Cognitive Daily: Halloween special: Does Batman party with SpongeBob?
Here’s a really neat study that’s right on time for Halloween: Does Batman party with SpongeBob?
Any grown-up would be surprised to see SpongeBob Squarepants show up in a Batman movie. Clearly, these characters inhabit two different fantasy worlds: one lives in a fabulous mansion near bustling Gotham City, while the other inhabits an underwater pineapple. Grown-ups divide fantasy worlds into non-intersecting sets: If Batman has even heard of SpongeBob, he would believe him to be a fictional character.
But what about children? Do they have the same understanding of the distinction between separate fictional worlds? Kids do understand the difference between reality and make-believe from a very young age, but this doesn’t discount the possibility that for children, there are only two worlds: fantasy and reality. Deena Skolnick and Paul Bloom have created a simple pair of studies to find out if kids view fantasy worlds the same way grown-ups do.
It doesn’t really reveal anything explosive; if the kids are under 5 then they’ll predictably have a difficulty taking other perspectives and frequently answer that a character would be regarded as fictional, whether it be a between- or within-worlds comparison. But it’s definitely a neat application of theory of mind, and any study that uses Spongebob and Blue’s Clues is okay by me.
Chris B. said,
November 6, 2006 at 11:43 pm
So let me get this straight: you’re saying Batman is gay, right? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Although, maybe Commissioner Gordon should do a little investigation into the nature of the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson….