Lab Members

Primary Investigator: Tracy R. Gleason, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology

Professor Gleason is a developmental psychologist with an expertise in interpersonal relationships. Her research focuses on early childhood social development and cognition regarding relationships. She studies how young children understand their relationships with other people, and in particular, the relationships that they have with imaginary companions. By examining how young children create imaginary relationships, she hopes to learn what they understand about real relationships.Professor Gleason teaches courses in developmental and introductory psychology. She also teaches research methods in developmental psychology, in which students conduct projects at the Wellesley College Child Study Center. At the advanced level, Professor Gleason teaches seminars on social imagination (the ways in which we use our imaginations to help us regulate and understand our relationships) and on writing about psychology for the public.In her free time, Professor Gleason enjoys spending time with her husband, David Kaiser, and their twins (got twins?), as well as playing oboe with the New Philharmonia Orchestra. CV Courses