Jake Harwood

Jake Harwood (PhD, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) is a Professor of Communication. His CV is here. His research focuses on intergroup communication with a particular focus on age groups and the role of music in intergroup relations. He is also interested in the use of AI LLMs for coding text data as well as agent-based modeling of communication processes. He authored "Communication and Music in Social Interaction" (Cognella, 2018) and “Understanding Communication and Aging” (3rd Edition, Cognella, 2023). He has published over 150 articles and book chapters, including recent publications in Media Psychology, Psychology of Music, and Nature Reviews Psychology. He is a Fellow of the International Communication Association. He teaches courses in research methods/statistics, intergroup communication, communication and music, and intergenerational communication.

Dr. Harwood will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2027.

Projects

Ongoing research projects with my graduate research team are examining intergroup contact and communication and the role of music in interpersonal and intergroup relations. We are also experimenting with using LLMs to code text data.  

Selected Publications

***Complete CV here.

Selected Books:

Giles, H., & Harwood, J. (Eds.) (2018). Oxford encyclopedia of intergroup communication. Oxford University Press.   

Harwood, J. (2018). Communication and music in social interaction. Cognella.

Harwood, J., & Kunkle, C. (2023). Understanding communication and aging: Developing knowledge and awareness (3rd Edition). Cognella.

Selected Recent Articles (^† indicates student co-authors):

^†Gim, H., & Harwood, J. (2026). How mediated intergroup contact works: Exploring mechanisms of music and language learning activities’ effects. Media Psychology, 29(4), 766-789. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2025.2548910

Paolini, S., Dixon, J., Kotzur, P. F., Friehs, M-T., Bracegirdle, C., Lauterbach, A., Köbrich, J., Graf, S., Kauff, M., Stefaniak, A., Wright, S. C., Barlow, F. K., Luebbering. K., & Harwood, J. (2026). Towards a habit-rupture model of intergroup contact in everyday settings. Nature Reviews Psychology, 5, 136-151. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-025-00523-0

Harwood, J. (2025). Communication, contact, and intergenerational dynamics: Aging in not-so-normal times. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 101(1), 156-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150241297347 

^†Carter, S., Harwood, J., & Rains, S. (2024). When they support us: Expectations for social support from outgroup members. Communication Monographs, 91(1), 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2023.2274078 

^†Cooper, R. A., & Harwood, J. (2024). Humanizing dementia: Effects of counter-stereotypical messages on patronizing speech toward people with a stigmatized health condition. Health Communication, 39(6), 1175-1184. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2207281 

^†Montez, D., & Harwood, J. (2024). Facilitating and hindering accurate perceptions of argument strength: The effects of intergroup bias and intellectual humility. Western Journal of Communication, 89(2), 395-414. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2369780