Northern Illinois University
Department of Communication
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Betty H. La France
Professor

Specialties

• Quantitative research methods
• Interpersonal communication in close relationships, including sexual relationships

Recent Activities

• Hall, J. A., & La France, B. H. (2024). Chapter 21: The role of humor in initiating romantic relationships. In T. E. Ford, W. Chłopicki, and G. Kuipers’s (Eds.), De Gruyter Handbook of Humor Studies. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.
• La France, B. H. (2022). “Don’t get your meat where you get your bread”: Beliefs and advice about workplace romance. Behavioral Sciences[Special issue], 12(8), 278.
• La France, B. H., & Hall, J. A. (2021). Communication, courtship, and the emerging adult. In T. Coffelt’s (Ed.), Interpersonal sexual communication across the Lifespan. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• La France, B. H. (2020). Sexual interactions (un)scripted: An exploration of consequential unscripted sexual interactions. Communication Quarterly, 68(4), 355-374.
• La France, B. H. (2019). The impact of sexual self-disclosure, sexual compatibility, and sexual conflict on predicted outcome values in sexual relationships. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 28, 57-67.
• Department of Communication Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award (2024) 
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI (2023)
• Northern Illinois University’s Exemplary Faculty Mentoring Award (2022)