As a child, I remember imagining myself as an adventurer in a faraway fantasy land, uncovering secrets of the wizarding world like Harry Potter and his friends or going on quests like dwarves from The Hobbit. My imagination was a sanctuary where I could explore experiences beyond my immediate reality. Slowly, I realized that such worlds were more alluring for some people than others.
Whether it is a desire to explore the unknown or yearn for control, our attraction to the world of fantasies is due to certain predispositions, i.e., tendencies to behave in particular ways. These imaginations are not just distractions. Instead, they are windows that offer a glimpse into the complex ways in which our minds navigate desires, emotions, fears, and self-perceptions. Hence, I dove into psychology to better understand why some people are more enchanted by imaginary worlds and found that there were several categories that such individuals may fall into!
The Curiosity-Driven Adventurer: Openness to Experience
Dubourg and Baumard (2021) linked the fondness for imaginary worlds with a personality trait—Openness to Experience—which is characterized by novelty-seeking, curiosity, and exploratory preferences (McCrae & Costa, 1997). The Weasley twins from the Harry Potter series, Fred and George, are excellent examples of this personality trait. Their curious inventions, like the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and Skiving Snackboxes, demonstrate their ability to think outside the box! They drop out of school, defy traditional career expectations, and start their “clever, creative, and fun” magic joke shop. Just like them, people high in Openness are often drawn to art and adventure. These characteristics of artistic expression and imaginative thinking make them more likely to engage with worlds of fantasy. Imaginary worlds offer safe havens to explore choices and desires such individuals might not have in the real world.
The Self-Centric Dreamer: Narcissistic Personality
Openness to Experience is not the only explanation for why some people are more attracted to imaginations. Characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others, narcissistic personalities may have intriguing connections with the attraction toward imaginary worlds. Such people enjoy stories about larger-than-life characters, such as Gandalf or Galadriel from The Lord of The Rings, often using them as a way to fantasize about their own grandeur. Their imagined worlds are filled with admiration, an idealized sense of self, and power (Raskin & Novacek, 1991; Ronningstam, 2011). They are the respected and adored heroes in these scenarios who achieve greatness.
Based on the DC Comics character, The Sandman, and later the Lucifer comics, the devil Lucifer Morningstar is a good example of this spectrum. His sense of superiority and self-importance give rise to his ego-driven imaginations. His ability to compel people to tell the truth simply by looking them in the eye is a literal and figurative manifestation of his God-like complex.
For such people, imaginary worlds are an essential part of boosting self-esteem and/or coping with feelings of inadequacy or vulnerability. When real lives do not always provide the level of recognition people with a narcissistic personality crave, fantasy can serve as a replacement, allowing them to feel the grandiosity they yearn for. In this way, imagination becomes a powerful tool to craft worlds where such individuals are always at the center and in control.
The Introverted Escapist: Avoidant Personality
The connection between fantasy and personality becomes more about “avoidance” for those who are extremely shy, fear rejection, and have a sense of inadequacy in social situations. The imaginary worlds of individuals with avoidant personalities offer a safe place to experience social connection and comfort without the threat of scrutiny, judgment, or rejection (Sørensen and colleagues, 2019). In this case, such people craft scenarios where they feel accepted and free from the anxieties that govern their everyday lives. Here, they can explore different versions of themselves—those that are more confident and connected.
Walter Mitty, the main character in the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), is a good example. He lives alone, is socially shy, and does not have the courage to talk to his crush. However, in his daydreams, he’s a Navy Commander, a world-renowned doctor, an air force pilot, and a dog rescuer to his crush before her apartment explodes seconds later! There is a significant disconnect between his everyday life and his imaginary worlds. His fantasies give him the courage to achieve what he could not in real life.
Interestingly, while the imaginations of people with narcissistic personalities are focused on bolstering their self-image and those with avoidant traits are centered on self-doubt and rejection fears, both types of fantasies drive them to seek refuge and find satisfaction in experiencing scenarios more aligned with their needs. In both situations, imaginary worlds become tools that aid such individuals in identity exploration and emotion management.
The Oddball Thinker: Schizotypal Personality
Enter the schizotypal personality—characterized by eccentric behaviors, odd beliefs, magical thinking, and sometimes a detachment from reality! People with schizotypal traits may exhibit intense engagement with fantastical worlds or vivid, unusual ideas (Sánchez-Bernardos & Avia, 2006). This innate attraction can represent a lens through which they interpret the world, sometimes blurring the line between reality and imagination.
While individuals high in Openness to Experience may enjoy imaginary worlds as a tool for personal exploration and broadening their horizons, individuals high in schizotypal traits may seek out fantasies to escape from or make sense of their day-to-day experiences, often in a way that others might find unusual. This attraction is on a different level, where fantasy and reality intermingle in more profound (and sometimes troubling!) ways.
Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the perfect example of someone with schizotypal personality who is frequently drawn to fantasies. Wonka is known for his strange and unusual ways of thinking and behaving, making people around him uncomfortable. His chocolate factory symbolizes an imaginary world rife with weirdness. His magical thinking is visible in the following incident: “‘Imported direct from Loompaland,’ said Mr. Wonka proudly. ‘There’s no such place … I’m a teacher of geography,’ said Mrs. Salt.”
The Perceptual Labyrinth: Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia involves severe disruptions to perception and reality. In its clinical form, it is marked by symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. According to research, several genes predisposing individuals to this condition have been linked to creativity and unconventional thinking (MacCabe and colleagues, 2018; Li and colleagues, 2020). People with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia are more likely to engage with imaginary worlds in ways that go beyond the ordinary—paranormal, supernatural, or unusual experiences and altered perceptions. Such individuals find a deep connection to narratives involving parallel universes and psychic abilities, to name a few.
John Nash from A Beautiful Mind (2001) is a mathematician with schizophrenia. His delusions and hallucinations lead him into a world of fantasy. His roommate Charles, Charles’ niece Marcee, and agent Parcher of the U.S. Department of Defense exist only in his imagination in which he tries to work on a classified assignment with them. Nash becomes increasingly obsessive and paranoid in his fantastical quest.
Schizophrenia possibly gave a significant advantage to humans in the ancestral world. In their 2017 study, Crespi and colleagues proposed that the genetic susceptibility for schizophrenia may have resulted from the positive selection for creativity and imagination present in a small minority of people. Essentially, conditions classified as maladaptive or abnormal in the present times may have been critical in the past environment. Thus, fantasy and imagination are not just coping mechanisms, they are possible tools that have shaped human evolution.
The Restless Whirlwind: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity. ADHD was possibly adaptive in the ancestral world. The ability to rapidly shift attention to various things along with the required (hyper)activity and enhanced imagination may have been valuable in avoiding threats and collecting resources for survival. Such individuals would also have had the advantage of quickly alerting the other members of their group against immediate threats (Coolidge, 2020). Hence, these traits were one of the possible tools that aided “the survival of the fittest” in the ancestral environment.
The heightened imagination of individuals with ADHD often helps them explore multiple scenarios in ways others might not. Fantasies become a tool for them to channel their boundless energy and vivid thoughts where they can create and explore freely, and their minds can constantly jump from one idea or activity to the next.
There has been a debate among the fans that Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, exhibits ADHD. He often acts without thinking, is constantly on-the-go, and has trouble focusing on tasks. Peter is drawn into fantasies where he is the hero. His “real” life is filled with complexities, but Spider-Man allows him to escape to scenarios where he has powers beyond those of ordinary people.
Final Thoughts
It is crucial to highlight that some of the personality variations mentioned in this article may make social life challenging in certain situations. However, they do not always reach the extreme levels that would be classified as personality disorders and are not always pathological. Understanding how they intertwine with the situations that people face provides a more nuanced view of how deeply our inner worlds can reflect our outer everyday experiences.
Although these psychological explanations may not be the only ones, they raise several interesting questions: What does it mean for some of the most creative minds to be the most prone to conditions others may find unusual? How much influence does culture, upbringing, and media exposure have on this imagination? How can we harness this cognitive ability more effectively as we continue to understand the connection between our mental health and the imaginary worlds that our minds weave?
The temptation towards imaginary worlds potentially provided our ancestors with flexibility and problem-solving skills for survival. Whether eccentric beliefs, grandiose scenarios, escapism from social fears, or innovations that push all boundaries, the constant attraction to fantasies reflects a fascinating side of human evolution. Our fantasies have always been tied to our very existence. By understanding this connection, we can better understand the complex phenomena that shape us and make us who we are today.
Glossary (in alphabetical order)
Delusions: Fixed and false beliefs that are contrary to evidence and reality. For example, the belief that one has supernatural powers.
Genes: Basic hereditary units passed from generation to generation responsible for how one looks and functions.
Hallucinations: False perceptions about events or objects that appear real (but are not!) and involve the five senses—sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. For example, the perception that insects are crawling under the skin.
Maladaptive: The inability to adjust adequately/appropriately to the environment.
Personality Disorders: Long-standing patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that remain stable over time, causing people great trouble in their personal and professional lives, especially when relating to others.
Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder: A magical product developed by Fred and George Weasley, which creates complete darkness in an area for the user to escape (from the Harry Potter series).
Skiving Snackboxes: Sweets created by Fred and George Weasley that make the consumer appear sick.
Traits: A particular characteristic that produces a specific behavior. In psychology, a trait is a relatively stable thinking, feeling, and behaving pattern that describes an individual.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC. (2024, October 23). About Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Coolidge, F. L. Paleopsychopathology. (2020) In Evolutionary Neuropsychology: An Introduction to the Evolution of the Structures and Functions of the Human Brain (pp. 208–236). Oxford University Press.
Crespi, B., Summers, K., & Dorus, S. (2007). Adaptive evolution of genes underlying schizophrenia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological sciences, 274(1627), 2801–2810.
Dubourg, E., & Baumard, N. (2021). Why imaginary worlds? The psychological foundations and cultural evolution of fictions with imaginary worlds. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 45, e276.
Li, H., Zhang, C., Cai, X., Wang, L., Luo, F., Ma, Y., … & Xiao, X. (2020). Genome-wide association study of creativity reveals genetic overlap with psychiatric disorders, risk tolerance, and risky behaviors. Schizophrenia bulletin, 46(5), 1317–1326.
MacCabe, J. H., Sariaslan, A., Almqvist, C., Lichtenstein, P., Larsson, H., & Kyaga, S. (2018). Artistic creativity and risk for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and unipolar depression: A Swedish population-based case-control study and sib-pair analysis. The British journal of psychiatry, 212(6), 370–376.
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52(5), 509–516.
Raskin, R., & Novacek, J. (1991). Narcissism and the use of fantasy. Journal of clinical psychology, 47(4), 490–499.
Ronningstam, E. (2011). Narcissistic personality disorder: A clinical perspective. Journal of psychiatric practice, 17(2), 89–99.
Sánchez-Bernardos, M. L., & Avia, M. D. (2006). The relationship between fantasy proneness and schizotypy in adolescents. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 194(6), 411–414.
Sørensen, K. D., Wilberg, T., Berthelsen, E., & Råbu, M. (2019). Lived experience of treatment for avoidant personality disorder: Searching for courage to be. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 2879.
World Health Organization: WHO. (2022, January 10). Schizophrenia.
Author-
A writer by passion and a researcher by education, Apeksha Srivastava is currently a doctoral candidate at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. She was a visiting researcher at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA, from April to July 2024. Her research area lies at the intersection of Science Communication and Psychology, and she enjoys reading and listening to music during her free time.
Illustrator-
Andreia Rocha did her M.Sc. at Universidade do Algarve in Faro, Portugal, in Oncobiology and moved to Vienna to complete her thesis at IMBA where she studied stem cells and focused on working with organoids while using them as cancer models. Currently, she is a research assistant at JLP Health, a startup company based in Vienna, Austria. She is also passionate about communicating science through art and illustration and wishes to combine the two careers in the future. You can visit her website and follow her on instagram.
Editors-
Ananya Sen and Roopsha Sengupta
Acknowledgment: The author would like to thank Frederick L. Coolidge, Professor, Psychology Department, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA, for sparking inspiration on the idea of this article.
