Empirical Research on Fantasy Proneness and Its Correlates 2000-2018: A Meta-Analysis

H. Merckelbach; H. Otgaar; S.J. Lynn

doi:10.1037/cns0000272

Empirical Research on Fantasy Proneness and Its Correlates 2000-2018: A Meta-Analysis

H. Merckelbach^*, H. Otgaar, S.J. Lynn

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

We reviewed articles that appeared between 2000 and 2018 and that addressed fantasy proneness as measured by the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) or the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI). We searched Google Scholar to identify relevant articles and used the Hunter-Schmidt method to meta-analyze the correlates of fantasy proneness. We identified 132 articles describing 139 samples that together included 24,007 research participants. Effect sizes were large (rs > .50) for hallucinatory experiences, magical ideation, perceptual aberration, dissociation, and excessive daydreaming. Contrary to the popular idea that childhood trauma is a prominent precursor of fantasy proneness, we found that the effect sizes for self-reported trauma were small, as was also the case for depression, anxiety, and memory illusions (rs < .30). Strides in this research area can be made when future studies move beyond the fantasy proneness-trauma link to test causal models regarding the antecedents of maladaptive fantasizing.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2-26
Number of pages	25
Journal	Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice
Volume	9
Issue number	1
Early online date	3 Jun 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000272
Publication status	Published - Mar 2022

Keywords

fantasy proneness
Creative Experiences Questionnaire
Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings
dissociation
schizotypy
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER
SLEEP-RELATED EXPERIENCES
THOUGHT-ACTION FUSION
SELF-REPORTED TRAUMA
INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES
COGNITIVE FAILURES
CHILDHOOD TRAUMA
FALSE MEMORIES
IMAGINATIVE INVOLVEMENT

Access to Document

10.1037/cns0000272

Cite this

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title = "Empirical Research on Fantasy Proneness and Its Correlates 2000-2018: A Meta-Analysis",

abstract = "We reviewed articles that appeared between 2000 and 2018 and that addressed fantasy proneness as measured by the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) or the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI). We searched Google Scholar to identify relevant articles and used the Hunter-Schmidt method to meta-analyze the correlates of fantasy proneness. We identified 132 articles describing 139 samples that together included 24,007 research participants. Effect sizes were large (rs > .50) for hallucinatory experiences, magical ideation, perceptual aberration, dissociation, and excessive daydreaming. Contrary to the popular idea that childhood trauma is a prominent precursor of fantasy proneness, we found that the effect sizes for self-reported trauma were small, as was also the case for depression, anxiety, and memory illusions (rs < .30). Strides in this research area can be made when future studies move beyond the fantasy proneness-trauma link to test causal models regarding the antecedents of maladaptive fantasizing.",

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author = "H. Merckelbach and H. Otgaar and S.J. Lynn",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 American Psychological Association",

year = "2022",

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AU - Lynn, S.J.

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AB - We reviewed articles that appeared between 2000 and 2018 and that addressed fantasy proneness as measured by the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) or the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imaginings (ICMI). We searched Google Scholar to identify relevant articles and used the Hunter-Schmidt method to meta-analyze the correlates of fantasy proneness. We identified 132 articles describing 139 samples that together included 24,007 research participants. Effect sizes were large (rs > .50) for hallucinatory experiences, magical ideation, perceptual aberration, dissociation, and excessive daydreaming. Contrary to the popular idea that childhood trauma is a prominent precursor of fantasy proneness, we found that the effect sizes for self-reported trauma were small, as was also the case for depression, anxiety, and memory illusions (rs < .30). Strides in this research area can be made when future studies move beyond the fantasy proneness-trauma link to test causal models regarding the antecedents of maladaptive fantasizing.

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