Josh Compton

Josh Compton is Professor of Speech at Dartmouth College, where he serves as Chair of the Speech at Dartmouth Steering Committee and is affiliated with the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric. With over 20 years of research experience, he has established himself as a leading scholar in inoculation theory and resistance to influence, with significant contributions across health communication, science communication, and rhetorical studies.

Compton earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, which formed the foundation for his extensive research career in communication theory. His educational background has prepared him for interdisciplinary work that bridges communication, psychology, and historical analysis.

Professor Compton's research centers on inoculation theory, examining how weakened forms of challenges can motivate resistance to stronger persuasive attempts, drawing an analogy to medical vaccination. His work spans multiple domains including image repair theory, public speaking pedagogy, speechwriting, health communication (particularly vaccination rhetoric), science communication (addressing misinformation), environmental communication (focusing on web accessibility), and historical rhetorical analysis of communication artifacts like vintage postcards. Compton has conducted innovative research analyzing historical communication practices to understand how inoculation principles have been applied throughout history, from 18th century smallpox debates to World War II vaccination campaigns.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward applying inoculation theory to contemporary challenges including misinformation resistance, conspiracy theory beliefs, psychological reactance, and improving accessibility in environmental communication. Compton's work shows increasing interdisciplinary integration, connecting communication theory with practical applications in public health, science communication, and digital accessibility.

• 2022 Distinguished Book Award from the Communication and Social Cognition Division of the National Communication Association for his book on Persuasion

As an educator, Compton teaches highly popular courses including Public Speaking (SPEE 20), Image Rhetoric (SPEE 34), Persuasive Public Speaking (SPEE 25), and Speechwriting (SPEE 30). His teaching is uniquely informed by his personal experience as a covert stutterer, which gives him distinctive insights into speech communication. He has mentored undergraduate researchers like Lam, D. on projects examining the analogics of inoculation theory and character assassination. Compton's research on web accessibility revealed that 95.3% of popular environmental websites had critical accessibility errors, highlighting a significant digital divide for people with disabilities.

Compton's work bridges theoretical development with practical applications, particularly in the areas of health communication and misinformation resistance. His research on how misinformation interventions decay rapidly without immediate posttests has important implications for designing effective media literacy programs that create lasting resistance to misinformation.