Andy Merolla

Andy’s research examines various communicative and emotional processes, such as social connection, conflict management, interpersonal forgiveness, and relational maintenance. Using approaches such as experience sampling, his current research analyzes how patterns of everyday social interaction are associated with feelings of connection and disconnection to others. Some of his recent research also explores the role of communication in constructing hope and the important role that hope plays in managing difficult life situations. Andy’s research can be found in journals such as Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, and the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Andy's book, co-authored with Jeffrey A. Hall, The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us, was published by Yale University Press in 2025. At UCSB, Andy teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conflict management, communication theory, interpersonal communication, and nonverbal communication. In 2021, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the UCSB Academic Senate.

Select Recent Publications

Merolla, A. J., Otmar, C. D., & Salehuddin, A. S. (2025). Past relational experiences and social interaction: Direct, moderated, and mediated associations between relational difficulty, communication, and perception in two samples. Communication Research, 52, 346-374.

Merolla, A. J., Neubauer, A. B., & Otmar, C. D. (2024). Responsiveness, social connection, hope, and life satisfaction in everyday social interaction: An experience sampling study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(7).

Otmar, C. D., & Merolla, A. J. (2024). Early relational exclusion and present-day minority stress, social anxiety, and coping responses among sexual minority men. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 41, 46-68.

Murillo, R. M., Kam, J. A., & Merolla, A. J. (2024). Extending past theorizing on relational maintenance by exploring the lived experiences of separated Latina/o/x immigrant families. Human Communication Research, 50, 309-323. 

Afifi, T., Merolla, A. J., Afifi, W., Gonzales, C., Salehuddin, A., Salmon, J., & Wilson, V. (2024). Reciprocal relationship maintenance in marriage and its impact on communal orientation, relational load, and one’s ability to flourish. Human Communication Research, 50, 309-323. 

Otmar, C. D., & Merolla, A. J. (in press). Social determinants of message exposure and health anxiety among young sexual minority men in the United States during the 2022 Mpox outbreak. Health Communication.