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Mary-Jeanette Smythe
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
education: PhD, Florida State University
email: SmytheM@missouri.edu
office: 122 Switzler Hall
phone: 573-882-0549

Dr. Mary-Jeanette Smythe focuses her scholarship on interpersonal and instructional communication. Highly versatile with her methods, she conducts both quantitative and qualitative research on gender and communication, and on conflict and negotiation. She has recently been conducting research on conflict both in the U.S. and in Europe, and has examined gender not only in relation to conflict and cooperation, but also as it relates to depictions of gender in the media. Her research on instructional communication has focused on teacher immediacy, determining whether it really has the impact that most scholars claim it does and examining psychometric issues associated with this line of research. Her research has been published in Human Communication Research, Communication Studies, Communication Education, Communication Yearbook, Journal of Accounting Education, and Progress in Communication Science. In 2000 and in 2003, her work was supported by grants from the U.S. Department of State and the European Union.

M.J.’s leadership in the communication department has come not only from her excellent teaching, but also from having recently served back-to-back terms as department chair. During this period, the department experienced numerous significant innovations and advancements. Particularly noteworthy was the selection of the department for Mission Enhancement. M.J.’s proposal netted the department two new full-time faculty positions.

Frequently Taught Courses
Com 3441 Nonverbal Communication
Com 3561 Relational Communication
Com 3470 Culture and Communication
Com 4412 Gender, Language, and Communication
Com 8310 Interpersonal Communication

Research Interests
Gender and communication
Conflict and negotiation
Teacher immediacy and instructional outcomes
Personal narratives

Selected Recent Publications
Benoit, W., & Smythe, M. J. (2003). Rhetorical theory as message reception: A cognitive response approach to rhetorical theory and criticism. Communication Studies, 54, 96-114.

Smythe, M. J., & Nikolai, L. (2002). A thematic analysis of oral communication concerns with implications for curriculum design. Journal of Accounting Education, 18, 163-181.

Hess, J. A., Smythe, M. J., & Communication 451. (2001). Is teacher immediacy actually related to student cognitive learning? Communication Studies, 52, 197-219.

Smythe, M.J. (1998) Strategic storytelling: Constructing self through narrative and nautilus. In L. Longmire & L. Merrill (Eds.), Untying the tongue: Gender, power, and the word (pp. 267-280). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Smythe, M. J. (1991) Gender and communication behaviors: A review of research. In B. Dervin & M. Voigt (Eds.), Progress in Communication Science (pp. 173-216). Norwich, NJ: Ablex.

Hess, J. A., Smythe, M. J., & Communication 451. (2001). Is teacher immediacy actually related to student cognitive learning? Communication Studies, 52, 197-219.

Smythe, M. J., & Hess, J. A. (2005). Are student self-reports a valid method for measuring teacher nonverbal immediacy? Communication Education, 54(2), 170-179.