An imaginary friend is an invented person, animal, or character that is created. The term ordinarily refers to such characters created by children, but the same phenomenon is observable in adults. The inventor will act as if the imaginary being is physically present by talking to it, playing with it, or even attempting to feed it. If told that the friend is non-existent, the inventor will often retaliate in a defensive manner by stating that the imaginary friend is invisible, or in some cases questioning the vision of the person. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... For other uses, see Imaginary Friend. ... A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... See Adult. ...

Medical and philosophical aspects

The development of imaginary friends by a person does not alone necessarily signify a problem or disorder.^[1][2] According to the DSM-IV, imaginary friends are classified as a psychological disorder only if they interfere with everyday social interactions^{[citation needed]}. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is the handbook used most often in diagnosing mental disorders in the United States and other countries. ...

According to some theories of psychology^{[citation needed]}, an understanding of a child's conversations with their imaginary friends can reveal a lot about the anxieties and fears of that child as well as the child's aspirations and perception of the world. Some children report that their "imaginary friends" manifest themselves physically, and are indistinguishable from "real" people. For other uses, see World (disambiguation). ...

Purposes

People may invent imaginary friends for companionship, as part of play, or for other reasons. Imaginary friends can serve as an important source of companionship to some children and adults. As an example, clinical psychologists have reported that^{[citation needed]} young children in boarding schools often develop imaginary friends to cope with extreme stress and separation from their family. For other uses, see Child (disambiguation). ... A boarding school is a usually fee-paying school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. ...

According to some psychological theories^{[citation needed]}, children often use their imaginary friends as outlets for expressing desires which they would normally be afraid to engage in or for which they would normally be punished. Proponents of these theories state^[3] that it is not uncommon for a child to engage in mischief or wrong-doing and then to blame the crime on their imaginary friend, allowing the child to act out fantasies that they are otherwise restricted from experiencing due to societal constraints. Similarly, psychologists report^{[citation needed]} that children often give their imaginary friends personality traits that they themselves lack and make their imaginary friends into ideal versions of themselves: shy children often describe their imaginary friends as playful and outgoing jokesters who are always making them laugh and who are very popular.

According to psychological research^{[citation needed]}, most children dismiss the imaginary friend once they find living ones or become aware that it is fictional.

Examples from popular culture

• Nanhe Jaisalmer
• Aloysius Snuffleupagus
• Nadine, D. W.'s imaginary friend from Arthur
• Calvin and Hobbes
• Drop Dead Fred
• Don't Look Under The Bed
• "Dave", an episode of Lost
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
• Hide and Seek
• "Tuttle", an episode of M*A*S*H
• James of Late
• Captain Howdy, the white-faced demon from the film The Exorcist thought originally to be an imaginary friend.
• Plank, from Ed, Edd, n' Eddy
• Frank the bunny from Donnie Darko
• Wilson the Volleyball from the movie Cast Away
• Tyler Durden from Fight Club
• Debbie Miller, imaginary friend of Meg Griffin
• Mr. USOS (Pan USOS)
• Mr. Hat and Mr. Twig from South Park
• In one episode from season three of Impian Illyana, Illyana pretend to have an imaginary friend to test his boyfriend, Izham.
• Harvey the Pookah, from the movie and play "Harvey"
• Jack Flack, the secret agent from the 1984 film Cloak & Dagger
• Gummy, bubble buddy, and mini squid from Sponge Bob Squarepants.
• Bugus, from Bogus (film)

• Ninja Ninja, from the animation Afro Samurai.
• Rachel Cohen, Lisa Simpson's Jewish imaginary friend from The Simpsons.

Nanhe Jaisalmer (also known as Nanhe) is a forthcoming film directed by Samir Karnik and featuring Bobby Deol in a leading role. ... Snuffy in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. ... Arthur is an American and Canadian educational children’s television series which airs primarily on PBS in the United States; CBC Television, Radio-Canada, Knowledge Network and TVO in Canada; and BBC One in the UK, although it has been syndicated to numerous other stations throughout the world. ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1 â€¢ Part 2 â€¢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Drop Dead Fred is a 1991 comedy film released by New Line Cinema. ... This movie was about how a girl convinced her younger brother that his imaginary friend didnt exist and that he was too old for it. ... Dave is the 42nd episode of Lost. ... Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends (sometimes called Fosters for short, and abbreviated as FHIF/FHFIF) is an Emmy-Winning American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken, who also created The Powerpuff Girls. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // Overview Tuttle is an episode from M*A*S*H. It was the fifteenth episode broadcast and aired on January 14, 1973. ... Captain Howdy is the name popularly associated with the white faced demon featured in several nearly subliminal shots (less than a second long but still consciously observable) in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist. ... The Exorcist is an Academy Award-winning 1973 American horror and thriller film, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl, and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted... Ed, Edd n Eddy is a Canadian-American animated television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by a. ... For the fictional character, see Donald Darko. ... Wilson the Volleyball in Cast Away Wilson was the name given to a volleyball in the 2000 movie, Cast Away. ... For other uses, see Castaway (disambiguation). ... This article is for the novel by Chuck Palahniuk. ... Fight Club[1] (1996) is the first published novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk. ... Megan Meg Griffin is a cartoon character on the TV show Family Guy by Seth MacFarlane. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Cloak and Dagger is a 1984 film starring Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman. ... SpongeBob SquarePants is a popular animated television cartoon series shown on Nickelodeon, YTV, and Nicktoons Network created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. ... Bogus is a 1996 Warner Bros. ... Afro Samurai ) is a Japanese dōjinshi manga series, created by Takashi Okazaki, originally featured in the NOU NOU HAU [2] dōjin magazine. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Simpsons redirects here. ...

References

1. ^ Imaginary friends open up fantastic world - ABC Science
2. ^ Imaginary Friendships Could Boost Child Development - Science Daily
3. ^ Imaginary friends: Should you be concerned?