Kory Floyd
Kory Floyd's research focuses on the communication of affection in personal relationships, and on the interplay between communication, physiology and health. He has studied affectionate communication in a host of family relationships, as well as between romantic partners, friends, and new acquaintances. His work in the Communication Sciences Laboratory demonstrates how affectionate behavior can alter stress hormones, lower blood glucose, reduce lipids, and improve immune system parameters. His most recent project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, investigated the role of the peptide hormone oxytocin in the stress-alleviating effects of affectionate communication.
Professor Floyd is editor of Communication Monographs, past chair of the family communication division of the National Communication Association, and previous editor of the Journal of Family Communication. He was the 2006 recipient of the Gerald R. Miller Award for Early Career Achievement from the International Association for Relationship Research. He has authored multiple books, including "Communicating affection: Interpersonal behavior and social context" (Cambridge University Press, 2006), "The biology of human communication" (Thomson, 2007/2e), "Interpersonal communication" (McGraw-Hill, 2008), "Biological dimensions of communication" (Hampton Press, 2009), "Nonverbal communication" (Allyn & Bacon, 2010), and "Communication matters" (McGraw-Hill, 2011).
Primary Interests:
- Close Relationships
- Communication, Language
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Evolution and Genetics
- Health Psychology
- Helping, Prosocial Behavior
- Interpersonal Processes
- Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
- Nonverbal Behavior
Research Group or Laboratory:
Note from the Network: The holder of this profile has certified having all necessary rights, licenses, and authorization to post the files listed below. Visitors are welcome to copy or use any files for noncommercial or journalistic purposes provided they credit the profile holder and cite this page as the source.
Image Gallery
Books:
- Beatty, M. J., McCroskey, J. C., & Floyd, K. (Eds.). (2009). Biological dimensions of communication: Perspectives, methods, and research. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
- Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2010). Nonverbal communication. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
- Floyd, K. (2014). Communication matters (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Floyd, K. (2012). Interpersonal communication (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Floyd, K. (2006). Communicating affection: Interpersonal behavior and social context. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
- Floyd, K., Mikkelson, A. C., & Hesse, C. (2007). The biology of human communication (2nd ed.). Florence, KY: Thomson Learning.
- Floyd, K., & Morman, M. T. (Eds.). (2006). Widening the family circle: New research on family communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2006). Nonverbal communication in close relationships. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Journal Articles:
- Floyd, K. (2006). Human affection exchange: XII. Affectionate communication is associated with diurnal variation in salivary free cortisol. Western Journal of Communication, 70, 47-63.
- Floyd, K., Boren, J. P., Hannawa, A. F., Hesse, C., McEwan, B., & Veksler, A. E. (2009). Kissing in marital and cohabiting relationships: Effects on blood lipids, stress, and relationship satisfaction. Western Journal of Communication, 73, 113-133.
- Floyd, K., Hesse, C., & Haynes, M. T. (2007). Human affection exchange: XV. Metabolic and cardiovascular correlates of trait expressed affection. Communication Quarterly, 55, 79- 94.
- Floyd, K., Mikkelson, A. C., Hesse, C., & Pauley, P. M. (2007). Affectionate writing reduces total cholesterol: Two randomized, controlled trials. Human Communication Research, 33, 119-142.
- Floyd, K., Mikkelson, A. C., Tafoya, M. A., Farinelli, L., La Valley, A. G., Judd, J., Davis, K. L., Haynes, M. T., & Wilson, J. (2007). Human affection exchange: XIV. Relational affection predicts resting heart rate and free cortisol secretion during acute stress. Behavioral Medicine, 32, 151-156.
- Floyd, K., & Morman, M. T. (2000). Affection received from fathers as a predictor of men’s affection with their own sons: Tests of the modeling and compensation hypotheses. Communication Monographs, 67, 347-361.
- Floyd, K., Pauley, P. M., & Hesse, C. (2010). State and trait affectionate communication buffer adults’ stress reactions. Communication Monographs, 77, 618-636.
- Floyd, K., & Riforgiate, S. (2008). Affectionate communication received from spouses predicts stress hormone levels in healthy adults. Communication Monographs, 75, 351-368.
- Hesse, C., & Floyd, K. (2011). Affection mediates the impact of alexithymia on relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 451-456.
- Floyd, K., Hesse, C., Boren, J. P., & Veksler, A. E. (in press). Affectionate communication can suppress immunity: Trait affection predicts antibody titers to latent Epstein-Barr virus. Southern Communication Journal.
- Hesse, C., Floyd, K., Rauscher, E. A., Frye-Cox, N., Hegarty, J., & Peng, H. (2013). Alexithymia and impairment of decoding positive affect: An fMRI study. Journal of Communication, Issue Journal of Communication Journal of Communication, 63, 786-806.
- Floyd, K., Mikkelson, A. C., Tafoya, M. A., Farinelli, L., La Valley, A. G., Judd, J., Haynes, M. T., Davis, K. L., & Wilson, J. (2007). Human affection exchange: XIII. Affectionate communication accelerates neuroendocrine stress recovery. Health Communication, 22, 123- 132.
Courses Taught:
- Biology of Communication
- Communication of Emotion
- Communication Theory
- Experimental Research Methods
- Family Communication
- Interpersonal Communication
- Multivariate Research Methods
- Nonverbal Communication
- Small Group Communication
- Univariate Research Methods
Kory Floyd
Hugh Downs School of Human Communication
Arizona State University
Box 871205
Tempe, Arizona 85287-1205
United States of America
- Phone: (480) 965-3568
- Fax: (480) 965-4291