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Research Article
Open Access

Children with Imaginary Companions Focus on Mental Characteristics When Describing Their Real‐Life Friends

Paige E. Davis

Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK

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Elizabeth Meins

Corresponding Author

Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK

Correspondence to: Elizabeth Meins, Department of Psychology, University of York, York 5O10 5DD, UK.

E‐mail: elizabeth.meins@york.ac.uk

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Charles Fernyhough

Department of Psychology, Durham University, Durham, UK

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First published: 13 May 2014
Cited by: 4

Abstract

Relations between having an imaginary companion (IC) and (i) descriptions of a real‐life friend, (ii) theory of mind performance, and (iii) reported prosocial behaviour and behavioural difficulties were investigated in a sample of 5‐year‐olds (N = 159). Children who had an IC were more likely than their peers without an IC to describe their best friends with reference to their mental characteristics, but IC status was unrelated to children's theory of mind performance and reported prosocial behaviour and behavioural difficulties. These findings are discussed in the context of the proposal that there is a competence–performance gap in children's mentalizing abilities. © 2014 The Authors. Infant and Child Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Number of times cited: 4

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  • , Goal Attribution toward Non-Human Objects during Infancy Predicts Imaginary Companion Status during Preschool Years, Frontiers in Psychology, 7, (2016).
  • , Imaginary Companions in Childhood: Relations to Imagination Skills and Autobiographical Memory in Adults, Creativity Research Journal, 27, 4, (308), (2015).