1-142 - A Multicontextual Examination of Imagination in Development: Exploring Culture, Social Environment, Cognition, and Morality

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Imagination, including pretense and the creation of imaginary companions, has been called “the centerpiece of human cognition” (Taylor, 2002) because of the role it plays in myriad processes like decision-making, future thinking, generating alternative realities, and understanding other minds. Despite this centrality in development, the contexts that foster imagination have received little empirical attention. Furthermore, the influence of imaginative activities on development is hotly debated, generating calls for research on this question (Lillard et al., 2013; Weisberg et al., 2013). The studies in this symposium address these gaps in the literature by investigating the role of imagination in development as both an outcome and a predictor. Specifically, the first two papers address contexts that foster children’s imagination, demonstrating that a) cultural factors, such as religious environment, influence children’s propensity toward imagination, and b) the composition of children’s social networks (e.g., number of siblings, friends, extended family members) relates to the creation of imaginary companions. These studies will be followed by two papers addressing the influence of imagination on cognitive and sociocognitive abilities, showing that a) engagement in social pretend play predicts gains in children’s executive functioning skills over the course of a school year, and b) the presence of an other—even if that other is imaginary—changes children’s prosocial behaviors. Drawing from diverse, international samples and multiple methodologies, the studies presented in this symposium advance current understanding of how imagination operates across social contexts and why it matters for social and cognitive development.

Sub Unit

• Cognitive Processes

Chairs

• Rachel White, Hamilton College

• Tracy Gleason, Wellesley College

Individual Presentations

• Cultural and Contextual Predictors of Imagination in Early Childhood - Presenting Author: Rachel Thibodeau, University of Missouri; Non-Presenting Author: Melissa McInnis Brown, Texas Woman's University; Non-Presenting Author: Francisco Palermo, University of Missouri

• Social Environments and Imaginary Companions - Presenting Author: Tracy Gleason, Wellesley College; Non-Presenting Author: Mona Husain Baloch, Wellesley College; Non-Presenting Author: Shaye Firmin, Wellesley College; Non-Presenting Author: Shruti Samala, Wellesley College

• Engagement in Sociodramatic Play Predicts Preschoolers’ Executive Function Gains Across the School Year - Presenting Author: Rachel White, Hamilton College; Non-Presenting Author: Rachel Thibodeau, University of Missouri; Non-Presenting Author: Francisco Palermo, University of Missouri; Non-Presenting Author: Ariana M. Mikulski, Pennsylvania State University

• The Impact of Imaginary Companions on Moral Behaviors: An Experimental Study in Early Childhood - Presenting Author: Masanori Yamaguchi, Kyoto University; Non-Presenting Author: Yusuke Moriguchi, Kyoto University