RJA #5b: Periodical Articles–

• Armin Brott
• Imaginary Friends: Should You Be concerned
• Character Development-Parenting
• Family Resource
• Retrieved February 22, 2010
• http://www.familyresource.com/parenting/character-development/imaginary-friends-should-you-be-concerned

• Dr. Evan Kidd
• Real Benefits in Imaginary Friends
• La Trobe
• Jun 02 2009 edition
• accessed on February 22, 2010
• http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2009/article/real-benefits-in-imaginary-friends

• Benjamin Sutherland, Johnathan Adams, Joan Raymond
• The End of Make Believe
• Newsweek
• Aug 25 2003 edition

RJA 5a: Books-

• Author/Editor: Suzanne Gaskins, Artin Goncu
• Title: Play & Development: Evolutionary, Sociocultural, & Functional Perspectives
• Series: The Jean Piaget Symposium Series
• Publication: London; Mahwah, N.J.
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum 2007

• Author: Marjorie Taylor
• Title: Imaginary Companions and the Children who create them
• Publication: New York
• Publisher: Oxford University Press 1999

• Author: Susan Tews
• Title: Nettie's Gift
• Publication: New York
• Publisher: Clarion Books 1993

4c Research Question Check

http://carolpilk.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-c-research-question.html#comment-form

http://melindaatmetro.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3c-research-questions.html#comment-form

http://romeduncan.blogspot.com/2010/02/rja-3-english-1020.html#comment-form

4b. Search Strings

FO: child development, development of children, pyschological effects, health risk, benefits, advantages, behavioral issues, issues with behavior, puberty, innocence

RE: debates, statistics, parenting, opinions, case studies, early childhood development

LOG: development, behavior, imaginary companions, child development, benefits

4a. Keywords

• Imaginary Companions
• Child Development
• Early Childhood
• Pyschological Effects
• Behaviorial Issues

RJA #3c: Research Question

What type of children develops imaginary friends?
What is considered an imaginary friend?
When do imaginary friends appear?
When do kids forget about them?
How does having an imaginary friend affect children?
How do we determine when it is healthy or unhealthy for the child?
Should parents be concerned if their kids have an imaginary pal?

RJA #3b: Research Topic Focus

One of the main arguments when it comes to imaginary friends is that is unhealthy for a kid. Some kids have behavioral issues and tend to place the blame on their imaginary companions. Others will argue that having these companions allow the kids to develop social skills which make it easier for them to construct a conversation. Under the debate regarding development, some psychologists have agreed that having imaginary friends is indeed healthy and part of a child's normal growth process. Alot of children use imaginary friends to help cope with events or other issues that may be involved in their lives. Another debate involved with this topic is that an only child or lonely children are the only ones who experience this type of imagination; This causes a huge debate because there are children that develop imaginary friends who indeed have siblings or other children around.

RJA #3a- Research Topic Exploration

Psychologists have done many studies on imaginary friends; Throughout these studies imaginary friends were most commonly outlawed. Now with new researches and studies, it is more clear to theorize that imaginary friends can help boost a child's development. I explored Science Daily to look for resources i could use on my topic and came up with two great starts:

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050308101309.htm
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041206193849.htm

I learned alot from just these two articles. I also took the time to explore through database resources on EbscoHost.

Pretend Companions(Imaginary Playmates):The Emergence of a Field.

The journal has a very great article with in depth detail on my topic.

RJA #2: Imaginary Friends

• I would love to research on the existence of imaginary friends. Imaginary friends are usually made up to help children cope with stress in their life. It usually takes place in early childhood years. I would like to find out if this is part of a normal development or if it is a common problem and why. What type of child normally develop imaginary friends? Could imaginary friends be paranormal beings? Do children believe they actually have imaginary friends? I would also like to know how to respond to a child who thinks they may have an imaginary friend.
• I do know that imaginary friends are known to be typical of an only child or an eldest child. What i would like to find out is if the child feels lonely when they start imagining a friend. Could it be possible that imaginary friends are just an excuse for attention? I believe that with this research, i could find out what the best argument is; I will use that argument in my paper. I have came across kids with imaginary friends before and a lot the time the kids have developed behavorial problems and blamed their actions on their imaginary friends. My arguement now is: it's used for attention but that could potentially change once i have researched the topic more in depth.
• I would love to know what imaginary friends do for kids. How long does an imaginary friend stay around? I would also like to know if the behavorial problems that develop stick around once the imaginary friend is gone. I would also love to find out if i had an imaginary friend when i was younger; by knowing this it may help me in my research when finding a case to argue.