INTIMATE COMMUNICATION LAB
Making intimate communication research accessible and applicable.
The Intimate Communication Lab is a virtual, applied research lab of Drs. Angela Cooke-Jackson and Valerie Rubinsky—collaborating and showcasing former, current, and future research in the areas of intimacy and communication.
The Intimate Communication Lab covers a breadth of topics regarding sexual health and behavior, intimacy, and communication.
Learn more about the Intimate Communication Lab, the directors, and our research collaborators.
One of our lab's primary goals is to propose and refine a Theory of Memorable Messages in a meaningful and accessible way.
Recently Published Work
“Theory of Memorable Messages”
Published in Journal of Communication
“Just Deal With It:” Memorable Messages About Menopause as Anticipatory Education”
Published in American Journal of Sexuality Education
Memorable Messages: The Communications That Stick with Us Over Time
Do you remember the best advice you ever received? How about the worst? Do certain memories bring you comfort? Do you remember times when you needed to hear something, but didn’t? Memorable messages are the enduring communications that shape our lives. These lasting messages impact our behavior, self-concept, and relationships throughout our lives. The words that stick with us over time inform how we see ourselves and others.
This interactive book explores what memorable messages are, where they come from, and how they influence our daily lives. Through a blend of scientific insights and personal stories, we guide readers on a journey of self-discovery, showing them how to recognize, unpack, and reshape the messages that have informed and influenced their life. This book makes the case that communication is not something that just passively happens to us—but a process in which we can take an active role.
Communicating Intimate Health
Communicating Intimate Health presents an edited collection of original, empirical research, personal essays, autoethnography, critical reviews, and theoretical work showcasing advances in intimate health research from the field of communication studies. Intimate health includes sexual and reproductive health, sexual activity, sexuality, gender, and reproductive justice. The contributors vulnerably engage subjects including: parent-child, partner, patient-provider, and larger societal discourse and communication about sexuality education, HIV, family planning, purity pledges, (in)fertility, breastfeeding, and Black maternal health, sexting, boundary setting, consent, border justice, trauma, contraception, and menstruation, among others. Featuring both new research and vulnerable reflections on the research process, Communicating Intimate Health showcases the potential of communication scholarship to engage intimately with intimate topics.