Thinking about Fantasy: Are Children Fundamentally Different Thinkers and Believers from Adults?

Young children are often viewed as being unable to differentiate fantasy from reality. This article reviews research on both children's and adults beliefs about' fantasy as well as their tendency to engage in what is thought of as "magical thinking." It is suggested that children are not fundamentally different from adults in their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality: Both children and adults entertain fantastical beliefs and also engage in magical thinking. Suggestions are offered as to how children and adults may differ in this domain, and an agenda for future research is offered.     

"I got some swords and you're dead!": violent fantasy, antisocial behavior, friendship, and moral sensibility in young children

Relations between an early interest in violent fantasy and children's social understanding, antisocial and emotional behavior, and interactions with friends were investigated in 40 "hard-to-manage" preschoolers and 40 control children matched for gender, age, and school and ethnic background. Children were filmed alone in a room with a friend, and tested on a battery of cognitive tests, including false-belief, executive function, and emotion understanding tasks. Teachers reported on their friendship quality. At age 6 years, the children's understanding of the emotional consequences of antisocial and prosocial actions was studied. The hard-to-manage group showed higher rates of violent fantasy; across both groups combined, violent fantasy was related to poor executive control and language ability, frequent antisocial behavior, displays of anger and refusal to help a friend, poor communication and coordination of play, more conflict with a friend, and less empathic moral sensibility 2 years later. The usefulness of a focus on the content of children's pretend play-in particular, violent fantasy-as a window on children's preoccupations is considered.     

Sex differences in children's expression and control of fantasy and overt aggression.

The present study explored sex differences in children's expression and control of fantasy and overt aggression. Fifth-grade boys and girls were presented a TAT-like projective test to measure fantasy aggression and controls over aggression. Overt peer-oriented aggression was measured by peer and teacher ratings. Results indicated that boys were rated more physically and verbally aggressive than girls but not more indirectly aggressive. Boys also produced more physical aggression in fantasy than girls, although the opposite trend was found for indirect aggression; no sex difference was found for verbal fantasy aggression. Finally, girls had a higher ratio of aggression control per total fantasy aggression than boys. The results support the position that while boys, in contrast to girls, are socialized in a way that encourage direct expression of aggression, girls are just as likely to be aggressive as boys when the aggression is indirect. The results are discussed further from the perspective of social learning theory and Maccoby and Jacklin's biological position.     

论张天翼儿童文学“新奇的”叙事姿态——以长篇童话《大林和小林》为例

张天翼的《大林和小林》,是中国长篇童话的开山之作。他的＂新奇的＂叙事姿态,奠定了其作为中国儿童文学拓荒者的卓越地位。这种＂新奇的＂叙事姿态主要表现,一是儿童文学＂有益、有趣＂的创作标准,二是幻想里折射出的斑斓人生,三是幻想中闪现出的独创光彩,其间的思想与智慧带给小读者独特的艺术审美享受。     

打开现实与幻想之门——舒比格童话

瑞士作家舒比格的童话以其毫无羁绊的想象、独特的叙述方式、自然、稚拙的语言,表现着儿童的精神世界,打开了现实生活和幻想之间的大门。该文结合两部具体作品《当世界年纪还小的时候》、《大海在哪里》,从儿童思维、儿童心理的角度,探讨了舒比格童话的创作特点、美学特征及情感内涵。     

The Relation between Individual Differences in Fantasy and Theory of Mind

The relation between early fantasy/pretense and children's knowledge about mental life was examined in a study of 152 3- and 4-year-old boys and girls. Children were interviewed about their fantasy lives (e.g., imaginary companions, impersonation of imagined characters) and were given tasks assessing their level of pretend play and verbal intelligence. In a second session 1 week later, children were given a series of theory of mind tasks, including measures of appearance-reality, false belief, representational change, and perspective taking. The theory of mind tasks were significantly intercorrelated with the effects of verbal intelligence and age statistically controlled. Individual differences in fantasy/pretense were assessed by (1) identifying children who created imaginary characters, and (2) extracting factor scores from a combination of interview and behavioral measures. Each of these fantasy assessments was significantly related to the theory of mind performance of the 4-year-old children, independent of verbal intelligence.     

Preschool child development: implications for investigation of child abuse allegations

Allegations of mistreatment by adults made by children of preschool age are often dismissed as fictitious with the suggestion that children of this age are prone to fantasy and unable to discriminate fact from fiction. This paper is intended to familiarize those with a general concern about child abuse with the research and theories in child development. Specifically, it reviews those aspects of normal child development which have direct relevance to the question of the veracity of reports made by children ages 2 to 5 years. Examination of the research on children's thought and language, memory and learning, fears, fantasy, and play, as well as the research on the influence of television on children of this age, led to the conclusion that preschoolers base their play on the reality of their experience.     

儿童舞蹈教学初探

在儿童舞蹈教学中要强调摹拟性,突出趣味性,重视知识性,融入幻想性,贯穿快乐性,并将这五者结合为有机的整体,以求得完善的教学效果。     

论明清小说批评中以幻生奇的审美观念

随着幻想类小说创作手法的日臻成熟,以幻生奇成为明清小说批评话语系统中重要的审美观念。明清小说批评家指出,以幻生奇是幻想类小说的艺术特质,体现出创作者自觉的艺术追求。实现幻笔之奇的艺术手法集中体现于塑造奇异的人物形象、构织离奇的故事情节、营造奇谲的神幻场景三个重要层面。幻想类小说审美意蕴的实现体现在创作与欣赏的双向互动过程中。小说批评家对以幻生奇的审美意蕴的多维思考,增强了幻奇审美观念的理论深度,丰富了小说批评中的"幻"审美理论体系。     

论童话中的幻想美

童话是一种非写实的以幻想精神作为主要审美手段的文学品种。幻想在童话中起着举足轻重的作用,但童话中的幻想也同其他文学体裁一样是植根于现实生活的基础上,它追求的是一种“超自然”的艺术真实,能够丰富和提高少年儿童的幻想力。因此,其美学价值也是不可低估的。     

A Test of Gottfredson's Theory Using a Ten-Year Longitudinal Study

Occupational aspirations of a longitudinal sample of students were examined over a ten-year time period, from second to twelfth grade. Hypotheses from Gottfredson's theory of career development (1981, 1996) and from social learning theory (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994) were examined. The social value of children's occupational aspirations increased into the early high school years and started to fall by their senior year in high school when internal, unique personal factors were more evident in occupational aspirations as Gottfredson would predict. Through eighth grade, about 40 percent of boys and up to 20 percent of girls held occupational aspirations that could be classified as fantasy. Social learning theory suggests that children would relinquish fantasy occupational aspirations with age because of self-awareness and knowledge of the world of work. This change was evident as a significant shift toward more realistic occupational aspirations occurred during the late high school years.     

Preschoolers' quarantining of fantasy stories

Preschool‐aged children are exposed to fantasy stories with the expectation that they will learn messages in those stories that are applied to real‐world situations. We examined children’s transfer from fantastical and real stories. Over the course of 2 studies, 3½‐ to 5½‐year‐old children were less likely to transfer problem solutions from stories about fantasy characters than stories about real people. A combined analysis of the participants in the 2 studies revealed that the factors predicting transfer differed for the fantasy and real stories. These findings are discussed within the context of their implications for preschoolers’ developing boundaries between fantasy and real worlds.     

Community violence exposure, social cognition, and aggression among urban elementary school children

The effects of witnessing community violence on aggressive cognitions and behavior were investigated in an ethnically diverse sample of 4,458 children living in urban neighborhoods. Prior violence exposure had a significant effect in increasing aggression, normative beliefs about aggression, and aggressive fantasy. Although exposure to violence predicted aggressive behavior both in Grades 1 through 3 (ages 5-8) and Grades 4 through 6 (ages 9-12), the effects on social cognition were only evident in the later grades. Furthermore, the effect of violence exposure on aggression in the later grades was partially mediated by its effect on social cognition. These findings suggest that witnessing community violence has an effect on children's aggressive behavior through both imitation of violence and the development of associated cognitions as children get older.     

想象爱情:文学修辞的意识形态介入——修辞策略和20世纪中国文学类型史之一

文学作品的爱情书写,本质上是一种爱情想象。从历时的角度看,20世纪中国文学史上的爱情想象有过几次大的修辞策略调整:主流意识形态的革命想象→收缩爱情想象空间→关闭爱情想象空间→爱情想象的意识形态突围,分析这种调整的深层规约,可以反观文学修辞中意识形态介入的力度。     

Private speech in two preschools: Significance of open-ended activities and make-believe play for verbal self-regulation

Contextual influences on private speech were examined in two preschools differing in the learning environments they provide for children. Observations of 3- to 5-year-olds were made during free-choice periods in a Montessori and a traditional (play-oriented) program. Consistent with Vygotsky's theory that make-believe play serves as a vital context for the development of self-regulation, the incidence of private speech was much higher during open-ended activities, especially fantasy play, that require children to determine the goal of the task, than during closed-ended tasks with predetermined goals. In line with previous research, the more direct involvement, or external regulation, teachers displayed, the lower the rate of children's private speech. In addition, transitions (as opposed to involvement in activities) were linked to reduced private speech, whereas engagement with peers, in the form of associative play, predicted greater self-directed language. Diminished make-believe play, greater teacher direct involvement, and heightened time spent in transitions largely accounted for the lower incidence of private speech in the Montessori compared with the traditional preschool. Contextual factors also contributed to a drop in private speech at age 5. Implications for fostering children's verbal self-regulation during early childhood are considered.     

An Interview with Fiona French

In this interview Fiona French discusses her work and career with David Lewis. She describes early influences and stresses her lifelong love of colour and pattern. Amongst other themes she considers the factual basis of most of her books and her lack of interest in fantasy; her preference for clear, simple prose; her constant shifts in style and approach and the increasing freedom of expression she has developed over a long career. David Lewis has been a primary school teacher, educational researcher and teacher trainer. He has written numerous articles on children's picturebooks and is the author of Reading Contemporary Picturebooks: Picturing Text. He is a member of the UK editorial board of Children's Literature in Education.     

Empathy among students in engineering programmes

Engineers face challenges when they are to manage project groups and be leaders for organisations because such positions demand skills in social competence and empathy. Previous studies have shown that engineers have low degrees of social competence skills. In this study, the level of empathy as measured by the four subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective taking, fantasy, empathic distress and empathic concern, among engineering students was compared to students in health care profession programmes. Participants were undergraduate students at Linköping University, 365 students from four different health care profession programmes and 115 students from two different engineering programmes. When the empathy measures were corrected for effects of sex, engineering students from one of the programmes had lower empathy than psychology and social worker students on the fantasy and perspective-taking subscales. These results raise questions regarding opportunities for engineering students to develop their empathic abilities. It is important that engineering students acquire both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills regarding empathy.     

民间童谣在当代儿童教育中的传承策略研究

民间童谣是传统文化的重要组成部分,曾给予一代又一代儿童独特的教育.然而当代儿童对民间童谣的理解和接受程度不容乐观,这与当代儿童对地方方言、家乡文化的疏远以及来自教育和社会各方面的职责缺失有着密切的关系.建议家庭、学校和社区教育必须相互配合,相互促进,为当代儿童民间童谣的学习、传承创造良好的环境和氛围.     

Seeing Is Believing: Children's Explanations of Commonplace, Magical, and Extraordinary Transformations

Children's magical explanations and beliefs were investigated in 2 studies. In Study 1, we first asked 4- and 5-year-old children to judge the possibility of certain object transformations and to suggest mechanisms that might accomplish them. We then presented several commonplace transformations (e.g., cutting a string) and impossible events (magic tricks). Prior to viewing these transformations, children suggested predominantly physical mechanisms for the events and judged the magical ones to be impossible. After seeing the impossible events, many 4-year-olds explained them as "magic," whereas 5-year-olds explained them as "tricks." In Study 2, we replaced the magic tricks with "extraordinary" events brought about by physical or chemical reactions (e.g., heat causing paint on a toy car to change color). Prior to viewing the "extraordinary" transformations, children judged them to be impossible. After viewing these events, 4-year-olds gave more magical and fewer physical explanations than did 5-year-olds. Follow-up interviews revealed that most 4-year-olds viewed magic as possible under the control of an agent (magician) with special powers, whereas most 5-year-olds viewed magic as tricks that anyone can learn. In a third study, we surveyed parents to assess their perceptions and conceptions of children's beliefs in magic and fantasy figures. Parents perceived their children as believing in a number of magic and fantasy figures and reported encouraging such beliefs to some degree. Taken together, these findings suggest that many 4-year-olds view magic as a plausible mechanism, yet reserve magical explanations for certain real world events which violate their causal expectations.     

THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRAINING RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN THE PRESENT AGE

This analysis of the works of Bettelheim finds three areas of intersection with religious education: identity formation, moral education, and the role of fantasy and ritual. Bettelheim's theory of identity formation came from reflection on his personal experience as a concentration camp survivor. He claimed that prisoners in the camps lost their identity. He sought to inversely foster identity formation in autistic children by creating an environment that built autonomy as opposed to the environment of the camps. His studies on the role of the environment in the formation of selfhood lead to conclusions on identity formation in religious education. Bettelheim critiqued moral education and advocated the teaching of morality by example. Morality should not be imposed as a system of rules, but should follow from love. This paper identifies how Bettelheim's explanation of the ways in which fantasy works to facilitate the formation of the self through meaning attainment is important for religious education.