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You might tend to think of imaginary friends as one of those quirks of childhood,
你可能會把假想朋友當做一種童年怪癖，
something you outgrow and then pretend never happened,
它在你長大之后就沒有了，然后假裝沒發生過，
like wetting the bed or believing in Santa Claus.
就像尿床或相信圣誕老人一樣。
It's only when kids don't outgrow them fast enough that parents start to worry.
只有在孩子們成長速度不夠快的時候，父母才會開始擔心。
But according to psychologists, there isn't much reason to.
但是根據心理學家的說法，沒必要擔心。
Imaginary friends are totally normal, even in older kids,
有假想朋友完全正常，即使大一點兒的孩子也有，
and contrary to the stereotype, they may indicate good social skills and a healthy creative mind.
與老觀念相反，假想朋友預示著良好的社交技能和健康的創造性思維。
Imaginary friends, which researchers call imaginary companions, are vivid make-believe characters that are treated as real.
假想朋友，也被研究人員稱為假想伙伴，是被當做真實的、生動的虛假角色。
They're often invisible, but they can also be a personified toy or object.
它們通常是無形的，但也可以是擬人化的玩具或物體。
And usually, they're played with and talked to for at least several months.
通常情況下，他們與假想朋友一起說話玩耍幾個月。
Studies suggest they're really common.
研究表明假想朋友很普遍。
Estimates vary, but one study of 1800 children found that 46% of them had one between the ages of 5 and 12.
盡管估計有差異，但一項針對1800名兒童的研究發現，46%年齡在5歲到12歲之間的孩子有假想朋友。
Another well-regarded study found that as many as 65% of children have had an imaginary friend by the time they're seven.
另一項備受關注的研究發現，多達65%的孩子在七歲時就有了假想朋友。
And it's not just preschoolers.
不僅僅學齡前兒童有假想朋友。
Studies have found that elementary and middle schoolers interact with imaginary friends just as much as younger kids.
研究發現，小學生、中學生與假想朋友互動的時間和小孩子一樣多。
And even high schoolers sometimes admit to having them.
甚至高中生有時也承認自己有假想朋友。
The stereotypes would have you believe that having an imaginary friend, especially for that long, is a bad sign:
老觀念讓你相信，有假想朋友，尤其是長時間有假想朋友是一個不好的信號：
that either the kids struggle socially, or that they're mentally ill.
要么是孩子們有社交困難，要么是他們患有精神疾病。
But there's really no evidence for that.
但是沒有證據證明這一點。
While it can be kind of jarring to watch a kid talk to someone who isn't there,
雖然看著孩子和不存在的人說話很不和諧，
researchers studying these children report that they usually have a good sense of reality.
但研究這些孩子的人員報告說，這些孩子通常對現實有很好的認知。
Like, they'll often make sure that the researchers know their friend isn't actually real,
比如，他們經常確保研究人員知道他們的朋友不是真實的，
which isn't what people with delusional disorders do.
這不是患有妄想癥人能做的。
That misconception might come from the fact children with dissociative identity disorder,
這種誤解可能來自于有人格分裂癥的兒童，
popularly known as having "multiple personalities",
后者俗稱“多重人格”，
also often have imaginary companions, ones that can last into adulthood.
他們也經常有想象中的伙伴，它可以持續到成年。
But it's worth remembering that less than 2% of the population has this disorder,
但值得記住的是，只有不到2%的人患有這種疾病，
at least in North America, which means the vast majority of imaginary friends aren't linked to it.
至少在北美是這樣，這意味著絕大多數的假想朋友與之無關。
So while children with certain serious disorders may create imaginary friends,
因此，盡管患有某些嚴重疾病的兒童可能會創造假想朋友，
that doesn't mean imaginary friends necessarily indicate a serious disorder.
但不意味著有假想朋友必定代表著一種嚴重疾病。
Another common belief is that kids invent imaginary friends because they don't have enough real ones.
另一種普遍看法是，孩子們虛構假想朋友是因為沒有足夠的真實朋友。
But that's not true, either.
但這也不是真的。
For example, a study done for a 1991 doctoral dissertation found
例如，一項1991年的博士論文發現，
that kids with imaginary friends were less shy and had more non-imagined friends than their peers.
那些有假想朋友的孩子比同齡人更外向，真實朋友也更多。
And that's a trend that's been seen in numerous other studies.
這一趨勢在其他很多研究中都有體現。
That may be because having an imaginary friend helps kids cope with stress and conflict,
這可能是因為假想朋友可以幫助孩子應對壓力和沖突，
ultimately improving their social skills.
最終提高他們的社交技能。
Other research seems to indicate that imaginary friends aid social development by improving a child's theory of mind.
其他研究似乎表明，假想朋友通過改善孩子的心智理論來幫助社會發展。
Theory of mind, which people normally develop between ages three and four,
人們通常在三到四歲時發育的心智理論，
is your ability to understand that others have different thoughts and feelings than you do.
是理解別人不同想法和感受的能力。
For example, A 1997 study of 152 children found that
例如，1997年一項對152名兒童的研究發現，
4-year-olds with imaginary companions were better at theory of mind tasks than those who didn't have them.
有假想朋友的4歲兒童比沒有的同齡人更擅長心智理論任務。
So these kids were better able to understand what was happening in someone else's head,
所以這些孩子能夠更好地理解別人的想法，
even though they spent so much time in their own.
盡管他們花了很多時間在自己的想法上。
And being better at theory of mind at age four predicted better emotional understanding at age seven.
四歲時在心智理論方面做得更好的孩子，在七歲時就能更好地理解情感。
These kids were better at understanding their own and others' emotions,
這些孩子更善于理解自己和他人的情感，
including how someone's personality might shape their feelings or how they respond to different situations.
包括人的性格如何影響感覺，或者他們如何應對不同的情況。
And that's important, because studies have found that
這很重要，因為研究發現
emotional understanding is a key part of developing good social skills as well as a child's overall psychological wellbeing.
情感理解是培養良好社會技能和孩子整體心理健康的關鍵。
There also seem to be linguistic benefits to having an imaginary friend.
擁有一個假想朋友似乎也有語言上的好處。
Studies have shown that children with imaginary friends create richer narratives
研究表明，有假想朋友的孩子會創造出更豐富的故事，
when asked to tell a story and use more complex sentence structures when they speak.
他們在被要求講故事時，會使用更復雜的句子結構。
They also have a larger receptive vocabulary,
他們的接受性詞匯量也更大，
which is the number of words that they can recognize and understand.
接受性詞匯量是識別和理解的單詞數量。
If at this point, you're thinking back to your childhood
如果此時你回想起自己的童年，
and worrying what it means that you didn't have an imaginary friend, you can relax.
擔心你沒有假想朋友，可以放松了。
You may have just forgotten yours.
你可能剛好忘記了你的假想朋友。
Many kids simply forget about their companions when they get older.
許多孩子長大后就會忘記他們的假想朋友。
It's also possible you didn't have one and that's totally OK.
也有可能你沒有假想朋友，但沒關系。
Scientists aren't entirely sure why some kids do and other kids don't,
科學家們并不完全確定為什么有些孩子有假想朋友，而其他孩子沒有。
although we do know that firstborns and kids who are an only child are more likely to have them.
雖然我們知道長子長女和獨生子女更有可能擁有假想朋友。
Which might be another reason they've been linked to loneliness.
這可能是他們與孤獨有關的另一個原因。
Rather than loneliness, though,
不過假想朋友與孤獨無關，
it might have more to do with the amount of unstructured free time kids have for imaginative play,
它可能與孩子們用于想象游戲的松散自由時間數量更相關。
because kids who watch less TV are also more likely to have an imaginary friend.
因為少看電視的孩子更有可能有假想朋友。
So, it's not a bad thing if you didn't have one.
所以，如果你沒有也不是件壞事。
It's just also not a bad thing if you did.
如果你有也不是壞事。
And if you see a kid start pouring tea for a giant invisible pink elephant made of cotton candy,
如果你看到一個孩子開始倒茶給一個看不見的棉花糖做的粉紅色大象，
there's really no reason to freak out.
真的不必害怕。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感謝您收看本期的心理科學秀！
If you have kids or happen to know any that you want to share your love of science with,
如果你有孩子，或者碰巧知道某人，想與之分享你對科學的熱愛，
you can check out our SciShow Kids channel at youtube.com/scishowkids.
可以登錄兒童科學頻道的youtube.com/scishowkids。
There are all sorts of great videos there,
這里有各種優秀的視頻，
and you might find that both you and the little ones learn something new.
你可能會發現自己和孩子們都學到了一些新知識。
