HEY NO TOUCHY, science says I’m allowed to have a stuffed animal.
Hey guys, Julia here for DNews
Most of us had a thing growing up, a teddy bear or maybe a baby blanket.
Something we held on to while we slept or were scared.
But why do we love these inanimate things?
Science shows us why we place so much meaning in objects.
Psychologist Donald Winnicott who was a prominent member of the British Independent Group of
the British Psychoanalytical Society, introduced the idea of a transitional object.
That these things help us transition in some way.
They ease the separation between mother and child.
Babies don’t see themselves as independent, they believe they are one and the same as
their mother.
As the mother starts to separate this causes anxiety in a child.
A bear or blanket helps them self soothe, “I can’t have my mom right now, but I
have this, this helps.”
Or maybe these objects help us transition from sleeping with our parents to sleeping
alone.
This theory has some evidence.
For instance, more kids tend to have attachment objects in Western societies where kids sleep
alone earlier than in Eastern countries where kids sleep with their parents through middle-childhood.
But why do we get so attached to things?
There’s an idea called called "essentialism,"- We tend to think objects have an essence.
Something we add to them, like the same way we wouldn’t wear the shirt of a murderer
or feel strange when standing in a place where something bad happened.
Scientists put this to test with little kids.
A 2007 study published in the journal Cognition had kids put their beloved object into a special
box that would “replicate” it.
When asked if they wanted the new, but identical object, many kids refused.
Maybe it’s a kind of anthropomorphism at work.
Some studies show that kids are natural anthropomorphizers, meaning they believe almost everything can
think and feel like a person can.
In one study, from Bristol University, researchers show young kids two pictures, one of a living
animal and one of a toy animal.
They told the kids stories in which the living animals responded with a feeling and the toy
responded physically.
The kids were asked how would your toy respond?
Kids with no special attachment object or whose object had no face, like a blanket,
said their toys would respond physically, like the toy in the picture.
Kids whose special toy had a face, said it would respond with thought and feelings.
When I was a kid I used to line my stuffed animals on my bed to make sure none of them
felt left out.
I may or may not still snuggle with a stuffed animal while I sleep.
Do you still have your stuffed animal or security blanket too?
Feel a little weird about it?
Have no shame!
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Adult Development showed that there’s no connection
between having a teddy bear and immaturity.
In fact, a lot of people still have attachments to their beloved childhood objects.
A 2010 study in the Journal of Cognition and Culture showed that many adults became stressed
when asked to cut up a picture of their stuffed bear or blanket.
In fact, having one might be a good thing for grown ups.
Separate studies out of Singapore and Amsterdam have found evidence that touching a teddy
bear can ease feelings of social isolation, fears of death and might even make you friendlier.
So do you still have your beloved childhood toy?
You don’t have to lie!
Let us know in the comments below.
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