Notifications
No Notifications

Welcome to the Neuroarts Resource Center!

Our team will periodically post updates in this space to keep you informed on how the platform is evolving. Thank you for being part of the neuroarts community.

We have launched a new quick tips series to help familiarize NRC community members with the platform's offerings. Click here to watch a short video on how to share NRC content to your social feed!

From searching a growing library of research and programs to engaging directly with peers on the social feed, the Neuroarts Resource Center is designed to help you find inspiration, collaborators, and tools that drive your work forward.

DirectoryIndividuals

Thalia Goldstein

Associate Professor and Director at George Mason University
Fairfax, VA, United States
Avatar image of 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).

Banner image of Thalia Goldstein

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