SAT OwlQuestion bank / Cross-Text Connections
Text 1: Some parents worry when a young child invents an imaginary friend. They fear that the child may be lonely or may be having trouble making real friends.
Text 2: Developmental psychologist Leah Tanaka studied preschoolers with and without imaginary companions. Children with imaginary friends were just as likely as other children to have real friends, and they scored higher on tests of understanding other people's thoughts and feelings.
Based on the texts, how would Tanaka most likely respond to the parents' worry described in Text 1?
She would argue that her findings give little reason to think imaginary friends are a sign of loneliness.
She would agree that children with imaginary friends have trouble making real friends.
She would claim that children without imaginary friends are lonelier and have fewer real friends than other children.
She would argue that parents should encourage their children to invent imaginary friends.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
Tanaka found that children with imaginary friends had real friends just as often as other children and did better at understanding others. Her findings would ease the parents' worry, choice A.
Choice D goes beyond Tanaka's findings. She reports results but gives no advice to parents.
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. Tanaka found these children were just as likely to have real friends, which contradicts this.
- C. Tanaka found both groups equally likely to have real friends. She didn't find the other children lonelier.
- D. Tanaka reports findings but gives no advice about encouraging imaginary friends.
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