Spatial Aspects of Felt Presence and the Phenomenon of Childhood Imaginary Companions: Peripersonal Space, Embodied Perspective, and Continuity of Agent Propensity
PsyArXiv Preprints October 20, 2026 preprint DOI: osf:7fsem_v4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 185 |
| Population | Adults without psychiatric or neurological diagnoses, including 45 with and 140 without a childhood imaginary companion history |
| Measures | Sensed Presence Questionnaire (SenPQ), dissociation questionnaire |
| Topics | Tulpamancy |
| Key findings | IC-positive adults scored significantly higher on the Sensed Presence Questionnaire, supporting a continuity prediction, while dissociation scores did not differ significantly between groups. Most IC-positive participants (88.9%, 40 of 45) recalled a body-referenced companion perspective, and 66.7% (76 of 114) of distance estimates placed the companion within 70 cm of the body, exceeding one half and offering moderate support for a peripersonal-space prediction. The authors contend the findings provide partial evidence that the IC–presence link reflects mechanisms proposed by a bodily self-consciousness account. |
Abstract
Felt presence (FP), the sense that another agent is nearby without corresponding sensory evidence, occurs across neurological, psychiatric and non-clinical populations. Prior work links childhood imaginary companions (ICs) to anomalous and presence-related experience; we asked whether this link carries the spatial and perspectival signature predicted by a bodily self-consciousness (BSC) account. In 185 adults without psychiatric or neurological diagnoses (45 with and 140 without a childhood IC history), IC-positive participants retrospectively reported their companion’s location, distance and perspective, and all participants completed the Sensed Presence Questionnaire (SenPQ) and a dissociation questionnaire. IC-positive adults scored significantly higher on the SenPQ, supporting the continuity prediction, whereas dissociation scores did not differ significantly between groups. Of the IC-positive participants, 88.9% (40 of 45) recalled their companion from a body-referenced (first-person or mixed first- and third-person) perspective. This offers tentative support for the perspective prediction, because three of the four response options were body-referenced. In 66.7% (76 of 114) of distance estimates for directions in which the companion had appeared, participants placed it within 70 cm of the body, our operational boundary of peripersonal space (PPS). This proportion significantly exceeded one half, offering moderate support for the peripersonal prediction. Companions were most often localised in front of and beside the body, unlike adult FP, which is typically experienced behind or beside the body. The findings provide partial evidence that the IC–presence link reflects the mechanisms proposed by a BSC account.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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State of the evidence: Tulpamancy Supports
Adults with a childhood imaginary companion scored higher on sensed presence and most recalled a body-referenced companion perspective, while dissociation scores did not differ, offering partial support for a bodily self-consciousness account.
Synthesized