Teaching Imagination Skills to Lower Socioeconomic Youth

Abstract

Imagination is an important ability for adolescents that is related to cognitive, affective, and coping skills (Donahue & Tuber, 1993; Pikard, 1990; Singer & Singer, 1981). This study involved eleven 12 to 14-year-old lower socioeconomic youth involved in a delinquency prevention program in a small, rural midwestem community. The first segment of the study involved a structured interview with each participant, indicating that most of these youth spent little time in imagination. Furthermore, they lacked the necessary environmental factors that enhance the development of imagination, (e.g., privacy, supportive role model, and storyteller). Each of the youth (nine boys and two girls) then participated in a 16 session, eight-week psychoeducational intervention aimed at teaching them imagination skills. The pre and post assessment data showed nine of the eleven improved in their ability to be more fluent thinkers. Furthermore, eight of the eleven showed better divergent thinking ability in the area of originality. Seven improved in richness in storytelling, evidenced by a greater ability to use concrete images in subject created endings to scenarios. Finally, all the youth reported a greater ability to relax and were able to describe various imaginative experiences they had during the intervention. The findings of this study suggest imaginative skills training was useful for this group of adolescents and may have promise for future research.