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15 - Creating Imaginary Worlds across the Lifespan

from Part III - Modes of Enhancement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Michele Root-Bernstein
Edited by
Sandra W. Russ ,
Jessica D. Hoffmann  and
James C. Kaufman
Sandra W. Russ
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
Jessica D. Hoffmann
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Summary

The invention of imaginary worlds may be understood as a powerful tool for exploring experience, discovering the self, and creating knowledge and meaning. An imagined world is an earth or universe or a system of make-believe ideas and things that may be contemplated in the mind, though it remains veritably unexperienced. In childhood, worldplay (paracosm play) refers to imaginative pretense that is persistent, cumulative, and constructive (maps, stories, drawings, and more may be generated). In adulthood, worldplay refers to the world-building narratives of writers and artists; to the plausible reconstructions, scenarios, and probable worlds of social scientists; and to the theoretical suppositions and possible worlds of scientists. As such, worldplay presents a unique opportunity to probe what-if cognition. Indeed, as the history of its study indicates, world invention as play and as creative strategy tells us much about development of imaginative thinking and the growth of creative competence across the lifespan.

Keywords

conceptual blendingcreative behaviorcreative processcreative skillimaginary worldsparacosmworldplayplausible modelingsynthesizingworld building
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Lifespan Development of Creativity , pp. 327 - 350
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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