Curriculum Vitae

Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

Ph.D., 1998 Child Psychology with a minor in Interpersonal Relationships

Thesis: “Social Provisions of Real and Imaginary Relationships in Early Childhood”

Dartmouth College

A.B., 1990 (Magna Cum Laude) in Psychology modified with Music and in French

Developmental Psychology

Research Methods in Developmental Psychology

Seminar: Social Imagination

Seminar: Early Relationships

Calderwood Seminar in Public Writing: Psychology in the Public Interest

Independent Study in Developmental Psychology

Honors Research in Developmental Psychology

*designates student co-author

Gleason, T. & Madsen, S. (in press). Imaginary athletes: Prevalence, forms, and developmental functions. Social Development.

*Wang, M. M., Gleason, T., & Chen, S. (2024). Understanding children's pro-wealth bias: A mixed-methods study with children from ethnic minority immigrant families. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001853

Bond, B., Dill-Shackleford, K., Dibble, J., Gleason, T., Jennings, N., Rosaen, S., & Tukachinsky Forster, R. (2024). Parasocial relationships in children and teens. In D. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Children and Screens: A Handbook on Digital Media and the Development, Health, and Well-being of Children and Adolescents. Springer Nature.

Richert, R., Choi, K., Gleason, T. R., Goldstein, T., & Sibert, S. M. (2024). Screen media and children's imagination, creativity, and play. In D. Christakis & L. Hale (Eds.), Children and Screens: A Handbook on Digital Media and the Development, Health, and Well-being of Children and Adolescents. Springer Nature.

*Wang, M. Z., *Ng, V., & Gleason, T. (2023). Toy stories: Children's use of gender stereotypes in making social judgments. Acta Psychologica, 235, 103879. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103879

Gleason, T., & White, R. (2023). Pretend play as abstraction: Implications for early development and beyond. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 147, 105090. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105090 

Gleason, T., Tarsha, M., Kurth, A., & Narvaez, D. (2021). Opportunities for free play and young children’s autonomic regulation, Developmental Psychobiology, 63(6), e22134. doi: 10.1002/dev.22134

Gleason, T., Theran, S., & *Newberg, E. (2020). Connections between adolescents’ parasocial interactions and recollections of childhood imaginative activities. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 39(3), 241-260. doi: 10.1177/0276236619825810

Gleason, T. R., & Narvaez, D. (2019). Beyond resilience to thriving: Optimizing child wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 9(4), 59-78. doi:10.5502/ijw.v9i4.987 

Narvaez, D., Wang, L., Cheng, A., Gleason, T., Woodbury, R., Kurth, A., & Lefever, J.B. (2019). The importance of early life touch for psychosocial and moral development. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 32, 16. doi: 10.1186/s41155-019-0129-0

Chen, S.H., Gleason, T.R, *Wang, M., Liu, C.H, & Wang, L. (2019). Perceptions of social status in Chinese American children: Associations with social cognitions and socioemotional well-being.  Asian American Journal of Psychology, 10(4), 362-372. doi:10.1037/aap0000161

Narvaez, D., Woodbury, R., Cheng, Y., Wang, L., Kurth, A., Gleason, T., Deng, L., Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, E., Christen, M., & Näpflin, C. (2019). Evolved Developmental Niche Provision Report: Moral socialization, social thriving, and social maladaptation in three countries. Sage Open, 9(2). doi:10.1177/2158244019840123

Gleason, T. (2017). The psychological significance of play with imaginary companions in early childhood. Learning and Behavior, 45, 432-440 doi: 10.3758/s13420-017-0284-z

Gleason, T.R., Theran, S.A., & *Newberg, E.M. (2017). Parasocial interactions and relationships in early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology: Developmental, 8, 255. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00255

Gleason, T. R., & Geer, B. L. (2017). Insights into the mind of the child. In K. Masiulanis & E. Cummins (Eds.), How to Grow a Playspace (pp. 45-54). New York, NY: Routledge.

Narvaez, D., Gleason, T., Lefever, J.B., Wang, L., & Cheng, A. (2016). Early experience and triune ethics orientation. In D. Narvaez (Ed.), Embodied morality: Protectionism, engagement and imagination (pp. 73-98). New York, NY: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Gleason, T., Narvaez, D., Cheng, Y., Wang, L., & Brooks, J. (2016). Well-being and sociomoral development in preschoolers: The role of maternal parenting attitudes consistent with the evolved developmental niche. In D. Narvaez, J. Braungart-Rieker, L. Miller, L. Gettler, & P. Hastings (Eds.), Contexts for young child flourishing: Evolution, family and society (pp. 166-184). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Gleason, T. (2015). Memories of and reflections on play. International Journal of Play, 4(3), 224-227. doi: 10.1080/21594937.2015.1106041

Gleason, T., & Kalpidou, M. (2014). Imaginary companions and young children’s coping and competence. Social Development, 23, 820-839. doi: 10.1111/sode.12078

Gleason, T., & Narvaez, D. (2014). Childhood environments and flourishing. In D. Narvaez, K. Valentino, A. Fuentes, J. McKenna, & P. Gray (Eds.), Ancestral landscapes in human evolution: Culture, childrearing and social wellbeing (pp. 335-348). New York: Oxford.

Narvaez, D., Gleason, T., Brooks, J., Wang, L., Lefever, J., Cheng, Y., & Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect. (2013). The evolved development niche: Longitudinal effects of caregiving practices on early childhood psychosocial development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 759-773.

Gleason, T. (2013). Imaginary relationships. In M. Taylor (Ed.), Handbook of the development of imagination (pp. 251-271). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Narvaez, D., Wang, L., Gleason, T., Cheng, Y., Lefever, J., & Deng, L. (2013). The Evolved Developmental Niche and child sociomoral outcomes in Chinese three-year-olds. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, Special Issue: Moral Development, 10, 106-127.

Narvaez, D., Panksepp, A., Schore, A., & Gleason, T. (Eds.). (2013). Evolution, early experience and human development: From research to practice and policy. Oxford University Press.

Theran, S., Gleason, T., & *Newberg, E. (2010). Adolescent girls’ parasocial interactions with media figures. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 171, 270-277.

Gleason, T. (2007). Murray: The stuffed bunny. In S. Turkle (Ed.), Evocative objects (pp. 170-177). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Gleason, T., & *Hohmann, L. (2006). Concepts of real and imaginary friendships in early childhood. Social Development, 15, 128-144. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00333.x.

Gleason, T. (2005). Mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes regarding pretend play in the context of imaginary companions and child gender. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 51, 412-436.

Gleason, T., *Gower, A., *Hohmann, L., & Gleason, T. (2005). Temperament and friendship in preschool-aged children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 336-344.

Gleason, T. (2004a). Imaginary companions and peer acceptance. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 204-209.

Gleason, T. (2004b). Imaginary companions: An evaluation of parents as reporters. Infant and Child Development, 13, 199-215.

Gleason, T., *Jarudi, R. & Cheek, J. (2003). Imagination, personality, and imaginary companions. Social Behavior and Personality, 31, 721-737. 

Gleason, T.  (2002). Social provisions of real and imaginary relationships in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 979-992.

Gleason, T., Sebanc, A., & Hartup, W. (2000). Imaginary companions of preschool children.  Developmental Psychology, 36, 419-428. Reprinted in Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development 2000-2001. M. Hertzig & E. Faber (Eds.), New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Collins, W. A., Gleason, T., & Sesma, A., (1997). Internalization, autonomy, and relationships: Development during adolescence.  In J. Grusec & L. Kuczynski (Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 78-99). New York: Wiley.