Faculty

I teach courses that examine interpersonal communication from multiple perspectives, ranging from the mind/body connection we see in the expression of nonverbal communication, to the influences of human evolution and contemporary media on the communication of gender, to the impact of telling personal stories as a way of shaping communities. As an instructor, it’s important to me to offer ways for students to connect the material to their own lives—either through autobiographical writing, interviews, or case studies of the interactions they see around them—as a way of sharpening the interpersonal skills they will draw on in the workplace in the future.

My general research interest is in the study of emotion in interpersonal, health, and media contexts. Within this, I have concentrated on how emotional expressivity, gender, and mental health influence message processing. My current line of research focuses on the effects of chronic stress on the way people attend to emotional and health-related messages. My work tends to be very interdisciplinary, drawing on literature in communication, neuroscience, social psychology, and sociology.

Many of my projects involve studying brain responses as a way to better understand the role of unconscious or automatic emotional processes that occur during message reception. I currently run an EEG lab in the Journalism building. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in working in the lab or participating in a paid research studies. For more information about the lab, click on the link under my photo above.