Thalia Goldstein
Dr. Goldstein is an associate professor and director of the Applied Developmental Psychology program in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University, where she directs the Play, Learning, Arts and Youth Lab (PLAYlab), and from 2018- 2025 (until federal termination) codirected the National Endowment for the Arts Lab, the Mason Arts Research Center (MasonARC).
Dr. Goldstein's work focuses on the effects of pretend play, imagination, theatre, and other art forms (dance, marching arts, video games, literature) on child and adolescent development. She also conducts research projects on children's understanding of fictional characters (e.g. Santa Claus), and grown up play activities, including Renaissance Faires, CosPlay, Drag, and Model UN. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, The John Templeton Foundation, Arts Connection, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Psychological Foundation, among others. She earned her BA at Cornell University, her MA and PhD at Boston College, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University. From 2017-2025 she was the coeditor of the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, the Division 10 journal for the American Psychological Association, where she has also won several awards and was recently named fellow. Her recent book (Teacher's College Press) is "Why Theatre Education Matters: Understanding its Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Benefits".
Interests
Theatre; Drama; Acting; Pretend Play; Child Development; Imagination; Narrative; Morality; Empathy; Theory of Mind; Social-Emotional Learning; Arts Education
