Where: Communication Arts and Sciences room 145
The Bettinghaus Endowed Lecture brings leading communication scholars to Michigan State University to share research that advances understanding of communication and its impact on individuals and society.
The 2026 lecture will feature MSU alumna Rachel A. Smith, a Dr. Nancy J. Metzger Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, and Human Development and Family Studies with the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University whose research examines social influence, stigma and health communication. In her talk, “Linked: Studies of Social Influence, Stigma and Health,” Smith will explore how relationships and social structures shape persuasion, well-being and experiences of health-related stigma.
Title: Linked: Studies of Social Influence, Stigma and Health
Abstract: Humans are a social species, and communication is an interdependent process by which people make sense of and influence their worlds. People's interactions with each other create invisible social structures that underlie social capital, personal power, and community life. From interpersonal communication can emerge new social facts or collective norms: social-level beliefs about actions, thoughts, and feelings of community members that have the power to influence individuals' beliefs and actions. We have methods and data to capture social living that allow scholars to test new and old ideas about the relational determinants and consequences of health communication. Indeed, the challenge is to advance our theories to keep up with these developments. In this talk, I intend to explore the socially situated and embodied nature of persuasion and wellbeing in three areas: relational determinants of interpersonal influence, relational consequences of living with a stigmatized health condition, and communication's role in creating public stigmas.
Bio: Rachel Smith (PhD, 2003, Michigan State University) is a quantitative scientist whose interests lie broadly in social influence and social systems. Themes in her scholarship include why some expressions of prejudice diffuse and become social stigmas, and how social power, affiliation, and network topology shape persuasion and resistance. She also develops and evaluates approaches to design effective health campaigns that improve well-being, avoid iatrogenic outcomes, and advance theory. Professor Smith teaches undergraduate courses on persuasion (CAS 220), communication theory (CAS 303), health communication (CAS 453), and intercultural communication (CAS 471), and graduate seminars in quantitative research methods (CAS 561), social influence (CAS 550), health campaigns (CAS 567), and advanced methods for dyadic and network data (CAS 563 “Pairs and pairings”). Her research has been funded by NIH, the Gates Foundation, CDC, USAID, and private foundations.