Papers by Thalia R Goldstein
Dancing bears and talking toasters: A content analysis of supernatural elements in children’s media
Psychology of Popular Media, 2019
All non-real worlds provide exploration: Evidence from developmental psychology
Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2022
While Dubourg and Baumard argue that predisposition toward exploration draws us to fictional envi... more While Dubourg and Baumard argue that predisposition toward exploration draws us to fictional environments, they fail to answer their titular question: “Why Imaginary Worlds?” Research in pretend play, psychological distancing, and theatre shows that being “imaginary” (i.e., any type of unreal, rather than only fantastically unreal) makes exploration of any fictional world profoundly different than that of real-life unfamiliar environments.
Cognitive outcomes of dance education
OECD eBooks, Jun 14, 2013
Social skills outcomes of arts education
OECD eBooks, Jun 14, 2013
Child Development, Sep 21, 2019
Research suggests that children can learn new information via pretense. However, a fundamental pr... more Research suggests that children can learn new information via pretense. However, a fundamental problem with existing studies is that children are passive receivers of the pretense rather than active, engaged participants. This preregistered study replicates previous learning from pretense findings (Sutherland & Friedman, 2012, Child Development), in which children are passive observers of pretense, and extends to two additional conditions that require children to partially (with puppets) or fully (with costumes) embody a character. Children (N = 144, 24-79 months) learned equally well, and better than those in the control condition, from all three play scenarios. At a 2-week follow-up, learning was equally retained across embodiment conditions for older, but not younger, preschoolers. Future research should consider embodiment's role for more complex material.
Racial-ethnic minority participants in the marching arts: Intergroup experiences, perceptions of inclusion, and well-being
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Jul 20, 2023
Cognitive outcomes of theatre education
OECD eBooks, Jun 14, 2013
Disentangling pretend play measurement: Defining the essential elements and developmental progression of pretense
Developmental Review, Jun 1, 2019
Abstract Pretend play is a central component of child development, but causal inferences about it... more Abstract Pretend play is a central component of child development, but causal inferences about its effects are difficult to make due to inconsistencies in definitions and measurement. A thorough analysis of how pretense is measured, coherences and disagreements in measurement strategies, and the behaviors involved in pretend play is needed. We review 199 empirical articles where pretend play was measured and propose a new hierarchical developmental progression of pretend play, rooted in developmental theory and 50 years of research. We suggest pretend play behaviors are likely to develop additively from least to most psychologically complex in the following order: object substitutions, attribution of pretend properties, social interactions within pretend, role enactment, and pretense-related metacommunication. Researchers must use methods in future studies to better capture this developmental progression. This will strengthen construct validity and improve understanding of the mechanisms within pretend play possibly responsible for positive child outcomes.
Psychosocial change across a drum corps season
Psychology of Music, Jun 9, 2022
Drum corps is a marching arts (MA) activity that combines movement, music, and visual performance... more Drum corps is a marching arts (MA) activity that combines movement, music, and visual performance. Education in the MA emphasizes performance, endurance, and group cohesion. However, research on the psychosocial effects of participation in MA education is rare. In the current study, we measured resilience, self-efficacy, goal orientation, and flow, over the course of a season of drum corps, hypothesizing significant change in these constructs. A total of 74 young men ( Mage = 19.16) from a world-class drum corps participated in an online longitudinal study involving five surveys with repeated measures across their 2017 competitive marching season. We found a statistically significant curvilinear change over time in general self-efficacy, marching self-efficacy, mastery goal orientation, and flow, but no pattern of change in ego goal orientation. The pattern of change was similar for all outcomes: participants first declined, and then rebounded up, but only some outcomes returned to baseline or higher levels. Findings may inform MA participants and educators about dynamic psychosocial change throughout a season for which they should be prepared, as well as future research on MA.
Deeper engagement with live theater increases middle school students’ empathy and social perspective taking
Applied Developmental Science, Jul 18, 2022
Psychology in the Schools, Dec 4, 2018
Research has pointed to the importance of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between school ps... more Research has pointed to the importance of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between school psychologists and medical providers in the provision of quality mental health care for youth with chronic health conditions. However, little is known about current IPC practices among school psychologists. This study examined school psychology trainees' and professionals' perceptions of training, preparedness, and current practices related to IPC with medical providers. Survey results indicated that participants (N = 317) endorse relatively low levels of training and preparedness and limited practice of IPC with medical providers. Additionally, results indicated that perceptions of training and preparedness were associated with current practices in IPC with medical providers. Findings demonstrated the impact of training and preparedness on subsequent engagement in IPC and have implications for the future training of school psychologists as they seek to address the needs of youth with chronic health conditions.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2022
Imaginative pretend play is often thought of as the domain of young children, yet adults regularl... more Imaginative pretend play is often thought of as the domain of young children, yet adults regularly engage in elaborated, fantastical, social-mediated pretend play. We describe imaginative play in adults via the term “pretensive shared reality;” Shared Pretensive Reality describes the ability of a group of individuals to employ a range of higher-order cognitive functions to explicitly and implicitly share representations of a bounded fictional reality in predictable and coherent ways, such that this constructed reality may be explored and invented/embellished with shared intentionality in anad hocmanner. Pretensive Shared Reality facilitates multiple individual and social outcomes, including generating personal and group-level enjoyment or mirth, the creation or maintenance of social groups, or the safe exploration of individual self-concepts (such as alternative expression of a players sexual or gender identity). Importantly, Pretensive Shared Reality (both within the specific conte...
Fact or fiction?
Scientific Study of Literature, 2020
Many studies have claimed to find that reading fiction leads to improvements in social cognition.... more Many studies have claimed to find that reading fiction leads to improvements in social cognition. But this work has left open the critical question of whether any type of narrative, fictional or nonfictional, might have similar effects. To address this question, as well as to test whether framing a narrative as fiction matters, the current studies presented participants (N = 268 in Study 1; N = 362 in Study 2) with literary fiction texts, narrative nonfiction texts, expository nonfiction texts, or no texts. We tested their theory-of-mind abilities using the picture-based Reading the Mind in the Eyes task and a text-based test of higher-order social cognition. Reading anything was associated with higher scores compared to reading nothing, but the effects of framing and text type were inconsistent. These results suggest that prior claims regarding positive effects of reading fiction on mentalizing should be seen as tenuous; other mechanisms may be driving previously published effects.
La calidad de la traducción y su correspondencia con la lengua original de la obra son responsabi... more La calidad de la traducción y su correspondencia con la lengua original de la obra son responsabilidad del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. En caso de discrepancias entre esta traducción al español y la versión original en inglés, sólo la versión original se considerará válida.
Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 2020
Drama pedagogy training (DPT) is a drama-based-pedagogy focused on socio-emotional-learning (SEL)... more Drama pedagogy training (DPT) is a drama-based-pedagogy focused on socio-emotional-learning (SEL) development, over academic or artistic. This study aims to see if DPT promotes theory of mind (ToM) and collaborative behavior in 126 French children aged 9-10 years old, randomly assigned to an experimental group (DPT), either a control group for 6 weeks. Post-tests showed large effects of training on ToM, F(1, 124) = 24.36, p < .001, η² =.16, and collaborative behavior, F(1, 124) = 29.8, p < .001, η² = .19. T-test showed significant differences on ToM (t = -4.94, p < .001) and collaborative behavior (t = -5.46, p < .001), higher for DPT. Effects of type of school and grade are discussed. Results confirm the hypotheses.
Youth Theatre Journal, 2019
If Theatre for the Very Young is to flourish in the United States, college and professional actor... more If Theatre for the Very Young is to flourish in the United States, college and professional actor training programs must develop a pedagogy of this genre to prepare future theatre makers. In spring 2017, two professors, one of Developmental Psychology, and one of Acting and Ensemble Creation, co-created and taught an undergraduate, interdisciplinary course, Developing Wonder: Psychology, Theatre, and Children. The course provided a detailed study of the different stages of psychological development from infancy to early childhood paired with an examination of work by seminal international artists making performances for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, from birth to five years of age. This article provides an overview of this unique course, an analysis of the theoretical foundations and methods used in developing the interdisciplinary course, discussion of challenges in combining theatre studies and psychology, and reflections on the lessons learned in offering this class to college students.
Despite the widespread involvement of individuals in drama either as performers or audience membe... more Despite the widespread involvement of individuals in drama either as performers or audience members, psychologists know very little about the cognitive and affective underpinnings of acting. Acting may provide a powerful lens through which to understand how we understand our own and others' minds. In this dissertation, I review research on theory of mind, empathy, and emotion regulation, show how these three skills are related to acting theory and acting training, and discuss studies I have previously completed demonstrating correlations between skill in acting and skill in theory of mind, empathy, and positive emotion regulation. I then completed four studies. Study 1 was a longitudinal study comparing children (ages 8-10) receiving acting vs. visual arts training over the course of one academic year testing the hypothesis that acting training in childhood is causally related to development of advanced theory of mind, positive emotion regulation, and empathy. Study 1 found that children in acting classes gain in empathy and expression of emotion over a year above children involved in other art forms. Study 2 was a qualitative study designed to determine the kinds of habits of mind taught, explicitly and implicitly, in acting classes for children (ages 8-10). The purpose of Study 2 was to determine the extent to which acting teachers strive to teach theory of mind, empathy, and adaptive emotion regulation in their acting classes. Study 2 found that children in acting classes at this age are taught about physicality and motivation, with vi no emphasis on empathy or emotion regulation and only a slight emphasis on theory of mind. Study 3 was parallel to Study 1, but with young adolescents, aged 13-15. Study 3 found that adolescents involved in acting classes gain in their empathy, theory of mind acuity, and expressive emotion regulation over the course of a year over and above adolescents involved in other art forms. Study 4 was parallel to Study 2, with acting classes for adolescents. Study 4 found that adolescent acting classes focus on theory of mind and motivation, without any emphasis on empathy or emotion regulation. I conclude by considering the potential impact of this research on our understanding of typical development in theory of mind, empathy, emotion regulation, and on our understanding of individuals deficient in these skills.
Journal for Learning through the Arts, Sep 7, 2019
Arts programs are often credited with helping children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) gain ... more Arts programs are often credited with helping children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) gain cognitive and social skills. As with all claims of transfer from experience in the arts to abilities in non-arts domains, empirical evidence is mixed, and often criticized for both imprecise methodologies and a lack of connection back to the art form itself. As a first step to investigate what is actually occurring within a program that may lead to change, we focused on stakeholders' perspectives of how a theater program may be affecting children's competencies. We completed a systematic study of adult stakeholders of a large school-based, successful musical theater program, measuring: 1) their beliefs about the useful strategies within a theater experience that may be causing change in students; 2) their perceptions of what kinds of student outcomes may change as a result of the program; and 3) whether experience and role of stakeholders affected these beliefs. We found stakeholders emphasized modeling, routines, and relaxation as useful strategies, and perceived that the program built imitation, motor abilities and turn-taking skills. These observations raise questions for standard theories of the effects of arts focused on only higher order social and emotional or academic skills and emphasize the importance of including stakeholders in theorizing and measuring the effects of arts programs for all populations.
Developmental Science, Sep 15, 2017
Pretense is a naturally occurring, apparently universal activity for typically developing childre... more Pretense is a naturally occurring, apparently universal activity for typically developing children. Yet its function and effects remain unclear. One theorized possibility is that pretense activities, such as dramatic pretend play games, are a possible causal path to improve children's emotional development. Social and emotional skills, particularly emotional control, are critically important for social development, as well as academic performance and later life success. However, the study of such approaches has been criticized for potential bias and lack of rigor, precluding the ability to make strong causal claims. We conducted a randomized, component control (dismantling) trial of dramatic pretend play games with a low-SES group of 4-year-old children (N = 97) to test whether such practice yields generalized improvements in multiple social and emotional outcomes. We found specific effects of dramatic play games only on emotional self-control. Results suggest that dramatic pretend play games involving physicalizing emotional states and traits, pretending to be animals and human characters, and engaging in pretend scenarios in a small group may improve children's emotional control. These findings have implications for the function of pretense and design of interventions to improve emotional control in typical and atypical populations. Further, they provide support for the unique role of dramatic pretend play games for young children, particularly those from low-income backgrounds. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/2GVNcWKRHPk RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS • We assess the discrete effects of dramatic pretend play games on social and emotional development using blind experimenters and interventionists, dismantling active control conditions, and non nested data. • We find dramatic pretend play games improve emotional control across two tasks and one observation-based measure in low-SES 4-year-old children. • We find that the dramatic pretend play games do not positively affect empathy and theory of mind, with implications for the sequence of development of social and emotional skills. • Dramatic pretend play games could be used as an effective intervention in this population to improve emotional control.
Journal of Cognition and Development, 2012
Social cognitive skills such as empathy and theory of mind are crucial for everyday interactions,... more Social cognitive skills such as empathy and theory of mind are crucial for everyday interactions, cooperation, and cultural learning, and deficits in these skills have been implicated in pathologies such as autism spectrum disorder, sociopathy, and nonverbal learning disorders. Little research has examined how these skills develop after early childhood and how they may be trained. We tested the hypothesis that experience in acting, an activity in which one must step into the shoes of others, leads to growth in both empathy and theory of mind. In two studies, we followed children (elementary school aged) and adolescents (high school freshmen) receiving 1 year of either acting or other arts training (visual arts, music) and assessed empathy and theory of mind before and after training. In both studies, those receiving acting (but not other arts) training showed significant gains in empathy scores; in Study 2, adolescents receiving acting training also showed significant gains on a naturalistic measure of theory of mind, the Empathic Accuracy Paradigm. These findings demonstrate plasticity in empathy and theory of mind long past the watershed age of 3 to 4 years and suggest that both capacities are enhanced by role-playing.
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Papers by Thalia R Goldstein