Current Projects
Imagination versus Pretend Play
What is the difference between pretending you have green hair and imagining you have green hair? Our lab has joined Jennifer Van Reet in trying to figure out the difference, conceptually, between these two forms of representation.
Key Players: Jivonsha French
Collaborators: Jennifer Van Reet, Providence College
Imaginary Companions and Parasocial Relationships
Sometimes imaginary companions are based on media characters. Are those relationships the same phenomenon as parasocial relationships? These two ways of interacting with media characters might be the same thing. Or co-occur. Or be entirely different. Inquiring minds want to know.
Key Players: Emily Ruben, Jivonsha Ffrench
Collaborators: Hea Jung Lee & Rebekah Richert, UC Irvine; Naomi Aguiar, Oregon State University
Imaginary Companions and Pretend Play
This project is a quantitative and qualitative, in-depth look at how pretend play and imaginary companions function similarly and differently in children's lives. We are examining everything from the when/where/how children engage in these forms of play to the emotions involved to the functions a given episode might have.
Key Players: Chantal Valdivia, Ingrid Hsu, Eleanor Antezana
Imaginary Companions in Sports
Did you ever play baseball but you didn't have enough people, so you imagined ghost runners staying on base when a person returned to bat? Or maybe you played soccer against an invisible goalie, or played basketball against your favorite WNBA star. Turns out sports are full of imaginary companions that come in all kinds, so with this project we are trying to figure out who creates them and whether they help with practice or competitions.
Key Players: Emily Sher, Ingrid Hsu
Collaborators: Stephanie Madsen, McDaniel College