Imaginary Friends and the People Who Create Them

Do you have children who create imaginary friends? Did you create imaginary friends as a child? In this expanded second edition, Marjorie Taylor and Naomi R. Aguiar provide an update on the research into imaginary friends that has taken place in the past twenty-five years. Imaginary Friends and the People Who Create Them explores how imaginary friends function in the lives of both children and adults, with rich descriptions and illustrations, and delves into the research on related phenomena, such as imaginary worlds, relationships with media characters, and the creation of characters in fiction writing. Featuring exclusive interviews with well-known fiction writers, including Philip Pullman, Sue Grafton, and Ursula Hegi, this book considers how imaginary friends are related to the development of creativity, social understanding, and the fantasy/reality distinction. It also looks ahead to address the future of research on imaginary friends, including relationships with artificially intelligent systems and the role of imaginary friends in coping with trauma, while dispelling the myths that surround the concept of imaginary friends and those who create them. If you have a child who creates imaginary friends, had an imaginary friend yourself as a child, or indeed still do, you will find this updated edition very helpful in understanding the role imaginary friends play in the lives of children and adults alike.

1 - What Is an Imaginary Friend and How Many Children Have Them?
2 - Imaginary Friends Who Are Invisible
3 - Imaginary Friends Who Are Personified Objects
4 - Children Who Create Imaginary Friends: Individual Characteristics
5 - Children Who Create Imaginary Friends: The Influence of Family and Culture
6 - Why Do Children Create Imaginary Friends?
7 - Do Imaginary Friends Help Children Cope with Adversity?
8 - Do Children Think Their Imaginary Friends Are Real?
9 - What Happens to the Imaginary Friends Created in Early Childhood?
10 - Paracosms: The Imaginary Worlds of Middle Childhood
11 - Parasocial Relationships with Celebrities and Media Characters
12 - The Imaginary Friends of Adults
13 - Adult Fiction Writers and Their Characters
14 - Final Thoughts: Fantasy in the Lives of Children and Adults

Marjorie Taylor is Professor Emerit of Psychology at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on the development of imagination and creativity, including studies of young children who invent pretend friends, older children who create imaginary worlds, and adult fiction writers who develop relationships with the characters in their novels. Her previous works include Imagination Companions and the Children Who Create Them and she was the Editor of The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Imagination. Naomi R. Aguiar is the Associate Director of Research in the Research Unit at Oregon State University Ecampus. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Oregon and served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Children's Digital Media Center at Georgetown University. Aguiar's research investigates children's concepts of real and imaginary others, including real-life peers, imaginary friends, and artificially intelligent agents, as well as children's parasocial relationships with media characters.