Number personification and imaginary companions: Concurrent rather than developmental links in school-age children

Number personification (NP), the attribution of gender, age, or character to digits, is common among 9- to 12-year-olds, but its relationship to other forms of childhood personification remains unknown. Because NP and imaginary companions (ICs) share the attribution of personhood to non-living entities and high idiosyncrasy, we hypothesized that NP is a developmental extension of ICs. In a web survey, 2,193 Japanese mothers of children in grades 1--6 reported their child's current and past IC and NP status and fantasy orientation. Current ICs were reported for 15.1¥% of children, and current NP for 1.2¥%. Contrary to our hypothesis, past IC did not predict current NP; instead, children with a current IC had four times the odds of NP (odds ratio = 4.16). Grade, gender, and fantasy orientation were related to ICs but not, or only weakly, to NP. NP appears to co-occur with ICs rather than to follow them developmentally.