The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) recently selected Assistant Professor of Psychology, Thalia Goldstein, as a Scholar in Residence, where she will work alongside and learn from their science communication and policy experts. It’s an opportunity to learn and interact with SRCD staff while exploring local scholarly, policy, or government connections.
Dr. Goldstein’s work focuses on the development of children’s social and emotional skills, particularly theory of mind, empathy, and emotional control and regulation. She explores how these skills intersect with children's engagement in pretend play, theatre, drama, and other imaginative activities. Dr. Goldstein’s time at SRCD will provide insights into arts engagement and child development to help parents and teachers better understand what arts can and does do for children. She will also learn ways to think about advocacy and policy engagement on topics in arts and education and child development that are based in the research on the topic.
“I want to make sure that the decisions that are being made about education for children, using the arts, are based on the research and what we know about outcomes for kids in the arts,” she said.
Her residency will begin May 2019 and finish the following year.
In addition to her role as an associate professor of psychology, Dr. Goldstein 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 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).
The Society for Research in Child Development is a professional organization that aims to combine research activities and stimulate research in child development. As research in child development expands, their mission is also in helping to distribute the latest findings in the field.
May 07, 2019