Mark Bergstrom
Associate Professor, Communication
Associate Dean, College Of Humanities
Communication
Languages & Communication Bldg
255 South Central Campus Dr RM 2400
Salt Lake City, Ut 84112-0491
Office: 2400 LNCO
Office Hours: By appointment via email
Office Phone: (801) 581-6214
Email:
>> Curriculum Vitae
Degrees:
1995 Ph.D University of Oklahoma
I am an Associate Professor of Communication and the Associate Dean of the College of Humanities at the University of Utah. I earned my B.S. at Washington State, M.A. at the University of Montana, and my Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. My research and teaching area is interpersonal communication and relationships, with particular interests in intergenerational relationships and conflict, bereavement processes, and health care interactions.
My research advances and translates theoretical work in conflict, conflict management, aging, and intergenerational relationships into practical explanations, implications, and guidelines for younger care providers working with elderly patients. My work also translates theories in these areas to guidelines for nursing home personnel, families of elderly individuals living in nursing homes, and residents themselves. Recent work investigates the implicit or lay theories older adults have for successful aging. This research refines successful aging theory and potentially improves the interactions of people providing assistance to elderly individuals coping with bereavement.
Selected Publications:
Organizational communication and aging: Age-related processes in organizations
(Book Section), 2004
[citation]
Integrating service learning into the communication curriculum at a research university: A case study.
(Book Section), 1999
[citation]
The institutionalized elderly: Interactive implications of long-term care.
(Book Section),
[citation]
Relational paradigms and individualism-collectivism as dimensions of cultural variability influencing communication.
(Encyclopedia Entries), 2003
[citation]
Lay theories of successful aging after the death of a spouse: A network analysis of bereavement advice.
(Journal Article), 2000
[citation]
Cohort differences in interpersonal conflict: Implications for the older patient-younger care provider interaction.
(Journal Article), 1996
[citation]
Research Statement
My research advances and translates theoretical work in conflict, conflict management, aging, and intergenerational relationships into practical explanations, implications, and guidelines for younger care providers working with elderly patients. My work also translates theories in these areas to guidelines for nursing home personnel, families of elderly individuals living in nursing homes, and residents themselves. Recent work investigates the implicit or lay theories older adults have for successful aging. This research refines successful aging theory and potentially improves the interactions of people providing assistance to elderly individuals coping with bereavement.
Research Keywords, Regions of Interest and Languages:
Keywords:
Close Relationships (3); Communication and Aging; conflict management (3); Health Communication (3); Interpersonal Communication (5)
Current Courses
COMM 5000-1 Studies In Comm
COMM 6000-1 Studies In Comm
COMM 7370-1 Sem-Quantitative Research
Courses I Teach
COMM 3710 Intro Quant Comm Rsrch
COMM 5000 Studies In Comm
COMM 5140 Comm And Aging
COMM 6000 Studies In Comm
COMM 6140 Comm And Aging
COMM 7370 Sem-Quantitative Research
Awards
2006
Distinguished Alumni Award - University of Oklahoma, Department of Communication
2003
Student Choice Award for Teaching Excellence - ASUU
1996
Faculty Associate - Department Gerontology, University of Utah
Favorite Quote:
"It is the ability to interact and maintain networks of relationships which provide us not only with such affective states as happiness and satisfaction but these interactions also function to meet our basic needs for companionship, success, and eventually the help to survive"(Hummert, Wiemann, and Nussbaum, 1995, p. 3).