Developmental Psychology; Social Cognitive Development; Social and Emotional Learning; Play, Pretend, Imagination; Theatre, Drama and The Arts
Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein is Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology. Her work focuses on children's developing social and emotional skills, particularly theory of mind, empathy, and emotional control and regulation, and how such skills intersect with children's engagement in pretend play, theatre, drama, and other imaginative activities. She directs the SSIT Lab (The Social Skills, Imagination, and Theatre Lab), which conducts research that looks both at the effects of engaging in pretend play and theatre on children's social-emotional skills, and how children understand and learn social information in fictional worlds. She is also the co-director of the National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab, the Mason Arts Research Center (MasonARC).
Dr. Goldstein received a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 2010 from Boston College. She completed post-doctoral training at Yale University from 2010-2012. Following this, she moved to Pace University, where she was assistant professor from 2013-2017 before joining Mason in Fall of 2017. Dr. Goldstein's research has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The John Templeton Foundation, the Caplan Foundation, Arts Connection, and the Department of Homeland Security. Her papers have appeared in Child Development, Trends in Cognitive Science, Journal of Cognition and Development, and Developmental Science, among others. Dr. Goldstein serves on the editorial boards of the journals Empirical Studies in the Arts, Creativity Research Journal, and Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, she is the current co-editor of the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, and a Fellow of Division 10 of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Goldstein's current research and interests include projects on:
1) What implicit and explicit teaching strategies the very best acting teachers use with high school students to improve their social and emotional knowledge;
2) How varying levels of embodiment and representation improve children's learning and retention of social and factual information in pretend play;
3) How acting (versus reading) affects children's understanding of mental and emotional states;
4) How moral reasoning may be different for children in the pretend versus real world;
5) How marching band may be an ideal test case for intergroup context and belongingness across racial and ethnic backgrounds;
6) How video game play may be associated with creativity;
7) How children understand, and parents explain, Santa Claus and other cultural characters;
8) How dance experience is associated with affective theory of mind;
For more information on Dr. Goldstein's research, please visit her lab website (ssit.gmu.edu).
*denotes student
Goldstein, T. R., *Thompson, B. N., & *Kanumuru, P. (2022). Do embodiment and fictionality affect young children’s learning?. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 213, 105275.
Troxler, R., Goldstein, T.R., Holochwost, S., Beekman, C., McKeel, S., & Shami, M. (2022). Deeper engagement with live theater increases middle school students’ empathy and social perspective taking. Applied Developmental Science, 1-21.
*Stutesman, M. G., Havens, J., & Goldstein, T. R. (2022). Developing creativity and other 21st century skills through theater classes. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 8(1), 24.
*Thompson, B., & Goldstein, T.R. (2019). Disentangling Pretend Play Measurement: Defining the Essential Elements and Developmental Progression of Pretense. Developmental Review, 52, 24-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2019.100867
Goldstein, T. R., & Lerner, M. D. (2018). Dramatic pretend play games uniquely improve emotional control in young children. Developmental science, 21(4), e12603.
Goldstein, T. R. (2017). Live theatre as exception and test case for experiencing negative emotions in art. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X17001704
Goldstein, T. R., Lerner, M. D., & Winner, E. (2017). The arts as a venue for developmental science: Realizing a latent opportunity. Child development, 88(5), 1505-1512.
*Panero, M.E. Weisberg, D.S, *Black, J., Goldstein, T.R., Barnes, J., Winner, E., Brownell, H. (2016). Does reading a single passage of literary fiction really improve theory of mind? An attempt at replication. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111(5), e46.
Goldstein, T. R., & Woolley, J. (2016). Ho! Ho! Who? Parent promotion of belief in and live encounters with Santa Claus. Cognitive Development, 39, 113-127.
Goldstein, T.R., & Winner, E. (2012). Enhancing empathy and theory of mind. Journal of Cognition and Development, 13, 19-37.
Goldstein, T.R. & Bloom, P. (2011). The mind onstage: Why cognitive scientists should study acting. Trends in Cognitive Science, 15, 141-142.
Goldstein, T.R. (2009). Psychological perspectives on acting. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3, 6-9.
2018-2024. National Endowment for the Arts: ArtsLabs. The Mason Arts Research Center.
2021-2022. Wake Forest University, The Science of Honesty, The John Templeton Foundation. When Honesty is Discouraged: Understanding Culturally-Endorsed Parental Lies.
2021-2023. National Endowment for the Arts. Positive Effects of Marching Arts on Feelings of Belongingness, Social Bonding, and Inclusivity for Minority Students.
2020. The Alan Alda Center for Science Communication. Acting Techniques Study.
2019. National Science Foundation, Science of Learning, SBE Directorate. Co-PI. Conference “Learning through Play and Imagination” Proposal ID 1940560.
2017-2019. National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works. Theatrical Thinking: The Habits of Mind Taught in Theatre Classes. #17-980096
2017-2018. Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood. Puppets, Dolls, and Costumes: Embodiment and Representation when Constructing Knowledge through Play.
2015-2018. Arts Connection. Theatre in School to Promote Youth with Autism.
2013-2016. The John Templeton Foundation. Training Empathy and Compassion through Engagement with Fictional Worlds #47592
2010-2012. National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.
PSYC 704- LifeSpan Development
PSYC 669- Social and Emotional Development
PSYC 335- Psychology of Creativity and Innovation
PSYC 707 - Emotional Bases of Behavior (Graduate Level)
PSYC 592/892 - Learning and Development Through Play and Imagination
PostDoctoral Fellow, Yale University, 2010-2012.
PhD, Boston College, 2010.
MA, Boston College, 2007.
BA, Cornell University, 2002.
Weisberg, D.S., Goldstein, T.R., & Schatz, J. (March 2022) Society for Research in Child Development, Learning Through Play and Imagination Special Topics Meeting.
Goldstein, T.R. (2021, September). Teaching Body Awareness and Self Understanding Through Acting Classes in Adolescence. Presented as part of the symposium Self and body awareness in theatre and dance practice, at the XXVI International Association for Empirical Aesthetics, Virtual Conference, London, UK.
Goldstein, T.R. (2021, August). Embodiment and Containment as Pathways to Wellbeing Through Theatre. Presented as part of the symposium: “Creativity, Stress and Resilience: A Multiple Levels-of-Analysis Perspective” at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention (Division 10), Virtual Conference, San Diego, CA.
Goldstein, T.R. (2021). Coughing Santa, Tooth Fairy Glitter, Presents from Elves: Children’s Beliefs and Skepticism Towards Fictional Characters. Society for Research in Child Development, (with Candice Mills, Rohan Kapitany, and Jessica Sullivan, Jacqueline Woolley, Discussant). Online Conference.
Goldstein, T.R. (2020, August). Invited Participant, Cognitive Futures in Theatre Conference.
*Thompson, B. & Goldstein, T. R. (2020, June). Pretend play: Novel measurement strategy to capture its developmental progression. Poster virtually presented at The Administration for Children and Families’ National Research Conference on Early Childhood, Arlington, VA
*Stutesman, M., Goldstein, T. (2020, August). Children’s theatre and 21st century skills: Longitudinal analysis of skill growth and variance in teacher ratings. Poster to be presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Washington, DC, USA.
Goldstein, T.R. & Young, D.*. (2019, August). Theatrical Thinking: A Mixed Methods Study of Teacher Perceptions and Actual Classroom Strategies. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
Kou, X., Konrath, S., & Goldstein, T.R. (2019, August). Arts engagement, prosocial traits, and prosocial behaviors. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
Goldstein, T.R., *Thompson, B. (2019, July). The Role of Embodiment in Learning and Understanding Pretend Play: A Replication and Extension. Poster presented at the Guided Playful Learning Workshop at the Cognitive Science Society Conference. Montreal, Canada. *Poster Award Winner.
*Thompson, B. & Goldstein, T. R. (2019, April) Pretend play: A systematic review of definitions, components, and measurement. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development. Baltimore, MD
*Thompson, B. & Goldstein, T. R. (2019, April) Embodiment and Representation when Constructing Knowledge through Play—A Registered Replication and Extension. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development. Baltimore, MD.
*Goldstein, T. R & *Thompson, B. &. (2019, April) The Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Skills Taught in an Adolescent Theatre Classroom. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development. Baltimore, MD.
*Thompson, B. & Goldstein, T. R. (2018, November). Pretend play in early childhood programs: A case for evidence-based program implementation and researcher-practitioner partnerships. Poster presented at Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Fall Research Conference, Washington, D.C.
Goldstein, T. R. (2018, November). Arts Education in the United States: National Education Policies for Arts Education and Studies on the Impact of Arts Education Experiences for Youth Development Using Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Randomized Control Methods. Discussant. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Research Conference. Washington, DC.
Goldstein, T.R. (2018, September). Learning from Two National Endowment for the Arts Research Labs. Arts Education Partnership Annual Convening. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Goldstein, T.R. (2018, August). Acting and Pretending: The Effects of Embodied Imagination on Social Skills. As part of the Symposium: Engaging the Body 2020: Setting an Embodiment Agenda in Psychology, American Psychological Association, Annual Convention, Division 10, San Francisco, CA.
Goldstein, T. R. & *Thompson, B. (2018, August). Ensemble building within youth theater programs: Alignment of research and practice. American Psychological Association, Annual Convention, Division 10, San Francisco, CA.
*Oberndorf, M. & Goldstein, T.R. (2018, August) Creating, maintaining, and releasing character: predicting burnout in actors. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association.
*Young, D., Rosenthal, L., & Goldstein, T.R. (2018, August). Psychosocial Trajectories of Change Across A Drum Corps Marching Season. Poster presented at the American Psychological Assocaition.
*Thompson, B. & Goldstein, T. R. (2018, May). Ensemble Building in Educational Contexts: What Can We Learn from Theater Instruction? Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science, Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Paterson, S. J., Lerner, M. D., Goldstein, T. R., Toub, T. S., Golinkoff, R., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2018, May). Acting out in Public School: How a Theatre Program Can Impact Imitation Skills in Children with ASD. Poster presented at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Goldstein, T.R. (2018, January). Explanation and disbelief in children’s understanding of live versions of fictional characters. Poster presented at the Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development, Budapest, Hungary.
Goldstein, T.R. (2017, August). Imagination, Methods, Measures, and Achievements. Discussant for the symposium: The power of imagination: building emotion and creativity skills through art and play interventions. American Psychological Association, Annual Convention, Division 10, Washington DC.
Goldstein, T. R. (2017, May). Meeting Superman and Cinderella: Children’s Judgments of Live Versions of Fictional TV Characters. As part of the symposium: Reality Versus Fantasy: Fiction Exposure and Real-World Understanding. Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Boston, MA.
*Boyle, A. & Goldstein, T.R. (2017, April). Interactive Block Play and Spatial Skill Development . Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Convention. Austin, TX.
Ongoing: Blog for PsychologyToday.com (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mind-stage)
Featured and quoted in The Washington Post (January 10, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2023/01/10/theater-kids-communication-empathy/
Work featured on NPR’s Hidden Brain “You 2.0: Empathy Gym.” https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=744195502
Society for Research in Child Development Scholar-in-Residence. https://chss.gmu.edu/articles/13252
Interviewed and quoted for Pacific Standard Article “Should Animals Win Acting Oscars? A Pacific Standard Investigation” (January 3, 2019). https://psmag.com/news/oh-you-have-got-to-be-kitten-me-no-animals-should-not-win-acting-oscars
Research feature by Child Trends (December 21, 2018) http://www.wtvm.com/2019/01/03/positive-parenting-where-will-your-childs-imagination-go-today/
Research on Dramatic Pretend Play Games featured on Columbia University and University of Michigan’s “Research Connections” newsletter. (October, 2018). https://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/new-researcharchive#anchor36662
Interviewed and quoted in the New York Times on Empirical Research in the Arts (July 8, 2018) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/arts/design/do-you-like-dogs-playing-poker-science-would-like-to-know-why.html
Interviewed for Culture File Pod, Lyric FM, Dublin, Ireland (June 2, 2018). https://soundcloud.com/soundsdoable/culture-file-social-skills-imagination-and-theatre
Interviewed for Le Petit Mort issue on empathy. (April 2, 2018)
Urbo.com: Psychological aspects of television and movie spoilers. (February 12, 2018) http://www.urbo.com/content/do-spoilers-actually-ruin-stories
Science News.org https://www.sciencenews.org/article/kids-play-fantasy-reality (February 6, 2018)
CNN: Children’s understanding of Santa Claus http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/health/kids-santa-claus-belief-parent-curve-intl/index.html (December 13, 2017).
Questions of Realness (August, 2017). Blog for Junkyard of the Mind. https://junkyardofthemind.com/blog/2017/8/14/questions-of-realness
Urbo.com: The effects of living space comparison (August 19, 2017). http://www.urbo.com/content/unrealistic-portrayals-of-tv-characters-lives-could-affect-how-you-view-the-world-and-yourself
Vice Magazine: Santa Claus. (March 25, 2017). https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-stop-believing-in-god
“Science.dk” (Danish online magazine) interview on Theory of Mind and Literature (January, 2017). http://videnskab.dk/kultur-samfund/en-god-bog-er-alligevel-ikke-en-hurtig-empati-booster
The Atlantic. “Reading Literature Won’t Give you Superpowers” http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/12/should-psychologists-study-fiction/509405/ (December, 2016)
Time Magazine: Theory of Mind and Literature http://time.com/4547332/reading-benefits/ (October 28, 2016)
“Brainwaves Video Anthology” series. (July 25, 2016). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVSvyq9XYz4&feature=youtu.be; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KCO0Tjzqjo
New York Magazine blog “The Science of Us”. (July 21, 2016). “A Kid’s World Is a Pleasing, Confusing Mash-up of Magic and Reality” http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/07/to-a-kid-the-world-is-a-pleasing-mashup-of-magic-and-reality.html
Articulate with Jim Cotter (July 7, 2016). WHYY, Philadelphia. http://whyy.org/cms/articulate/roberto-lugo-all-the-worlds-a-stage-hao-yang/
Creating their own Worlds: Arts and Learning. (May, 2016). Blog for The Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2016/06/03/creating-their-own-worlds-arts-and-learning/
Interviewed for Mente &Cervello (Mind/Scientific American, Italian edition) (January 14, 2016).
Featured in Backstage Magazine, (May 14, 2015). “How not to Psych yourself out pre-audition”. http://www.backstage.com/interview/how-not-psych-yourself-out-preaudition/
Featured on “All About Psychology” website (March 3, 2015). http://www.all-about-psychology.com/thalia-goldstein.html
Interviewed on the Leonard Lopate show, WNYC, 93.9. (January 16, 2015). “Inside the Mind of an Actor” http://www.wnyc.org/story/inside-mind-actor/
“How Actors Create Emotions: A Problematic Psychology” (March, 2014) for The Atlantic Health.http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/how-actors-create-emotions-a-problematic-psychology/284291/
“Why we love big fighting robots”. (July 13, 2013). The Culture Blog, Esquire Magazine. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/pacific-rim-robot-movies?click=main_sr
“Scientific Explanations for Why Spoilers are so Horrible” (March 21, 2013) The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/03/scientific-explanations-for-why-spoilers-are-so-horrible/274227/
“People you should know”: Radio/Podcast (February, 2013) http://www.blogtalkradio.com/pysk/2013/02/04/people-you-should-know
“Why She Cries at Movies, While He Snores: New research finds men and women feel sympathy for fictional characters for different reasons.” (September, 2012) Pacific Standard Magazine (http://www.psmag.com/culture-society/why-she-cries-at-movies-while-he-snores-46912/) *Picked up by artsjournal.com
“Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers document improvements for children with autism” (January, 2012) Harvard Education Letter http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/521
Brittany Nicole Thompson, Pretend Play Across the Preschool Years: Defining and Observing Its Developmental Progression (2020)