Fantasy Measure

Abstract

The Fantasy Measure, originally developed by Rosenfeld, Huesmann, Eron, and Torney-Purta in 1982 and later adapted by Huesmann and Eron in 1986, is a psychological instrument designed to quantify the nature and frequency of fantasy behaviors engaged in by children. It assesses how often respondents experience specific pretend thoughts or daydreams that spontaneously occur. The scale is structured to differentiate between three primary dimensions of fantasy life: Aggressive Fantasy, Active-Heroic Fantasy, and Prosocial Fantasy. This allows researchers to explore the relationship between different types of imaginative thought and subsequent behavioral patterns, particularly in relation to aggression and helping behaviors.

The instrument consists of 17 items scored on a 3-point Likert-type scale, making it suitable for administration to elementary school children. The resulting subscale scores provide averaged measures of a child’s inclination toward these distinct thematic categories of imaginative thought.

Keywords

Fantasy Measure, Aggressive Fantasy, Prosocial Fantasy, Active-Heroic Fantasy, Childhood Daydreaming, Psychological Assessment, Child Behavior, Aggression, Psychometrics.

Authors

Rosenfeld E., Huesmann L.R., Eron L.D., Torney-Purta J.V.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Fantasy Measure is to systematically measure the variety and frequency of imaginative thought patterns in young children. By classifying these thoughts into distinct categories—aggressive, heroic, and prosocial—the scale provides quantitative data on a child’s internal cognitive landscape. This measurement is crucial for longitudinal studies investigating developmental pathways, especially those linking exposure to media (such as television) or environmental factors to the development of aggressive or prosocial behavior later in life.

The scale is frequently utilized in research concerning the socialization of aggression, providing an early indicator of cognitive scripts related to violence or helping others. Respondents are asked to report how often they experience specific hypothetical scenarios or daydreams that “pop into their heads,” allowing for an assessment of habitual fantasy patterns.

Construct

The scale operationalizes the construct of Fantasy Behavior, specifically within a childhood context, differentiating it along three key dimensions:

• Aggressive Fantasy: Measures the frequency of daydreams involving hostile acts, conflict, physical harm, or punishment (e.g., items concerning hitting, hurting, or running away from punishment). This construct is often linked to dispositional aggression.
• Active-Heroic Fantasy: Measures the frequency of imaginative thoughts focused on exciting, dramatic, or high-stakes scenarios, often involving self-aggrandizement, fame, or overcoming scary situations (e.g., items concerning being a famous person, winning games, or playing scary games).
• Prosocial Fantasy: Measures the frequency of daydreams centered on helping others, rescuing individuals, or performing kind and altruistic acts (e.g., items concerning helping others in trouble or saving someone). This dimension reflects the cognitive precursors to prosocial behavior.

Validity

The validity of the Fantasy Measure, particularly its three-factor structure, was established through rigorous psychometric analysis detailed in the original 1982 publication by Rosenfeld and colleagues. The clear delineation of items into distinct subscales (Aggressive, Active-Heroic, and Prosocial) supports the construct validity, demonstrating that the scale effectively measures the theoretically distinct components of fantasy life it purports to measure.

Furthermore, the scale has demonstrated predictive validity in subsequent research, particularly by Huesmann and Eron (1986), where early childhood aggressive fantasy scores were shown to predict later aggressive behavior, reinforcing the measure’s utility in developmental psychology research.

Reliability

Although specific reliability coefficients (such as Cronbach’s Alpha) are not provided in this summary, the inclusion of the scale in major academic publications and assessment compendiums suggests that the original authors established adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the three distinct subscales. Researchers typically refer to the full 1982 article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology for detailed reliability statistics across the Aggressive Fantasy, Active-Heroic Fantasy, and Prosocial Fantasy dimensions, ensuring the consistency of measurement within the target population of elementary school children.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Fantasy Measure is based on a successful factor analysis performed on the original item pool, which resulted in the identification of three orthogonal factors corresponding to the three subscales: Aggressive Fantasy, Active-Heroic Fantasy, and Prosocial Fantasy. This factor structure confirms that the 17 items cluster naturally into these meaningful dimensions of fantasy, supporting the instrument’s utility in differentiating various types of imaginative processing in children. The resulting average scoring system for each subscale is a direct consequence of this factor structure.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report or interview-based psychological scale

Format: 17 items utilizing a 3-point response scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Children

Age Group: Grades 2 through 6 (approximately 7 to 12 years old)

Population Details: Urban elementary school children were the primary sample for initial validation.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked how often they experience specific daydreams or pretend thoughts that spontaneously occur. Scoring is based on a 3-point scale where 1 = No, 2 = A little, and 3 = A lot.

• Aggressive Fantasies Subscale: Sum of responses to items 3, 5, 8, 12, 13, and 16, divided by 6. Scores range from 1 (no aggressive fantasies) to 3 (frequent aggressive fantasies).
• Active-Heroic Fantasies Subscale: Sum of responses to items 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, and 15, divided by 6. Scores range from 1 (no heroic fantasies) to 3 (frequent heroic fantasies).
• Prosocial Fantasies Subscale: Sum of responses to items 1, 9, 11, 14, and 17, divided by 5. Scores range from 1 (no prosocial fantasy) to 3 (frequent prosocial fantasies).

Keywords

Fantasy Behavior, Childhood Aggression, Prosocial Behavior, Personality Measurement, Psychometrics, Daydreams, Rosenfeld E., Huesmann L.R., Eron L.D., Torney-Purta J.V.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not available in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was first published in 1982. For current usage and permissions, researchers should consult the primary authors or the publisher of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The instrument is widely accessible and has been reproduced in academic compendiums. The original PDF compendium detailing the scale can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf.

An additional resource providing context and potentially the full text is available via ERIC: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED486261.pdf.

Reference’s

The following key references document the development and application of the Fantasy Measure:

• Rosenfeld E, Huesmann LR, Eron LD, Torney-Purta JV. Measuring patterns of fantasy behavior in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1982;42(2):347-366. The direct link to the article abstract and full text (where available) is: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/83376/1982.Rosenfeld_Huesmann_etal.MeasuringPatternsofFantasybehaviorinchildren.JournalofPersonality&amp?sequence=1
• Huesmann LR, Eron LD. Television and the aggressive child. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers, 1986. (This reference documents the adaptation and application of the scale in relation to media effects.)

Items of the Fantasy Measure

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Do you sometimes daydream about helping other kids in trouble?
2. Do you sometimes daydream that you enter a burning building to save somebody in a fire?
3. When you get mad, sometimes, do you think about the things you would like to do to the person you’re made at—like hitting, or breaking his toys, or telling on him?
4. Do you sometimes pretend that you are a brave hero who saves somebody or who captures a bad guy?
5. Do you play games where you pretend to fight with somebody?
6. Do you play scary pretend games like ghost or monsters or something like that?
7. Do you sometimes dream about accidents or fires or crashes?
8. Do you sometimes have daydreams or night dreams about running away from somebody who is trying to catch you and punish you—even when you weren’t really bad?
9. Do you ever think about doing nice things for other people?
10. When you are daydreaming, do you think about being the winner in a game that you like to play?
11. Do you ever daydream about helping your mother get something she wants?
12. Do you sometimes think about something bad that you did, that nobody knows about but you?
13. Do you sometimes daydream about what would happen if you did real bad in school even when this didn’t really happen?
14. Have you ever daydreamed about being an important person who helps poor people?
15. When you are daydreaming, do you think about being a great astronaut, or scientist, or singer, or somebody like that who is very famous?
16. Do you sometimes have daydreams about hitting or hurting somebody that you don’t like?
17. Have you ever daydreamed about saving a kid who fell in the lake?