This study was designed to investigate the age level by which children may be expected to distinguish reality from fantasy, when considering the variables of Sex and Socioeconomic Status. Research in this area has been sparse and contradictory even though a number of counseling approaches contain assumptions, whether clearly stated or not, concerning children's abilities to distinguish reality from fantasy. Furthermore, wide disagreement exists between numerous theoreticians, both in the fields of childhood development and counseling concerning the age by which children may be expected to relate to the real world. / Taylor's Reality/Fantasy Orientation Test (1971) was used to measure whether children, between the ages of four and eight years old could distinguish reality from fantasy. In order to measure SES, the Occupational Status Scores Scale (Nam, et. al., 1975) was employed. One hundred children in each age category were divided by sex and two socioeconomic levels (Total N = 300), thus yielding a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial design. All of the participants in this study were from the Pendleton, Umatilla County area. / In order to measure the internal consistency of Taylor's measure, the Kuder - Richardson 20 statistical test of item analysis was performed, yielding an overall realiability score of .91. An analysis of variance was also performed on data in order to test for main and interactional effects. The results indicate that the main effect of age is significant at the .001 level, SES data yielded interesting patterns but did not quite reach significance when setting alpha at .05 and sex was not significant as a variable. / The data was interpreted as indicating that the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy continues to improve with age and becomes solidified between age six and eight, and that SES should not be discounted as a possible strong mitigating factor, slowing down or speeding up children's understanding of the real world. / The results of the study indicate that children's perceptions of the real world improve significantly from year to year to age eight and closely coincide with Piaget's formulations concerning cognitive development stages. The results also imply a strong parallel between language acquisition abilities and the ability to relate to the real world. Since the data clearly indicate that it is between ages six and eight that this ability becomes solidified, the use of rational, reality-oriented approaches with children before age eight (particularly for lower SES children) may well be inappropriate. Taking the results of this study into account, it would seem necessary and beneficial to re-evaluate the theoretical and practical appropriateness of such techniques with children under age eight. / The results strongly support the viewpoints of developmental theorists (Blocher, Dinkmeyer and Eriksen) concerning child development and counseling practices. Their concerns that pressures brought by significant adults for children to move from the fantasy world to the real world at an early age, resulting in the experience of failure and feelings of inferiority and selfworthlessness have additional support. In light of the results of this study therefore, it is recommended that some form of play therapy, incorporating concepts about the real world be employed as the technique of choice with children under age eight. / The results also imply that Taylor's Reality/Fantasy Orientation Test may become a useful tool for the early identification of children experiencing significant emotional and psychological illness. In particular, it is hoped that with further research and development of this test, the early diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia, using objective criteria may become a possibility. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2512. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74495 |
| Contributors | TOTH, MIKLOS GEORGE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 143 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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