Examined the extent to which children draw upon reality and fantasy, either explicitly or implicitly, in their spontaneous classifications, and when instructed to sort on that basis. (Author/JMB)

Examines first- , third- , and sixth-grade children's abilities to discriminate between the reality and fantasy of television programs. Lengthy clinical interviews were conducted with each of 36 children, including viewing and discussion of 12 videotaped program segments. (SW)

A study proposing reality and fantasy discrimination of television content as a classificatory ability sought to identify differences between subjects who were able to make sophisticated reality-fantasy judgements and those who were not, and factors which might contribute to a subject's sophistication in discrimination. Open-ended and structured…

An examination of 18 children's reality-fantasy judgments about television indicated that such judgments shift with age from a focus on physical features and a rigid assessment of actuality, to a sensitivity to the plausibility of characters and plotlines, and an appreciation of authorial intent. Sixteen references are cited. (Author/MER)