No specific references. But you may want to look up some of the Jungians and
other "depth psychologists." But these people are not into research per se.
It'll be mostly theory. I hope the student has room in her paper for the
impact of people on fairy tales (the reverse of the original question). Since
children are not _tabula rasas_ I am sure fairy tales have shaped themselves
over the years into forms that are enjoyable to children - or at least ring
true with their understanding of the world. Consider the familiar evil
step-mothers of Cindarella, and Snow White. Daly and Wilson's book _Homicide_
(1988) estimates that physical abuse toward children is 7x higher, and fatal
abuse 100x more likely, in homes with one step-parent, as opposed to homes
with no step-parents (with poverty, education, and other demographics held
constant). If the student alters the focus of the question, it can be one heck
of a paper. There is a summary of the step-children research in Day & Wilson's
(1996) article "Violence Against Stepchildren" _Current Directions in
Psychological Science_ 5(3), 77-81.
Shirley-Anne Hensch wrote:
> Tipsters:
>
> A student came by and asked me a question today that really stumped me.
> She is writing a paper, and is interested on the "impact of fairy tales on
> children." I searched PsychInfo and came up with some matches on "fairy
> tales" but not really anything that dealt with the impact on children. I
> think that the student wants to know if hearing fairy tales affects
> children's creativity, or their 'views of the world.' Have any of you
> heard of any research in this area?
--
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John W. Kulig [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Psychology http://oz.plymouth.edu
Plymouth State College tel: (603) 535-2468
Plymouth NH USA 03264 fax: (603) 535-2412
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"The only rational way of educating is to be an example - if
one can't help it, a warning example." A. Einstein, 1934.
