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The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion Volume 23, 2013 - Issue 1: New Trends in the Cognitive Science of Religion
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RESEARCH

What Do Invisible Friends Know? Imaginary Companions, God, and Theory of Mind

J. Bradley Wigger Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
,
Katrina Paxson Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
&
Lacey Ryan Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Pages 2-14 | Published online: 14 Dec 2012

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Redeate G. Wolle, Abby McLaughlin & Larisa Heiphetz. (2021) The Role of Theory of Mind and Wishful Thinking in Children’s Moralizing Concepts of the Abrahamic God. Journal of Cognition and Development 22:3, pages 398-417.
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Pierre-Yves Brandt. (2020) Invisible Companions: Encounters with Imaginary Friends, Gods, Ancestors, and Angels. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 30:4, pages 342-344.
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Benjamin Grant Purzycki & Aiyana K. Willard. (2016) MCI theory: a critical discussion. Religion, Brain & Behavior 6:3, pages 207-248.
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Benjamin Grant Purzycki & Aiyana Koka Willard. (2016) Accounting for variation and stability in religious cognition. Religion, Brain & Behavior 6:3, pages 266-274.
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J. Bradley Wigger. (2016) Children's Theory of God's Mind: Theory-of-Mind Studies and Why They Matter to Religious Education. Religious Education 111:3, pages 325-339.
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Articles from other publishers (21)

Laura Miraglia, Giulia Peretti, Federico Manzi, Cinzia Di Dio, Davide Massaro & Antonella Marchetti. (2023) Development and validation of the Attribution of Mental States Questionnaire (AMS-Q): A reference tool for assessing anthropomorphism. Frontiers in Psychology 14.
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Rebekah A. RichertKathleen H. Corriveau. (2022) Development of Religious Cognition. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology 4:1, pages 185-206.
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Kirsten A. Lesage & Rebekah A. Richert. (2021) Can God do the impossible? Anthropomorphism and children’s certainty that God can make impossible things possible. Cognitive Development 58, pages 101034.
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Emily Rachel Reed Burdett, Justin L. Barrett & Tyler S. Greenway. (2020) Children’s Developing Understanding of the Cognitive Abilities of Supernatural and Natural Minds. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 14:1, pages 124-151.
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Rohan Kapitány, Nicole Nelson, Emily R. R. Burdett & Thalia R. Goldstein. (2020) The child’s pantheon: Children’s hierarchical belief structure in real and non-real figures. PLOS ONE 15:6, pages e0234142.
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Paige E. Davis. 2020. The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination. The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination 373 389 .
Kelly Clark & Ingela Visuri. 2019. Neurology and Religion. Neurology and Religion 139 148 .
. 2019. Neurology and Religion. Neurology and Religion.
Declan Taggart. (2019) Do Thor and Odin Have Bodies? Superperception and Divine Intervention among the Old Norse Gods. Religions 10:8, pages 468.
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Yusuke Moriguchi, Hideyuki Takahashi, Tomoko Nakamata & Naoya Todo. (2018) Mind perception of God in Japanese children. International Journal of Psychology 54:4, pages 557-562.
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Cinzia Di Dio, Sara Isernia, Chiara Ceolaro, Antonella Marchetti & Davide Massaro. (2018) Growing Up Thinking of God’s Beliefs: Theory of Mind and Ontological Knowledge. SAGE Open 8:4, pages 215824401880987.
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Larisa Heiphetz, Jonathan D. Lane, Adam Waytz & Liane L. Young. (2018) My mind, your mind, and God's mind: How children and adults conceive of different agents’ moral beliefs. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 36:3, pages 467-481.
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Benjamin Grant Purzycki. (2017) Some Comments on the Alleged Innateness of Religion. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 29:4-5, pages 411-421.
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Melanie A. Nyhof & Carl N. Johnson. (2017) Is God just a big person? Children's conceptions of God across cultures and religious traditions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 35:1, pages 60-75.
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Rebekah A. Richert, Anondah R. Saide, Kirsten A. Lesage & Nicholas J. Shaman. (2017) The role of religious context in children's differentiation between God's mind and human minds. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 35:1, pages 37-59.
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Yusuke Moriguchi, Ikuko Shinohara & Mikako Ishibashi. (2016) Agent Perception in Children with and Without Imaginary Companions. Infant and Child Development 25:6, pages 550-564.
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Benjamin Grant Purzycki. (2016) The Evolution of Gods’ Minds in the Tyva Republic. Current Anthropology 57:S13, pages S88-S104.
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Yusuke Moriguchi, Yasuhiro Kanakogi, Naoya Todo, Yuko Okumura, Ikuko Shinohara & Shoji Itakura. (2016) Goal Attribution toward Non-Human Objects during Infancy Predicts Imaginary Companion Status during Preschool Years. Frontiers in Psychology 7.
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Larisa Heiphetz, Jonathan D. Lane, Adam Waytz & Liane L. Young. (2015) How Children and Adults Represent God's Mind. Cognitive Science 40:1, pages 121-144.
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Pamela Ebstyne King & Chris J. Boyatzis. 2015. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science 1 48 .
Benjamin Grant Purzycki. (2013) The minds of gods: A comparative study of supernatural agency. Cognition 129:1, pages 163-179.
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