Further distinctions between magic, reality, religion, and fiction.
Children's representations of counterintuitive phenomena can be better understood if we take into account the following: (1) Children may develop a conceptual slot for "counterintuitive + real" phenomena. (2) Notions of "reality" in early childhood are linked to experience rather than ontological status. (3) We have no good description of children's handling of fiction. (4) Cultural systems of religious representations make particular demands on developmental processes.
Boyer
P
P
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon, France. pboyer@mrash.fr
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005201:Fantasy; D006801:Humans; D008273:Magic; D010553:Personality Development; D011936:Reality Testing; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012945:Social Values; D013850:Thinking