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Dr. Sasha N. Cervantes joined the faculty at ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ in 2014. Before that she was the Frederick Douglass Scholar at PennWest University, and an Instructor at the University of Chicago. As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Cervantes understands that students need guidance in more than course content, and is always willing to meet with students outside of classes. She has earned awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching and advising. 

Dr. Cervantes is convinced that everything can be understood through the skills and concepts of psychological science. She regularly teaches Cognitive Psychology, Biopsychology, Memory & the Law, Principles of Psychology, Psych Issues and Social Values, and occasionally, Thinking & Writing, Learning & Behavior, and Research Methods. 

Her research interests include memory accuracy and false memory, normal cognitive aging processes, creativity, the scholarship of teaching and learning, as well as student co-curricular engagement and belonging. Her work has been published in journals in neuroscience, education, counseling, and popular press, as well as tutorials for Sage Publishing, and she co-edited a book on Helping First-Generation College Students Succeed.

Among other professional roles, at ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ, Dr. Cervantes is a Faculty Senator; the ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ Representative for the Midwestern Psychological Association; serves on the Institutional Review Board; as Advisor for Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology; on the Hispanic Undergraduate Recruitment Committee; on the Advisory Council to the LatinX Resource Center; as a faculty mentor for Tri-Alpha, the National Honor Society for First-Generation College Students; as a faculty mentor for the Research Associate Development (RAD) program; on the CEHD Grievance Committee, on the UPI Sanctions and Terminations Committee, and leads the GSU Cognition Lab, where she supervises students in research.

Searight, H.R., Dutta, R., Cervantes, S.N., Ramos-Nunez, A., Moinolmolki, N., & Mize, J.L. (2026). Introduction: Leveraging First Generation Strengths in the Classroom and on Campus. In Moinolmolki, N., Dutta, R., Mize, J.L., R., Ramos-Nunez, A., Cervantes, S.N., & Searight, H.R. (Eds.). Helping First-Generation College Students Succeed: Psychology-Backed Strategies for Campus and Classroom. American Psychological Association.

Moinolmolki, N., Dutta, R., Cervantes, S.N., Searight, H.R., Ramos-Nunez, A., & Mize, J.L. (2026). Conclusion: Institutional Transformation to Support First-Generation College Students. In Moinolmolki, N., Dutta, R., Mize, J.L., R., Ramos-Nunez, A., Cervantes, S.N., & Searight, H.R. (Eds.). Helping First-Generation College Students Succeed: Psychology-Backed Strategies for Campus and Classroom. American Psychological Association.

Cervantes, S.N. (June, 2022). Connecting Curriculum to Career Readiness While Retaining the Inherent Value of Learning. Psychology One Conference.

Cervantes, S.N. (2019). Actively using online discussion in introductory psychology courses. In S. Baker (Ed.) Teaching Tips: A Compendium of Conference Presentations on Teaching, 2017-18. Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology website:

Cervantes, S.N. & Robey, P.A. (2018). Aligning reality therapy and choice theory psychology with cognitive psychology. International Journal of Choice Theory and Reality Therapy, 38(1), 13-20.

Cervantes, S.N. (2016) The Cognitive Neuroscience of Long-Term Memory. [Video Tutorial]. Sage Publications.

Cervantes, S.N. (2016) The Case of Henry Molaison. [Video Tutorial]. Sage Publications.

Cervantes, S.N. (2016) Study Strategies Based on Memory and Learning Theory. [Video Tutorial]. Sage Publications.

Cervantes, S.N., & Gallo, D.A. (May, 2015). Field Dependence Predicts Individual Differences in Reality Monitoring. Poster. Association for Psychological Science Convention.

McDonough, I.M., Cervantes, S.N., Gray, S.J., & Gallo, D.A. (2014). Memory's aging echo: Age-related decline in neural reactivation of perceptual details during recollection. NeuroImage, 98, 346-358.