Down the Rabbit Hole: the Psychology of the Fantasy-Reality Distinction

Four-Week Course

Dates: Four Wednesdays, June 20–July 18 (no class July 4)
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: See Course Locations and Parking page
Course Fee: $110 (discounted to $88 for select groups)

Jacqueline Woolley, Ph.D., Psychology, UT Austin

The ability to differentiate fantasy from reality is considered a hallmark of adult reasoning. Traditional views of child development hold that young children are confused about the nature of reality, often confusing it with fantasy. In this class we will address the development of the ability to differentiate reality from fantasy, as well as the nature of beliefs about a variety of related domains, including magic and superstition. Throughout the course, the focal question will be whether children are fundamentally different from adults in their ability to differentiate fantasy from reality.

1. Emerging Concepts of Reality
2. Belief Formation
3. Belief in Fantastical and Supernatural Beings
4. Magical Thinking

Jacqueline Woolley is a professor and Associate Chair of Psychology at The University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 1990 from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include children’s fantasy-reality differentiation, understanding of imagination, religious cognition, and theory of mind. She has served as a consulting editor to Child Development and Developmental Psychology, and has served on the editorial boards of Psychological Bulletin and the Journal of Cognition and Culture. Her research on fantasy and reality is funded by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) entitled "The Development and Formation of Reality-Status Judgments." Recently, Dr. Woolley received a University of Texas President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award for 2006-2007.

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