John P. Caughlin
Contact Information
Office: 238 Communication
Telephone: (217) 333-4340
Email: caughlin@illinois.edu
Associate Professor
Bio
Professor Caughlin’s research examines communication in close personal relationships. Most of his recent work has focused on topics like conflict, disclosure, and secrets. His research on disclosure and secrecy involves trying to understand when it is good to talk about something and when it is better to avoid talking about it, as well as whether there are better and worse ways to disclose something (or keep something secret). For instance, one recent study examined different ways that people disclose an HIV-positive diagnosis, showing that the way a person reveals this information shapes how others view it. Another study has examined “putative secrets,” which are times when people are trying to keep a secret from somebody, but that somebody actually already knows the secret. Studying secrets has convinced Professor Caughlin that just about everyone has some secrets and that people are usually even more interesting than they appear on the surface.
Curriculum Vitae
Experience
- Interpersonal communication, family communication, avoidance and disclosure of health information, conflict in close relationships, secrecy and privacy in close relationships.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin
Selected Publications
Caughlin, J. P., & Huston, T. L. (in press). The flourishing literature on flourishing relationships. Journal of Family Theory & Review.
Donovan-Kicken, E., & Caughlin, J. P. (in press). A multiple goals perspective on topic avoidance and relationship satisfaction in the context of breast cancer. Communication Monographs.
Caughlin, J. P., Scott, A. M., Miller, L. E., & Hefner, V. (in press). Putative secrets: When information is supposedly a secret. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
Caughlin, J. P., & Scott, A. M. (2010). Toward a communication theory of the demand/withdraw pattern of interaction in interpersonal relationships. In S. Smith & S. R. Wilson (Eds.), New directions in interpersonal communication (pp. 180-200). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Caughlin, J. P., Scott, A. M., & Miller, L. E. (2009). Conflict and hurt in close relationships. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Feeling hurt in close relationships (pp. 143-166). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Caughlin, J. P., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2009). Why people conceal or reveal secrets: A multiple goals perspective. In T. Afifi & W. Afifi (Eds.), Uncertainty, information management, and disclosure decisions: Theories and applications (pp. 279-299). New York: Routledge.
Caughlin, J. P., Bute, J. J., Donovan-Kicken, E. E., Kosenko, K. A., Ramey, M. E., & Brashers, D. E. (2009). Do message features influence reactions to HIV disclosures? A multiple goals perspective. Health Communication, 24, 270-283.