Evidence that an instrument measures what it purports to measure is essential to empirically study the given construct. Despite this fact, little attention has been made to investigate the validity of the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI) and the Creative Experiences Questionnaires (CEQ) - instruments that purport to measure the fantasy proneness construct. In assessing the validity of fantasy proneness measures, the aim of the current study was unique, in that, no known study had conducted a factor analysis of scores on the ICMI, CEQ and Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) separately and simultaneously in the same study. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 223) from a large New Zealand University completed six questionnaires measuring fantasy proneness, imagery, dissociation, personality and desirable responding. Separate factor analysis results suggested a three factor solution for ICMI scores accounting for 22.60% of the total variance, a six factor solution for CEQ scores accounting for 42.93% of the total variance, and a three factor solution for DES scores accounting for 81.31% of the total variance. Simultaneous factor analysis results on factor scores of the ICMI, CEQ and DES revealed that dimensions of fantasy proneness loaded on two factors, whereas dimensions of dissociation loaded distinctively on a separate factor. The findings from this study suggest that there is less dimensional overlap between fantasy proneness and dissociation than has been suggested in the recent literature. Findings of this study also suggest that conclusions based on the overall scales of fantasy proneness may be limited and potentially misleading.

Fantasies are defined as byproducts of human imagination and mental activities to internalize unusual external objective stimulus. In the literature, utilization of fantasy in educational settings promoted intellectual and emotional improvements. However, the research implications from these fantasy research studies are mostly limited to traditional game design and classroom teaching. There are two research purposes in this study. The first is to examine how different types of fantasy and student fantasy proneness influence science learning, factual information acquisition, and game engagement in a 3D educational game environment called “Alien Rescue.” To accomplish this purpose, this research investigated the effects of fantasy type and fantasy proneness on science learning, factual information of alien characters, and game engagement. The second purpose of this study is to investigate student’s perception of the varying types of fantasy. To accomplish the second purpose of the study, this research inquired how student identified each type of fantasy and related his or her past experience to the embodied characteristics in alien characters. The participants of the study were 103 students who used Alien Rescue in four classes as their science curriculum for 10 days. The students in two classes were assigned to a treatment group using models with portrayal fantasy and the students in two classes were assigned to the other treatment group using models with creative fantasy. Employing mixed methods, this study analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data such as surveys and student interviews. The results in the quantitative part of the study showed that portrayal fantasy was effective for science learning, alien information acquisition, and game engagement. Specifically, the students who used portrayal fantasy models showed higher improvement of science knowledge and scored better on both alien information acquisition and game engagement. High fantasy proneness group also showed better game engagement. The finding with qualitative data showed that the students pointed out eight elements in identifying 3D fantasy objects, and those elements were relevant to the design elements that the researcher included in the 3D modeling procedure. The students also showed a perception pattern that they understood 3D game characters based upon previous experience regardless of fantasy type. The findings suggested that portrayal fantasy was effective in enhancing content learning, factual information acquisition, and engagement in educational games because the familiarity of the fantasy elements makes the identification of the fantasy characters easier and faster. However, too deep involvement in fantasy resulted in ineffective and inefficient learning outcomes. The findings also suggested that eight components of 3D models were essential elements in identifying fantasy game characters by learners as well as designing the 3D characters by game designers. / text

<p>Fantasy prone individuals spend much of their time fantasizing, focusing on a rich internal world of imaginary people or stories, vivid memories, or dreams. Fantasy proneness has been linked to psychological distress and psychiatric disorders. However, few experimental studies have been conducted with fantasy prone individuals; therefore, little is known about the behavioral correlates of fantasy proneness. The current study investigated associations between self-reported fantasy proneness, as measured by a frequently used questionnaire, the CEQ, and behavior during a laboratory task of attention, the SART. A potential mood regulating function of fantasy also was explored. Results of the study support the assertion that fantasy proneness is associated with variations in behavior that can be observed in the context of the laboratory. Specifically, fantasy proneness correlated with fewer instances of on-task thought and more frequent instances of mind wandering without meta-awareness during the attention task. It also correlated with more task errors and higher levels of self-reported fantasy thought during the task (though not with higher levels of other types of off-task thought). Finally, fantasy thought was found to have a protective effect on positive affect during the mundane task. There was no relationship between fantasy thought and negative affect.</p> / Dissertation