About

Andrea Sell is a cognitive psychologist whose research explores how everyday mental processes, particularly memory and language,  shape the way people navigate the world. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Florida State University, and brings over a decade of experience building research and experiential learning programs at the university level.

Her scholarly work sits at the intersection of basic cognitive science and applied learning, examining how insights about the mind can be translated into practical tools that help students learn more effectively, both in the classroom and through hands-on experiences. This connection between research and practice runs throughout her teaching as well. She regularly teaches Statistics, Research Methods, Cognition, Memory, and Physiological Psychology, with a particular emphasis on equipping students with the skills to conduct their own empirical research.

Beyond her own scholarship, Andrea has dedicated a significant portion of her career to supporting research at the institutional level. She has held administrative roles within CLU's undergraduate research infrastructure for a number of years, and currently serves as Director of the Research Development and Support Office within the Office of Research, where she works to connect faculty and students with the resources, funding, and programming they need to pursue meaningful scholarly work across all disciplines.

Students interested in pursuing research firsthand are encouraged to apply to the CLU Memory and Cognition Lab, where she leads collaborative projects each semester spanning a range of questions in cognitive psychology. 

Education

• Ph.D. Cognitive Psychology, Florida State University.Dissertation Title: Peri-personal space and the representation of quantity: Two types of re-use responsible for motor and spatial compatibility effects.

• M.S. Cognitive Psychology, Florida State University. Thesis Title: The influence of movement on the directionality of space-timerepresentation mappings.

• B.S. Psychology, University of Florida. Honors Thesis Title: Using homophones in auditory priming of tip-of-tongue resolution.

Publications

Publications

Sell, A.J., & Garcia, A. (2025). Surveying best practices for undergraduate student researcher safety in the social sciences. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research (SPUR) 9(1), 57-67.

Sell, A.J. (2023). Contextual factors associated with the morale of academic and support staff in universities. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 27(2), 41-49.

Sell, A.J., Kocur, J., & Hall, K. J. (2022). Coping with the researcher's school of hard knocks: How undergraduate research students and their mentors respond to failure and rejection. In L.A. Corwin, L.K. Charkoudian, & J.M. Heemstra (Eds.), Confronting Failure: Approaches to Building Confidence and Resilience (pp. 182-203). Council of Undergraduate Research.

Sell, A.J., Naginey, A., & Stanton, C.A. (2018). The impact of undergraduate research on academic success. Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research (SPUR), 1(3), 19-29.

Sell, A.J. (2018). Course-based research in introductory psychological science. In N. Hensel (Ed.), Course-based Research: Providing Opportunities for All Students to Learn through Undergraduate Research (pp. 139-152). Stylus Publishing.

Sell, A. J. (2016). Forget to forgive: Applications of intentional forgetting for the forgiveness process. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5, 10-20.

Selected Presentations and Talks

Sell, A.J., & Garcia, A. (2024). Protecting undergraduate research students in the social sciences. Conference presentation, Council of Undergraduate Research Annual Conference, Washington, DC.

Rosales, L., & Sell, A. (2019). Preparing not to Forget: Actions Taken to Plan for Memory Error. In A.K. Goel, C.M. Seifert, & C. Freksa (Eds.) Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (p.3346). Montreal, QB: Cognitive Science Society.

Akers, C., Keagy, T., Lipstone, R., Salinas, B., Stewart, B., Sell, A.J. (2019, April). The effect of self-control on the directed forgetting of emotional information.Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association in Pasadena, CA. 

Sell, A.J., Vargas, P., Ramirez, L., Awokoya, J., (2018, July). Bridging for Student Success: Cross-Program Collaboration to Support Underrepresented Students in Research Activities. Talk presented at the Biannual Council of Undergraduate Research Meeting, Washington D.C.

Sell, A.J., (2018, July). Course-Based Research in Introductory Psychological Science. Talk presented at the Biannual Council of Undergraduate Research Meeting, Washington D.C. 

*Steffon, G.T., & Sell, A.J. (2018, April). Defense against disease: How memory and attention help prevent infection through the behavioral immune system. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association Conference, Portland, OR.   

*Rosales, L.P., & Sell, A.J. (2018, April) Metamemory in everyday life: Actions people take to avoid memory failure. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association Conference, Portland, OR. 

*Gregorio, C., *Steffon, G.T., Sell, A.J., (2017, April). Adaptive health behaviors: The relationship between the behavioral immune system and memory. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

*Pasko, T.K., *Gregg, K.A., *Steffon, G.T., *Rosales, L.P., *Aviles, S., *Albert, A.J., *Jackson, S.M., Sell, A.J., (2017, April) Memory errors in dangerous situations: The relationship between weapons focus error and beliefs in a dangerous world. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

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*Indicates undergraduate mentee.

Grant Funding

The Memory and Cognition Research Team at CLU is grateful for generous support from the Community Leaders Association, the CLU Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship, the CLU Office of Experiential Learning, and Office of Service Learning.