Samantha Shebib, Ph.D.The National Communication Association has presented the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Samantha Shebib, Ph.D., with a 2023 Early Career Award.
An expert in interpersonal communication, family communication, nonverbal communication, social support and conflict, Shebib is an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Communication Studies. She is also an associate scientist working in social science and justice research.
The award is given to an emerging scholar whose work contributes to the field of nonverbal communication, shows potential to advance society’s understanding of nonverbal communication in interesting ways, and reveals a commitment to contributing to the discipline through engagement and professional service.
She accepted the award at the National Communication Association’s annual conference on Saturday, Nov. 18, in National Harbor, Maryland.
Shebib studies communication in a variety of contexts with a dark side perspective, shedding light on the paradoxical, dialectical, hidden and forbidden facets of human relating. She draws attention to the fact that negative and dysfunctional outcomes can occur in relationships even when positive and functional ones are expected. At the same time, there are often positive silver linings in seemingly dark relational contexts.
Her research interests are embedded in interpersonal/family relationships. Currently, she is interested in examining how physiological responses — cortisol and testosterone — affect how one communicates when conflict transpires. She is also interested in how communication behaviors are transmitted across generations as children learn these behaviors as ways to manage and handle relationship interactions.