Browsing by Author "McInnis, Melissa Alyse"

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    The bully in my mind: investigating children's negative relationships with imaginary companions
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) McInnis, Melissa Alyse; Gilpin, Ansley T.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Although research has explored the social environments in which imaginary friends are created and their benefits to socioemotional development, no work has specifically explored the role of children's negative interactions with imaginary companions and whether they also provide benefits to socioemotional development. The present study explored the role of these interactions in regards to children's socioemotional development. One hundred seven children between the ages of 3 and 8 were interviewed about their imaginary companions and social skills, with teacher and parent reports on the target child. It was hypothesized that having an imaginary companion--regardless of whether the relationship is negative--is beneficial to socioemotional development because it allows the child to role-play and practice taking different perspectives. However, results suggest that the relationship valence (positive or negative), regardless of friend type (real or imaginary) is most important in terms of socioemotional development. Children with negative relationships had lower overall social competence scores than children with positive relationships.
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    The relation between theory of mind and empathy in preschool: the case of fantasy orientation
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2014) McInnis, Melissa Alyse; Gilpin, Ansley T.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The purpose of the present study was to explore the relations between theory of mind, empathy, and fantasy orientation in a typically developing preschool population. Preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 (N = 82) completed a battery of theory of mind, empathy, and fantasy orientation measures. Teacher reports were also collected. As hypothesized, results indicated that 3-year-olds were likely to have neither theory of mind nor affective empathy, 4-year-olds were likely to have theory of mind only, and 5-year-olds were likely to have both, supporting the notion that theory mind precedes affective empathy. Additionally, results indicated that fantasy orientation predicted affective empathy above and beyond theory of mind ability. Corroboration was found for past research showing that fantasy orientation is comprised of different components. No support was found for the hypothesis that fantasy orientation moderates the relationship between theory of mind and empathy, nor for the hypothesis that it fosters faster and/or better development of the two constructs. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to the present debate on determining whether pretend play plays a crucial, equifinal, or epiphenomenal role in child development.