in the lives of children. Hoff (2004 - 2005) is interested in knowing the roles and functions of imaginary friends and how they affect the lives of children. The results of his studies have provided some significant insight into the role of imaginary friends. Many children report their imaginary friends as a source of comfort in times of boredom and saturation. Another interesting result is that imaginary friends are assigned to mentors for children in their academics. They encourage, motivate, and increase the self-esteem of children when they succeed in school. Finally, imaginary friends are reported as moral guidelines for children. Many of the children reported that their imaginary friends serve as conscience and help them make the right decisions at a time when morality is questioned.
Other professionals like Marjorie Taylor feel a common imaginary friend among school-aged children and are part of normal cognitive social development. Part of the reason people believe that children let go of imaginary friends earlier than is observed is related to Piaget's cognitive developmental stage. Piaget suggests that imaginary friends disappear as soon as the children enter concrete concrete operational stages. Marjorie Taylor identified high school kids with imaginary friends and followed up six years later as they finished high school. In the follow-up period, those with imaginary friends in high school showed better coping strategies but "low social preference for peers". He suggests that imaginary friends can directly benefit children's resilience and positive adjustments. Because the imagination of playing with characters involves the child often imagining how other people (or characters) will act, research has been done to determine whether having imaginary companion has a positive effect on the development of mind theory. In previous research, Taylor & amp; Carlson (1997) found that 4-year-olds with imaginary friends scored higher on emotional understanding steps and that having a theory of mind predicts a higher emotional understanding later on. As children develop an awareness that others have different thoughts and beliefs besides themselves, they can grow in the development of the theory of mind as they begin to have a better understanding of emotions.
Positive psychology
The article, "Pretending to play and positive psychology: the natural companions" defines many of the great tools seen in children involved in mock play. These five areas include creativity, coping, emotional regulation, empathy/understanding and emotional expectations. Hope seems to be a tool that children use in motivation. Children become more motivated when they believe in themselves, therefore children will not be discouraged to come up with different ways of thinking because they will have confidence. Imaginary friendships feature amazing creativity that helps them develop their social and creativity skills that are often discussed among positive psychology.
An imaginary friend can be considered a product of child creativity while communication between imaginary friends and the child is considered a process.
Teen
"An imaginary companion in adolescence: signs of poor or positive development?" explore the extent to which teenagers make imaginary friends. The researchers explored the prevalence of imaginary companions in adolescence by investigating diaries of adolescents aged 12-17. In addition they see the characteristics of this imaginary companion and analyze the contents of the data obtained in the diary. There are three hypotheses tested: (1) deficit hypothesis, (2) giftedness hypothesis, (3) hypothesis egocentrism. Their results conclude that creative and socially capable teens with good coping skills are particularly vulnerable to the creation of these imaginary friends. These findings do not support the hypothesis of deficits or the hypothesis of egocentrism, further indicating that these imaginary friends were not created in order to replace or replace family members or true friends, but they only created other "special friends". This is surprising because it is usually assumed that children who make imaginary friends have deficits in some ways, and in addition to a teenager to have imaginary friends are unheard of.
Tulpa
Following the popularization and secularization of the concept of tulpa in the Western world, for example in the 1999 episode X-Files "Arcadia" and the Supernatural 2006 "Hell House" episode, the internet subculture of practitioners made an imaginary friend called a tulpas. These practitioners, calling themselves "tulpamancers", belong to "mainly urban, middle-class, teen-European demographics and young adult demographics" and they "quote social loneliness and anxiety as an incentive to take practice." They report improvements in their personal lives through training, and an unusual new sensory experience. Practitioners use tulpa for sexual and romantic interactions, although this exercise is considered taboo. A community survey with 118 respondents on explanation of tulpas found 8.5% supporting metaphysical explanations, 76.5% favoring neurological or psychological explanations, and 14% "other" explanations. Almost all practitioners regard tulpa as a real or somewhat real person. The number of active participants in this online community is in the hundreds of low, and several meetings have taken place personally.
Birth order
To uncover the origins of imaginary friends and learn more about the children who created them, it is necessary to look for children who have made imaginary friends. Unfortunately young people can not accurately report themselves, therefore the most effective way to gather information about their children and imaginary friends is by interviewing people who spend most of their time with them. Often the mother is the primary caregiver who spends the most time with a child. Therefore, for this study 78 mothers were interviewed and asked if their child had imaginary friends. If the mother reveals that their child has no imaginary friends then the researcher asks about the child's tendency to personify the object.
To convey the meaning of objects personified, the researchers explained to the mothers that it is common for children to choose toys or objects that they like or like. For objects that qualify as a personified object, the child must treat it as animated. Furthermore, it is necessary to reveal what children consider to be imaginary friends or pretend to play. To distinguish a child who has or does not have imaginary friends, the friend must be there for at least one month. To test the significance of the development of preschoolers and their imaginary friends, mothers of children were interviewed. The main conclusion of this study is that there is a significant difference between invisible friends and personified objects.
A significant finding in this study was the role of the birth order of children in the family in terms of having imaginary companions or not. The results of interviews with mothers indicate that children with imaginary friends are more likely to be the firstborn compared to children who have no imaginary friends at all. This study further supports that children can make imaginary friends to work on social development. The finding that the eldest son is more likely to have imaginary friends gives a bit of light to the idea that children need to socialize because they are creating imaginary friends to develop their social skills. This is a very creative way for children to develop their social and creativity skills that are often talked about among positive psychology. An imaginary friend can be considered a product of creativity while communication between imaginary friends and children is the process.
In terms of birth order there is also research on children who have no siblings at all. Research in this field further investigates the idea that children make imaginary friends in the absence of peer relationships. A study examining differences in frequency of self-talk as a function of age, just-childhood, and imaginary childhood companion status provides much insight into the commonalties of children with imaginary friends. The researchers collected information from students who were asked if they ever had imaginary friends as a child (Brinthaupt & Dove, 2012). There were three studies in one study and they found that there were significant differences in self-talk between different age groups.
Their first study showed that only children who make imaginary friends who actually engage in positive self-talk have more positive social developments. They also found sex differences in their study that women are more likely than men to have imaginary friends. Their findings are consistent with other research that supports that it is more common for women to have imaginary friends. One possible explanation is that researchers suggest that women may be more likely to have imaginary friends because they are more likely to rely on feedback than aside from themselves in favor of the conclusion that men are found to have self-talk self-reinforcing.
Furthermore, other studies have concluded that women seek social support more than men, which could be another possibility to create this imaginary friend. The second study found that children without siblings reported more self-talk than children with siblings and a third study found that students who reported having imaginary friends also reported more talk than other students who did not have imaginary friends. Self-talk is often associated with negative effects such as increased anxiety and depression when self-talk is particularly negative. The researchers found that "Individuals with higher levels of social assessment and critical self-talk reported lower self-esteem and more frequent automatic negative self-statements".
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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