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Imaginary friends (also known as Imagery Companions, pretend friends, and invisible friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Although they may seem very real to their creators, children usually understand that their imaginary friends are not real.〔Taylor, M. (1999) ''Imaginary Companions and the Children Who Create Them.'' New York: Oxford University Press.〕 The first studies focusing on imaginary friends are believed to have been conducted during the 1890s. There is little information about the development and the appearance of imaginary friends in children. However, Klausen & Passman (2007) report that imaginary companions were originally described as being supernatural creatures and spirits that were thought to connect people with their past lives. Adults in early historic times had entities such as household gods, guardian angels, and muses that functioned as imaginary companions to provide comfort, guidance and inspiration for creative work.〔 Eventually the phenomenon of imaginary companions passed on to children. The era when children began having imaginary friends is unknown, but it is possible the phenomenon appeared in the mid–20th century when childhood was emphasized as an important time to play and imagine.〔 ==Description== In some studies, imaginary companions are defined as children impersonating a specific character (imagined by them), or objects or toys that are personified. However, some psychologists will define an imaginary friend only as a separate created character. Imaginary friends or imaginary companions can be people, but they can also take the shape of other characters such as animals or other abstract ideas such as ghosts, monsters or angels.〔 These characters can be created at any point during a lifetime, though Western culture suggests they are most acceptable in preschool- and school-age children.〔〔〔 They often function as tutelaries when played with by a child. They reveal, according to several theories of psychology, a child's anxieties, fears, goals and perceptions of the world through that child's conversations. They are, according to some children, physically indistinguishable from real people, while others say they see their imaginary friends only in their heads, and still others cannot see the friend at all but can sense his/her presence. Most research agrees that girls are more likely than boys to develop imaginary friends. Past research agrees that boys are more likely to participate in fantasy play, and they incorporate the themes of superheroes and adventure in their fantasy play, while girls mostly play dress-up and play house.〔 Once children reach school age, boys and girls are equally likely to have an imaginary companion.〔 Research has often reiterated that there is not a specific "type" of child that creates an imaginary friend.〔〔 Research has shown that imaginary companions are a normative part of childhood and even adulthood.〔〔〔〔 And some psychologists〔 suggest that imaginary companions are much like a fictional character created by an author. As Eileen Kennedy-Moore points out, "Adult fiction writers often talk about their characters taking on a life of their own, which may be an analogous process to children’s invisible friends."〔Kennedy-Moore, Eileen (2013) "Imaginary Friends: Are invisible friends a sign of social problems?" Psychology Today; Growing Friendships blog. 31 January 2013. () (accessed: 24 May 2013)〕 In addition, Marjorie Taylor and colleagues have found that fiction writers are more likely than average to have had imaginary companions as children. There is a difference between the common imaginary companion that many children create, and the imaginary companions of psychopathology. Often when there is a psychological disorder, and an imaginary companion is present, the creator believes that this companion is real, and does not differentiate between the real and imagined.〔〔 Imaginary friends or companions can serve various functions. Playing with imaginary companions enables children to enact behaviors and events they have not yet experienced. Imaginary play allows children to use their imagination to construct knowledge of the world. In addition, imaginary companions might also fulfill children’s innate desire to connect with others before actual play among peers is common. According to psychologist Lev Vygotsky, cultural tools and interaction with people mediate psychological functioning and cognitive development. Imaginary companions, perceived as real beings, could teach children how to interact with others along with many other social skills. Vygotsky’s sociocultural view of child development includes the notion of children’s “zone of proximal development,” which is the difference between what children can do with and without help. Imaginary companions can aid children in learning things about the world that they could not learn without help, such as appropriate social behavior, and thus can act as a scaffold for children to achieve slightly above their social capability. In addition, imaginary companions also serve as a means for children to experiment with and explore the world. In this sense, imaginary companions also relate to Piaget’s theory of child development because they are completely constructed by the child. According to Piaget, children are scientific problem solvers who self-construct experiences and build internal mental structures based on experimentation. The creation of and interaction with imaginary companions helps children to build such mental structures. The relationship between a child and his or her imaginary friend can serve as a catalyst for the formation of real relationships in later development and thus provides a head start to practicing real-life interaction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Imaginary friend」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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