Does Your Imagination Evolve with Age?

As children transition into adulthood, how does their imagination evolve? Do we gradually lose our intrinsic ability to perceive novelty, or does our life experience refine it? Paul Harris, a developmental psychologist at Harvard University, contends that our imagination actually enhances with age. A 2021 review indicates that young children’s pretend play often sticks to “regularities of everyday life.” As they mature, they begin to envision more dramatic counterfactuals. Notably, Harris emphasizes the significant cognitive leap around age four, when children start to conceive of two conflicting outcomes from the same event.

This perspective is bolstered by research indicating that children often struggle with creative tasks that adults navigate successfully. For instance, in a particular task, participants are asked to retrieve an object from a container using only a straight pipe cleaner. The solution involves bending it into a hook—a concept that children under five frequently fail to grasp.

Angela Nihout, a developmental psychologist at the University of Kent, UK, has been investigating the evolution of imagination with age. In an upcoming yet-to-be-published study commissioned by British Heritage, Nihout and her colleagues invited visitors at Dover Castle to suggest uses for various historical artifacts, including warrior-shaped figures and dress zippers. “Older adults generated more inventive possibilities than younger adults,” she notes.

This aligns with findings from Andrew Sturman, a cognitive developmental psychologist at Occidental College in Los Angeles.