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Have you ever wondered why we tease one another to show affection, affiliation and care—even love—yet can also use teasing to hurt, demean, and criticize?

Have you ever looked at organizations and noticed rampant aggressive interactions, even bullying, and wondered, "What can be done to stop it?" and "Why is it even happening?"

And, have you ever looked at relationships and wondered, "Why do they pretend to be friends when they so clearly dislike each other?"

Well, if you have, you understand the types of questions that motivate me to answer -- what drives my research and my practice. I am a relational communication scholar interested in communication that lies at the nexus of dark side and light side of communication, and I am always motivated to do research that ultimately helps us communicate better with others.

Currently, I am using my research interests by putting my own skills to the test at the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ. I work with an incredible faculty from Communication Studies, Journalism, and Film, Video and New Media. I'm always looking for new ways to study (in)effective communication, so if you are interested in collaboration, let me know!

Education

• PhD, Communication Theory, Purdue University
• MA, Health Communication,ÌýEmerson College
• BS, Organizational Communication & English, University of Miami

Areas of Expertise:Ìý

• Relational and Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication

Publications

• Peer -Reviewed Journal Articles
• Mills, C.B., Yu, P., Mongeau, P. (in press). Frenemies: Acting like friends but feeling like enemies.ÌýWestern Journal of Communication.Ìý
• Goodboy, A.K., Martin, M.M., Mills, C.B. & Clark, C.V. (2022) Workplace Bullying in Academia: A Conditional Process Model.ÌýManagement Communication Quarterly.
• Mills, C. B., Kwon, A. C., & Brown, K. A. (2021). Examining the COMM in COMMunity Policing: Communication Accommodation, Perception, and Trust in Law Enforcement-Suspect Encounters.ÌýJournal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36(2), 333-341.
• Mills, C. B., & Scudder, J. N. (2020). He said, she said: the effectiveness and outcomes of responses to sexual harassment.ÌýInternational Journal of Business Communication, 2329488420941924.
• Mills, C. B., Keller, M., Chilcutt, A., & Nelson, M. D. (2018).Ìý.ÌýWorkplace Health & Safety.Ìý
• ÌýMills, C.B. (2016). Child’s Play or Risky Business? The development of teasing functions and relational implications in school-aged children.ÌýJournal of Social and Personal Relationships.Ìý35, 287–306. doi: 10.1177/0265407516683557.

Courses

• COM 2053 Intro to Communication and Civic Life
• SPC 2300 Interpersonal Communication
• SPC 3425 Small Group Processes

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