Martha Ann Bell

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University Distinguished Professor
Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, CAP Lab
EMail
mabell@vt.edu
Zoom
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/5402312546
Office Hours
Spring 2026
Mondays 9-10
Tuesdays 12-1
Thursdays 3-4
and by appointment
Office Address
333 Williams Hall
Office Phone
540-231-2546
Accepting Graduate Students?
Not currently accepting students
Research Center/Lab
Cognition, Affect, and Psychophysiology Lab (CAP Lab)
Link(s) To Publications
Google Scholar
Curriculum Vitae
MABell CV 1-23-26.pdf
Short Bio
since 2021 --- University Distinguished Professor, Virginia Tech
2019-2025 --- College of Science Faculty Fellow, Virginia Tech
since 2010 --- Professor of Psychology, Virginia Tech
2001-2010 --- Associate Professor of Psychology, Virginia Tech
1996-2001 --- Assistant Professor of Psychology, Virginia Tech
1993-1996 --- Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of South Carolina
1992-1993 --- Research Associate, Child Development Lab, University of Maryland
Interests

Developmental changes in brain-behavior relations during infancy and childhood; developmental cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychophysiology (executive function, emotion regulation, EEG, ECG); individual differences in development; integration of cognition and emotion in early development.

Recent Courses Taught
  • PSYC 6944 - Advanced Topics in Developmental Psychology
  • PSYC 5544 - Cognitive Development
  • PSYC 4034 - Special Topics in Dev Psyc ("Child Cognitive and Social-Emotional Development")
Select Publications
  • EDITED BOOK:
  • Bell, M.A. (Ed.), (2024). Child development at the intersection of emotion and cognition (2nd ed). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

  • RECENT JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS:
  • 2025
  • Bertrand, C., Hong, Y., Deater-Deckard, K., & Bell, M.A. (2025_advance online publication). Developmental patterns of mother-child similarity in executive function and EEG coherence. Journal of Family Psychology.
  • Broomell, A.P.R., Andre, N., Patton, L.A., & Bell, M.A. (2025). Neural foundations of joint attention in infancy. Cognitive Development, 74, 101546.
  • Bruce, M., Meza-Cervera, T., Ermanni, B., & Bell, M.A. (2025). One, two, three, eyes on me: Infant EEG power predicts toddler executive functioning through infant attention. Child Development, 96, 2006-2016.
  • Carreno, C.A., Evans, M.E., Lockhart, B.K., Chinaka, O., Katz, B., Bell, M.A., & Howell, B.R. (2025). Optimizing infant neuroimaging methods to understand the neurodevelopmental impacts of early nutrition and feeding. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 71, 101481.
  • Eng, C.M., Patton, L.A., & Bell, M.A. (2025). Infant attention and frontal EEG neuromarkers of childhood ADHD. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 72, 101524.
  • Ermanni, B., & Bell, M.A. (2025_advance online publication). Exploring person-centered techniques: A scoping review of temperament subtypes in infancy through childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
  • Liu, R., Smith, C.L., & Bell, M.A. (2025). Co-development and mutual influences of fearful temperament, task switching, and maternal intrusiveness in early childhood. Developmental Psychobiology, 67, e70031.
  • Phillips, J.J., Savla, J., & Bell, M.A. (2025_advance online publication). Roads to regulation: Indirect paths from effortful control and RSA to emotion regulation across childhood. Developmental Psychology.
  • Zhu, D., Lozada, F.T., Smith, C.L., Bell, M.A., & Dunsmore, J.C. (2025). Maternal emotion coaching and child emotion regulation: Within-interaction sequences in early childhood. Affective Science, 6, 214-223.
Degrees
  • 1992 --- PhD, Human Development, University of Maryland
  • 1983 --- MS, Child and Family Studies, University of Tennessee
  • 1978 --- BS, Home Economics, Carson-Newman College