SITCH Lab
Researchers of the SITCH Lab examine Social and Interpersonal Theories of Communication in Health.
Primary Investigator: Analisa Arroyo
Current Projects: (1) Feminist Embodiment, Body Talk, and Body Image in Mothers and Daughters, (2) Relational Maintenance and Mental Health in Foster Parenting Couples, (3) Intergenerational Transmission of Race-related Attitudes, (4) and Maternal Wellbeing, Infant Temperament, and the Mother-Infant Relationship, and
Areas of Study for the Arroyo Lab include: Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Health Communication, Quantitative Approaches
Graduate Students: Jessica Fabbricatore, Madison Speece, Lauren Cojulun
CHARM Lab (Communication, Health And emeRging Media)
Primary Investigator: Jiaying Liu
The Communication, Health and Emerging Media (CHARM) lab examines the cognitive, emotional and social mechanisms underlying communication processes that shape people’s behaviors and health decision making against the backdrop of the current new media landscape. Employing self-report survey measures, online and eye-tracking lab experiments, computerized textual analysis, and neuroimaging methods, researchers in the lab focus on theory-based persuasive health message design, social media analytics to unveil and track user-generated health discussions, and identifying environmental and individual level factors contributing to health behavior outcomes. CHARM looks to identify ways in which communication could be optimally leveraged to promote desirable health behavior changes, especially among vulnerable, marginalized, and underserved groups.
Current Projects: (1) Neuroimaging approaches to inform the development of anti-vaping campaign messages targeting young adult heavy e-cigarette users; (2) Eye-tracking studies on attention-grabbing, persuasive and viral social media messages; (3) A multi-methodological approach to study health warning labels on tobacco and cannabis products; (4) Unsupervised topic modeling on Instagram fitspiration posts; (5) Supervised machine learning on automatically classifying and longitudinally tracking tobacco-related mass and social media texts; (6) Online experiments to understand the underlying mechanisms of health-related social norm formation
Areas of Study for the CHARM Lab include: Health Communication, Risk Communication, Social Influence and Persuasion, Quantitative Approaches, Message Effects, Public Campaigns and Interventions, Message Production, Social Media
Graduate Students: Volha Murashka, Nizia Alam, Xiaodi Zhou, Jessica Fabbricatore, Rebekah Wicke, Allison Worsdale, Lauren Cojulun
Communicating Uncertain Science to the Public (CUSP) Lab
Primary Investigator: Chelsea Ratcliff Bush
Current Projects: (1) public understanding of biomedical science, including genetics, precision medicine, and cancer research; (2) patterns of health science news coverage; (3) message effects research in public health campaigns related to disease prevention/detection; (4) ethical and social issues in genetic research participation.
Areas of Study for the CUSP Lab include: Health Communication, Risk Communication, Health Disparities, Social Influence and Persuasion, Quantitative Approaches, Message Effects, Public Campaigns and Interventions, Message Production
Graduate Students: Rebekah Wicke
CONCHUS Lab
Primary Investigator: Soroya McFarlane
The Communication for Community Health and (shared) Understanding of Science lab facilitates dialogue with underserved communities to design and evaluate interventions that promote health.
Current Projects: THRIVE: Black Women's Maternal Health Disparity in the US; Efficacy of LBGT culturally-targeted messages; COVID communication inequalities in the US
Areas of Study for the CONCHUS Lab include: Health Communication, Health Disparities, Quantitative Approaches, Qualitative Approaches, Public Health Campaigns and Interventions, Message Design, Community-engaged Research
Graduate Students: Andre Fedd, Allie Worsdale, Rebekah Wicke, Hannah Smith, Oyinade Adesina
IN-ACT Lab
Interpersonal negotiation, action and conflict in close relationships from a theory-based perspective
Primary Investigator: Jennifer A. Samp
Welcome to the IN-ACT lab. Our team studies the dynamics of decisions impacting close relationships, including perceptions of relationship dynamics, prior experiences including personal, societal, racial, ethnic, underrepresented voices to better understand how people manage conflict, difficult discussions, advice seeking, and life challenges.
Current Projects: Serial arguments in close relationships, goal -influenced communication in dyadic relationships, sexual advice seeking, bullying, conflict strategies, micro-level communication dynamics during relational discussions
Areas of Study for the IN-ACT Lab include: Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication, Social Influence and Persuasion, Quantitative Approaches, Message Production, Conflict
Graduate Students: Anastacia Janovec, Elle Johnson, Andre Fedd, Heather Cohen, Selena Pang
Minniear Lab
Primary Investigator: Mackensie Minniear
Current Projects: Developing an intervention to increase positive ethnic-racial identity and well-being in BIPOC; White racial socialization: Intentions and Practices over Time; Multiraciality
Areas of Study for the Minniear Lab include: Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Health Communication, Ethnicity-Race Communication, Quantitative Approaches, Qualitative Approaches, Intergroup Communication
Graduate Students: Hannah Smith