Children's Ability to Differentiate Between Real and Fantastical Entities

Therefore, the main goal of this article was to explain that children have the ability to differentiate between fantastical and real entities. Also, there are different types of fantasy/reality distinctions, and that cultural backgrounds could influence children’s fantasy/reality judgments. In terms of fantasy/reality distinctions, Taylor (1997) argued that children often recognize that their actions during pretend play, only belong to the realm of pretense—and thus, not real. However, since there are many fantasy/reality distinctions, children tend to be confused. For example, human-like fictional figures (i.e.

Rhodes, M., Gelman, S. A., & Brickman, D. (2008). Developmental changes in the consideration of sample diversity in inductive reasoning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 9, 112-143. doi: 10.1080/15248370701836626 Sloutsky, V. M. & Fisher, A. V. (2004). Induction and categorization in young children: A similarity-based model. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 133, 166-188. doi: 10.1037/0096-3445.133.2.166

The authors' noted that their research may help in understanding the problem of autistic children with imitation or ethological research concerning non-primates' imitation process. This indicates that, although the researchers' had a clear hypothesis, they did not have a clear goal as to why this study would be important to developmental psychology. Works Cited Williamson, R.A., Meltzoff, A.N., Markman, E.M. (2008). Prior experience and perceived efficacy influence 3-year-olds' imitation. Developmental Psychology, 44 (1), 275-285. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.275

The Illusion Of Independent Agency: Do Adult Fiction Writers Experience Their Characters As Having Minds Of Their Own?. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 22(4), 361-380. Taylor, M., Carlson, S. M., Maring, B. L., Gerow, L., & Charley, C. M. (2004). The Characteristics And Correlates Of Fantasy In School-Age Children: Imaginary Companions, Impersonation, And Social Understanding.. Developmental Psychology, 40(6), 1173-1187. Taylor, M., Hulette, A. C., & Dishion, T. J.

Piaget’s ideas opposed the traditional behaviourist theory; he believed that infants frequently and actively seek stimulation. Piaget’s theory is closely related to critical thinking skills, he suggested that the acquisition of a person’s knowledge is the result of interaction between the learner and the environment and so learning is facilitated by a child’s acquisition of new skills and experiences, allowing the child to progressively become more capable of critical thinking. Piaget’s theory has allowed researchers, teachers and psychologists to further understand the development in any child although it has been criticized there, Piaget’s theories on development has allowed for new experiments and testing on children’s behaviour as well as a scientific approach to how we learn.

In addition, Feinfield and colleagues stated that acquiring the ability of understanding intentions of others is also important for the cognitive development of the children such as theory of mind (ToM) that is “the understanding that others have beliefs, intentions and desires different from one’s own” (Kelly, 2011; p. 5). For these stated reasons many researchers have conducted various studies about the ability of understanding intentions of others. Several studies were carried out to determine when children begin to develop the ability of understanding intentions, which factors have an impact on this ability, how these factors influence the intention attribution and what the role of intention attribution plays for the associations between cognitive capacities and moral reasoning. One of the factors that are related to development of understanding intentions of others is theory of mind competence of the children (Kelly, 2011). Therefore, there are various researches that examined the development of understanding of intentions, its relations with ToM, direction of the relation and the role of the intention attribution as a sphere between ToM and moral judgment.

However there are certain individuals who are geared more towards a greater affinity for the imaginative and the creative. This affinity or gearing towards getting lost in fantasy or towards a high level of imagination is what is known as fantasy orientation, it is often seen as a measure of how much an individual sees themselves as discerning between reality and fantasy. Children have often observed the confusing boundary between reality and perception (Piaget 1930). Dawkins (1995) held that children don’t only confuse fantasy and perception but the tangible and intangible, drams and reality since a very young age. This influence of children’s perc... ... middle of paper ... ...Research Digest.

The aim of the research experiment is to explore the conditions under which unbiased leading questions would influence a child’s memory performance. If young children are asked unbiased leading questions, then their memory performance is going to alter the correct answer. The independent variable is age. Age is an important indicator of how children will view their environment. Age is often inextricably associated with available strategies which children may use to aid in their memory performance.

Research has shown that children may begin developing gender stereotypes as early as three years of age (Banse, Gawronski, Rebetez, Gutt, & Morton, 2010). These gender stereotypes play an important role in how children perceive and behave in the world as they influence areas including but not limited to: educational goals, peer preferences, attributions, memory, self-concept and even potential career choice. It is important to understand what factors promote the development of these stereotypes. The present study specifically seeks to determine if physical salience is one of those factors that facilitate the development of gender stereotypes. The developmental intergroup theory suggests that by regulating the salience in a particular group in the environment, children’s stereotype... ... middle of paper ... ...1/j.1467-8624.2010.01511.x Penny, H., & Haddock, G. (2007).

This essay will define the nature of deception in children by considering how children understand and use deception, while also discussing how children develop deceptive skills, and explain how various factors influence their actual deceptive behaviour. In addition, this essay will also explore the ability of adults to detect deceptive behaviour in children and will further comment on how the credibility of the