Few communication behaviors are more consequential to the development and maintenance of close relationships than the expression of affection. Indeed, people often use affectionate gestures to initiate or accelerate relationship development. In contrast, the absence of affection in established relationships frequently coincides with relational deterioration. This text explores the scientific research on affection exchange that has emerged from the disciplines of communication, social and c...

Few behavioral processes are more central to the development and maintenance of intimate relationships than the communication of affection. Indeed, affectionate expressions often initiate and accelerate relational development. By contrast, their absence in established relationships frequently coincides with relational deterioration. This text explores the scientific research on affection exchange to emerge from the disciplines of communication, social psychology, family studies, psychophys...

Continuing its engaging and readable approach, this second edition presents an overview of the major theories within the discipline of communication studies inclusive of the three major paradigms of social scientific, interpretive, and critical.Each member of the author team writes from his or her area of expertise, giving readers further insight into how the theory is applied to research within communication studies. With extensive pedagogical features, the text underscores key co...

Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships provides a synthesis of research on nonverbal communication as it applies to interpersonal interaction, focusing on the close relationships of friends, family, and romantic partners. Authors Laura K. Guerrero and Kory Floyd support the premise that nonverbal communication is a product of biology, social learning, and relational context. They overview six prominent nonverbal theories and show how each is related to bio-evolutionary or ...

Widening the Family Circle: New Research on Family Communication, Second Edition continues to address historically under-studied family relationships, such as those involving grandparents, in-laws, cousins, stepfamilies, and adoptive parents. In this engaging text, editors Kory Floyd and Mark T. Morman bring together a diverse collection of empirical studies, theoretic essays, and critical reviews of literature on communication to constitute a stronger, more complete under...

The Handbook of Communication Science and Biology charts the state of the art in the field, describing relevant areas of communication studies where a biological approach has been successfully applied. The book synthesizes theoretical and empirical development in this area thus far and proposes a roadmap for future research.As the biological approach to understanding communication has grown, one challenge has been the separate evolution of research focused on media use and...

Bringing together the work of 60 contributors who represent both leading voices in family communication scholarship and an inspiring new generation of scholars shaping the field’s future, this third edition is a comprehensive and accessible overview of the theories that form the foundation of the family communication field.The book begins with an overview chapter including an updated empirical analysis of family communication research from 1990 to 2024. Twenty-seven theory chapters...