Penn State - Communication Arts and Sciences

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded two Penn State
professors in the College of the Liberal Arts a $195,023 grant to promote
the study of great speeches and public debates in undergraduate humanities
classrooms with the goal of helping students learn the habits and practices
of active engagement in a democracy.

J. Michael Hogan, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, and Rosa A.
Eberly, Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and English,
are two of five principal co-investigators awarded the grant for the Voices
of Democracy project. University of Maryland Associate Professors of
Communication Shawn J. Parry-Giles and Robert N. Gaines and Baylor
University Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Communication Martin J.
Medhurst are the other principal co-investigators on the project.

Drug Resistance Strategies Project
Michael Hecht and Michelle Miller-Day

The Drug Resistance Strategies Project is about how and why adolescents use drugs. We are finding out what is going on in the teen world in their own words and then developed keepin’ it REAL, an effective, multimedia, multicultural middle school prevention program from the teenagers' eyes as expressed in their personal stories of drug resistance. These personal stories of resisting drugs bring "saying no" to life and reveal the R.E.A.L. resistance strategies that teens use when refusing drugs while maintaining relationships.

Health & Heritage Project
Roxanne Parrott

The specific aims of the Health & Heritage Project are to conduct systematic formative research using focus groups to evaluate the general public’s knowledge structures about human genetics research. This includes actual and procedural understanding, positive and negative outcome expectancies associated with genetics, and self-efficacy with regard to informed and shared decision-making about human genetics research (HGR). Comparisons of the perceptions of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger will be examined. A second aim is to develop and pilot test culturally and linguistically appropriate indicators to measure key behavioral constructs and associated human genetics messages, assessing the measures for reliability and validity in a population-based telephone survey of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger. The third aim of the project is to refine the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of measures and messages about the meaning of human genetics, giving consideration to literacy, numeracy, and cognitive development in the message design, then test the messages effects in a randomized pilot test of European America and African American males and females forty years and younger, comparing these to a “standard” message.

Maternal Work Transitions, Parenting, and Adolescent Adjustment
Michelle Miller-Day

Mothers moving from welfare into the workforce may encounter difficult and unstable work situations that increase stress and decrease maternal availability. This may reduce mothers' monitoring and involvement with their children, weaken mother-youth communication and increase youth risk. The impact of low income, unstable work may be particularly marked when youth reach early adolescence, as their increasing autonomy and mobility bring exposure to new risky contexts, which without parental monitoring, involvement, and effective communication may entice them into deviant peer affiliations, substance use, school misconduct, and risky sexual activity.

This study investigates the influences of mothers' low income work experiences, support, maternal well-being, mother-youth relations, and adolescent outcomes. This research begins to fill a gap in our knowledge about if and how maternal work experiences of low-income mothers living in high-risk urban neighborhoods influence mother-child relationships and the consequent impact of maternal work and the mother-child relationship on the development and adjustment of adolescent offspring.

Identity Effects
Ronald L. Jackson

My lines of research may be characterized as a coherent set of "identity effects" studies that seek to identify the consequences of a communicated self-definition and self-evolvement in a racially, culturally and gender sensitive social milieu. Within the discipline of communication, identity effects are discussed almost synonymously with identity negotiation. Among the battery of popular concepts are acculturation, accommodation, adaptation, cultural contact and conflict, as well as culture shock. Negotiating cultural identity suggests that people do not remain the same, but are in flux.

What is the Black experience from a rhetorical and communicative perspective?
Deborah F. Atwater

Generally, Professor Deborah Atwater’s research and interest areas focus on several issues dealing with the contributions to the rhetorical theory and the practical implementation of rhetorical and communication concepts by African Americans. My primary research focus is on the messages created by African Americans in general and African American women in particular. In what ways have and do African Americans utilize their public space for the public good? Currently, I am working on a text that deals with the rhetoric of African American women from slavery to current times, examining slave narratives and contemporary print, music, and other media surrounding the lives of African American women. Below are a few publications that may be of interest.

Rhetoric of Film, Visual Rhetoric, and the Media
Thomas W. Benson

As human beings, we make meanings, feelings, identities, cultures, and communities through a wide range of symbolic behaviors. Visual rhetoric, the rhetoric of film, and the rhetoric media have their own forms, and build habits of response that can parallel, subvert, or transcend the rhetorics of speech and writing. Thomas W. Benson studies visual rhetoric through the close textual analysis of film and its relation to the institutional practices that constrain the production, distribution, and reception of significant texts.

The rhetoric of Computer Mediated Communication.
Thomas W. Benson

The Internet has become an active site for political communication, but it is unclear whether the Internet will foster democratic institutions, or fragment the political community into fringe interest groups, or devolve into a corporate zone where power follows money. Thomas W. Benson investigates the potential and the practice of politics of the Internet, from the formal politics of presidential campaigns to the development of democratic practices in on-line communication among academic communities. In 1991, he was invited to serve as a consultant to IREX and the Russian Academy of Sciences on the democratizing potential of computer mediated communication for the scholars in the former Soviet republics. In 1985, he founded CRTNET, an on-line publication now published by the National Communication Association as its daily listserv. In 1999 he became the founding editor of The Review of Communication, an on-line journal of the National Communication Association. He is credited by one historian of technology as having originated the idea for a secure paper audit receipt for electronic voting.

How do the people and the institutional structures of higher education help to shape the development of the discipline of communication / rhetoric / speech-communication?
Thomas W. Benson

All academic disciplines are in part arbitrary constructions, clustering diverse intellectual interests under the name of a single discipline, which usually has strong affiliations (and sometimes turf wars) with other disciplines, and is subject to a variety of constraints from local, national, and international institutional structures. These structures are also, in turn, strongly influenced by the singular and collaborative work of scholars, which stretches the boundaries of knowledge and sometimes challenges settled notions of what counts as part of a discipline. In a program of research attempting to understand the development of the discipline of communication, Thomas W. Benson investigates the interacting roles of individual scholars, academic practices, and institutional histories in shaping the field.

Public Address, Political Rhetoric, and the Rhetoric of the American Presidency
Thomas W. Benson

Public address influences political decisions, shapes communities, and constructs shared identities. How can political institutions and practices best use society’s communicative resources to sustain and nurture democratic self-government? Study of the production, the texts, the mediation, and the reception of public discourse has been central to the revival of rhetorical communication studies that began in the early twentieth century. Using critical, historical, and theoretical perspectives, such studies engage in close readings of significant texts; interrogate archival sources and living witnesses to discover how speeches are written, staged, distributed; and examine the potential of significant discourse for shaping response.

Communication Processes Following a Positive Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis
James Dillard

With the tremendous expansion of knowledge that must follow from advances in the Human Genome Project, the question of how to effectively communicate genetic risk information will assume increasing importance. This project examines interactions between medical personnel and family members whose infant has received a positive newborn screening result for cystic fibrosis. The project aims to further our understanding of these highly stressful episodes for the purpose of reducing negative emotional reactions and heightening memory for genetic risk information.

How Do Emotions Persuade?
James Dillard

Despite the fact that emotion has been acknowledged to play an important role in persuasion since the time of Aristotle, we have relatively little solid social scientific knowledge regarding how feelings produce persuasive effects. Professor James Dillard, who oversees the emotion and persuasion project, is pursuing this question by examining public service announcements (PSAs) and other public health messages. To date, the project has shown that emotional responses to health messages are far more complex than previously thought. The aim is to develop a body of knowledge that can be used to design more effective ways of convincing individuals to maintain and improve their own well-being as well as that of others. Click on any of the article titles below to see an abstract of the research.

How do people (try to) get what they want from others?
James Dillard

One of the central functions of communication is to produce change in others. Thus, it is important to examine how and why individuals attempt to influence the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of others. This line of research, conducted by James Dillard, focuses on the processes by which individuals produce messages that are intended to bring about change in other people. One distinguishing feature of the research is its emphasis on identifying the types of goals that individuals possess during influence interactions and showing how those goals relate to the variations in communication behavior.

How Do Individuals Perceive and Process Relational Messages?
James Dillard

The study of communication has long been guided by the assumption that relationships are created, revealed, and modified by interpersonal interactions. Relational framing theory, developed by Denise Solomon and James Dillard, attempts to explain relational judgments as a product of cognitive structures interacting with social reality. One current application of the theory focuses on how informal interactions between organizational employees might be construed as either intimate communication or sexual harassment.

How Can Groups Make Better Decisions?
Dennis Gouran

A common presumption is that groups perform better than individuals in making decisions, which is why they are so often called on to do so. Yet, we all know that groups, at times, make very poor decisions that can have costly consequences, not only for the members, but also for others affected by their decisions once implemented. This inconsistency between what appears to be a reasonable presumption and what, in practice, all too frequently occurs has long been an interest of Professor Dennis Gouran and the driving for behind a twenty-five year, ongoing project involving the role of communication in assuring that decision-making groups live up to their potential and arrive at sound choices in matters of more than trivial significance to those involved in the process and those affected. To date, the project has produced considerable evidence that communication plays a vital role in assuring that the members of decision-making groups address various aspects of their tasks in ways that make it more likely that they will choose wisely and appropriately. The project has also resulted in the emergence of a major theory called “The Functional Theory of Communication in Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Groups.” For more details of the status of the project, one may wish to consult the documents below.

H ow Can Schools Prevent Adolescent Drug Use?
Michael Hecht

National studies show that adolescents use drugs at disturbing levels. We know that peer and family relationships play an important role in their decisions about whether or to use drugs. Professors Michael Hecht and Michelle Miller-Day have been studying what happens when adolescents are offered drug by peers or family members and how their narratives or stories about these experiences can be used to develop prevention programs for schools. The Drug Resistance Strategies project has shown that adolescents use four primary means for resisting drug offers. These four strategies are captured by the acronym REAL (refuse or simple no; explain or no with an explanation, avoid the offer or leave) and are the bases for a multicultural prevention program, keepin’ it REAL that has been selected a “model program” by the federal government’s National Registry of Effective Programs.

How Can Members of Different Racial Groups Communicate Effectively With Each Other?
Michael Hecht

From American’s segregationist past to the civil rights struggles to the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the problem of race has challenged us. Racial divides sometimes seem so deep that no amount of communication can bridge them. Professor Michael Hecht has been studying this problem for over 20 years. His work has shown that there are important issues that separate us, including lack of acceptance and stereotyping. Conversations involving members of different groups may lack common ground, authenticity, understanding, and acceptance leaving members of minority groups feeling powerless and those in mainstream groups feeling like they have no where to turn. Many whites see minorities as “overly” sensitive about what they are called (e.g., black or African American) as well as what is said, causing some white people to become overly cautious. Unfortunately, this caution can lead to something called “over accommodation” or trying too hard (e.g., bringing up salsa with Latinos, sports with blacks) and this comes across as patronizing. But Hecht has shown that these problems can be overcome by allowing people to express themselves, presenting a positive face (and accepting that from others), being open and friendly, and even something as simple as letting each person have a turn in the conversation. It is important to be genuine and treat each other as equals during these conversations because people are sensitive to the stress of perceived differences. This research also shows that many times mistakes, when they occur, can be corrected.

What Does Democratic Deliberation Look Like?
J. Michael Hogan

Since the publication of Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, there has been a spirited, interdisciplinary debate over the causes of an apparent decline in citizen participation in civic affairs, especially among young people. Much of this debate has focused on institutional and sociological explanations, with scholars looking to political structures or demographic changes for explanations.

J. Michael Hogan takes a different approach. Documenting changes in the character and quality of our public discourse, Hogan brings a rhetorical perspective to questions of civic engagement and democratic deliberation. Reflecting on how the vibrant deliberative democracy of the Progressive Era gave way to an age of propaganda and “sound bites,” Hogan finds explanations in new media technologies and changing definitions of “responsible” and “eloquent” speech. From studies of how particular controversies have evolved over time, to more narrowly focused studies of specific speakers and debates, Hogan’s work emphasizes the importance of rhetorical education, open forums for public deliberation, and shared standards of ethical public speech to a healthy, sustainable deliberative democracy.

Does Public Opinion Polling Undermine Democratic Deliberation?
J. Michael Hogan

Since the early 1980s, there has been a dramatic proliferation of public opinion polls sponsored by major news organizations and reported as “news” about public attitudes toward our political leaders and the issues of the day. According to polling’s defenders, this growth in polling has been a good thing for democracy. Polling, in their view, gives voice to the “will of the people” and holds our leaders accountable.

J. Michael Hogan takes a different view of the impact of polling on democratic deliberation and policy-making. Showing how polling often supplants substantive debate and creates illusory trends in public opinion, Hogan argues that media polling often distorts public opinion and undermines democratic deliberation. In short, the growth of media polling, according to Hogan, has been bad for democracy.

Voices of democracy
J. Michael Hogan

As a historian of American public address, J. Michael Hogan has studied a wide variety of the most famous orators in history, ranging from alleged demagogues like Huey Long and George Wallace to presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the only president ever to write scholarly books about oratory and debate in American politics.

As a free-range rhetorician, Rosa Eberly shares this interest in the U.S. oratorical tradition and sees rhetorical education as a means of reinventing that tradition for the 21st century. Eberly's scholarship focuses on classrooms and other protopublic spaces where student-citizens can learn together to engage in collaborative democratic practices.

In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Maryland and Baylor University, Hogan and Eberly are co-directors of a major new curricular initiative funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, "Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project." Promoting the study of great speeches and debates in undergraduate classrooms throughout the humanities, "Voices of Democracy" aims to bring history to life for students and to cultivate an appreciation of the American tradition of democratic deliberation. By studying the speeches and debates that have helped shape the American democratic experience, students not only learn about the nation's history and civic traditions but also may become more critical consumers of public discourse and more engaged citizens themselves.

Ethics in Human Communication
Christopher L. Johnstone

All forms of human communication—from political discourse, journalism, and advertising to teaching and interpersonal talk—engender ethical issues. What are our responsibilities and obligations as communicators? What ethical standards are appropriate to various kinds of communication? What legitimizes one proposed set of ethical standards versus others? How can citizens evaluate the communication ethics of political leaders and candidates? How does communication function in the moral development of individuals and communities? Professor Christopher Johnstone has spent over 30 years examining such questions, both in his scholarly research and in his teaching at Penn State. His goal has been to illuminate a variety of ethical issues that arises whenever people choose to communicate with each other, and to investigate different approaches to developing ethical standards for judging communication. Examples of these efforts can be found among the publications and scholarly presentations listed below.

Theory, Practice, and Context in Classical Rhetoric
Christopher L. Johnstone

How did the art of persuasion develop in ancient Greece? What were the cultural, intellectual, philosophical, and physical contexts in which this art took form? How did these contexts shape the theory and performance of rhetoric? For more than two decades, professor Christopher Johnstone has examined these and related questions in articles, chapters, and professional papers in an effort to illuminate the philosophical and
cultural underpinnings of classical rhetoric, and to clarify the performative character of rhetoric as an embodied art.

How Does Communication Change across the Life Span?
Jon Nussbaum

It is rather obvious to accept the fact that we change physically over the course of our lives. Many of our physical attributes and several critical mental abilities have been shown to decline as we age into our 50’s, 60’s and beyond. Professor Jon Nussbaum is pursing a research agenda that investigates the changing structure and function of our communication as we age. While it may be true that certain physical and mental abilities decline with age, research has shown that our ability to successfully communicate can compensate for these declines and is an important factor in our overall well-being throughout the entirety of our lives. To date, studies have been conducted to link communication to overall well-being by focusing on professional relationships within the health care domain as well as various family and friendship relationships. The aim of this research is to place communication at the center of any consideration of a life span theory of successful aging. Click on any of the article titles below to see an abstract of the publication.

How should we communicate about health risk?
Roxanne Parrott

The study of health communication focuses on discourse about being well and well-being. The strategic design and dissemination of messages with potential for positive effects on health and well-being has been the focus of Professor Roxanne Parrott’s research program for nearly two decades. In pursuit of answering the above question, she has focused on three primary issues, advancing a model for an ecological approach to health communication that encompasses insights about the role of language, lay epistemologies, and health policy in health message design and dissemination.

How does language influence?
Roxanne Parrott

By whatever modality communication about health reaches us, language will contribute to the persuasive outcomes of the message. Most recently, Roxanne Parrott has approached the effects of language for health communication through systematic consideration of the role language has in outcomes for evidence about health risk. In view of an increasing trend for communicating about health through the use of visual forms of evidence, ranging from bar charts and risk ladders to photographs and maps, her research has considered the effects of visual form for perceptions of message quality as well as comprehension. In turn, she examines effects on behavioral health outcomes including self and response efficacy. An overarching framework relating the importance of visual to verbal forms considers the role of language in essentializing race, genes, place, or other single determinants of health. Consistent with a focus on visual forms, previous research has also considered nonverbal behavior and audience characteristics to explain exposure to and effects of language use on message and behavioral health outcomes. This research has focused on behaviors, beliefs, or message source as contributors to understanding how language influences. Examples of this line of research can be found in the following published articles.

How do lay epistemologies influence?
Roxanne Parrott

One persistent trend in health communication research has been the focus on public health communication and medical interaction to the neglect of self-management approaches to health. Roxanne Parrott has emphasized the importance of a self-management model of health communication, which emphasizes the individual interacting with informal systems of care, relying on self, family and friends to address responsibility for health and health care. In this realm, lay epistemologies form the framework for communication and decision-making about health. Examples of this line of research include the following articles.

How do health policies influence?
Roxanne Parrott

Communication theory and practice emphasizes ethical decision-making. In the realm of strategic health communication, the scope for translating prescriptions for health into messages depends on health policy. Health policies frame decisions about what research will be funded and thus contribute to the knowledge base available for communicating about health. Roxanne Parrott’s research has considered this as a boundary condition to guide planning efforts related to designing health messages. Thus, one focus of Parrott’s research is to identify implicit assumptions relating to health policy and examine how they influence health communication. Examples of work in this area include the following publications.

Why do Transitions in Personal Relationships Spark Relational Turmoil?
Denise Solomon

A growing body of research suggests that changes in personal relationships coincide with periods of greater reactivity to episodes involving conflict, jealousy, unexpected events, etc. Denise Solomon, in collaboration with former and current Ph.D. students (Dr. Leanne Knobloch, Dr. Jennifer Theiss, Kirsten Weber), developed the relational turbulence model to explain how transitions intensify relationship experiences. The theory positions relational uncertainty and goal interference from partners as phenomena that increase when relationship norms and roles undergo change. In turn, relational uncertainty and frustration at goal disruption lead to more extreme cognitive, emotional and communicative responses to events. The collaborators are currently exploring how the theory provides insight into the link between relationship experiences and reactions to stressors associated with the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Centers for Research