Lion Kings or puppies: the influence of fantasy on children's understanding of pretense

Many have thought that children have a nearly appreciation of the mind in the case of pretend play. Results from several experiments are against this. However, an experiment by Lillard(Body or mind:children's categorizing of pretense,Child Development,67(1996),1717-1734,Experiment 4)suggested that when a pretense is about a fantasy character,instead of a real entity,children might have a better understanding of the mind's involvement. The present experiment tested this,and found that indeed,when pretending to be a fantasy character is a tissue,4-year-olds are significantly more apt to indicate the mind's involvement. Several possible reasons for this result are discussed.