Kory Floyd received his undergraduate degree in English at Western Washington University, his Master’s degree in communication from the University of Washington, his Master's degree in clinical mental health counseling from the College of William & Mary, his education specialist degree in professional counseling from the University of West Georgia, and his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Arizona. He is professor and chair of human development at Washington State University. His research aims to the communication of affection in close relationships and its effects on stress and physiological functioning. He has published 16 books and over 100 scientific papers and book chapters on the topics of affection, emotion, family communication, nonverbal behavior, and health. He also serves as a Fellow of the International Communication Association and a former editor of Communication Monographs and Journal of Family Communication.

Colter D. Ray completed his Ph.D. in communication at Arizona State University. He is currently an assistant professor of cCommunication at The University of Tampa. His research interests include the intersections of interpersonal and health communication, specifically how people attempt to communicate support to loved ones who have been diagnosed with cancer and how people can cope with loneliness. He has published over three dozen studies primarily focusing on the dark side of communication, cancer, and loneliness.

Josephine K. Boumis received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in communication from Michigan State University, and her PhD in communication at the University of South Florida. She is now an assistant professor of communication at Texas Christian University. She serves as a social scientist working on interpersonal, health, and family theoretical frameworks to investigate the important role that communication plays in shaping our relationships and how we navigate the challenges we face in life. Specifically, she examines how concepts such as resilience and social support are communicatively built in relationships and impact our physical, relational, or mental well-being. Her research is focused on interpersonal communication, health communication, applied communication, and family communication.