Research

Selected Publications

Mannering, A. M., & Taylor, M. (in press). Cross-modality correlations in the imagery of adults and 5-year-old children. Imagination Cognition and Personality.

Richert, R. A., Shawber, A. B., Hoffman, R. I., & Taylor, M. (in press). Learning from real and fantasy characters in preschool and kindergarten. Cognition and Development.

Taylor, M. & Mottweiler, C. M. (2008). Imaginary companions: Pretending they are real but knowing they are not. American Journal of Play.

Taylor, M., Shawber, A. B., & Mannering, A. M. (2008). Children’s imaginary companions: What is it like to have an invisible friend? In K. Markman, W. Klein, & J. Suhr (Eds.) The handbook of imagination and mental simulation. New York: Psychology Press.

Carlson, S. M., Tahiroglu, D., & Taylor. M. (2008). Links between dissociation and role play in a non-clinical sample of preschool children. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 9.

Taylor, M., Carlson, S, M., & Shawber, A. B. (2007). Autonomy and control in children’s interactions with imaginary companions. In I. Roth (Ed.) Imaginative minds, pp. 81-100. Oxford, UK: British Academy and Oxford University Press.

Taylor, M., & Mannering, A. M. (2007). Of Hobbes and Harvey: The imaginary companions of children and adults. In A. Goncu & S. Gaskins (Eds.) Play and Development: Evolutionary, Sociocultural and Functional Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Carlson, S. M., & Taylor, M. (2005). Imaginary companions and impersonated characters: Sex differences in children's fantasy play. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 51, 299-324.

Taylor, M., Carlson, S. M., Maring, B. L., Gerow, L., & Charley, C. (2004). The characteristics and correlates of high fantasy in school-aged children: Imaginary companions, impersonation and social understanding. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1173-1187.

Taylor, M., Hodges, S. D., & Kohanyi, A. (2003). The illusion of independent agency: Do adult fiction writers experience their characters as having minds of their own? Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 22, 361-380.

Taylor, M., Maring, B. L., & Lussier, G.L. (2003). The distinction between lying and pretending. Journal of Cognition and Development, 4, 299-324.

Taylor, M. (1999). Imaginary companions and the children who create them. New York: Oxford University Press.

Carlson, S. M., Taylor, M., &am; Levin, G. R. (1998). The influence of culture on fantasy play: The case of Mennonite children. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 44(4), 538-565.

Taylor, M., & Carlson, S. M. (1997). The relation between individual differences in fantasy and theory of mind. Child Development, 68, 436-455.