DEVELOPMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL FACTORS IN MAKING WISHES.

Children in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10 (N = 80) and institutionalized and non-institutionalized retardates ( N = 80) made up 3 wishes they hoped would come true. With increasing age, children wished for abstract or intangible human conditions rather than for concrete or tangible possessions; wished for things consistent with adult rather than child status; and made altruistic wishes, benefiting others rather than themselves. Age and IQ differences in frequency of the 3 types of wishes were discussed in terms of differential rates of conceptual, social and emotional development, generally, and the adverse experiences of retardates, in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]