FDM 1303 Korpi Test 1
For the purpose of distinguishing between them, it is accurate to say that "communications" is a process that characterizes much of human interaction, and that "communication" is things, messages. (T/F)
False
It takes particular kinds of media content to provide escape for people from tensions and alienation. (T/F)
False
Virtually everyone forms their picture of the world based on one medium and message at a time. (T/F)
False
Compression artifacts are "mistakes" caused by compressing digital data. (T/F)
True
Computers do not require electronics. In other words, it is possible to build computers that do not use electronics at all. (T/F)
True
In the early days of the telephone, farmers and ranchers often got together,and used the barbed wire of their fences, or copper wires strung on poles, to connect their homes by telephone. (T/F)
True
On almost any important issue, as time goes on you are exposed to a steadily increasing number and variety of bits of information, as well as encountering some of the same bits many times. (T/F)
True
You, like others, go through your communication environment in different ways at different times. (T/F)
True
Your perception of something you are reading, seeing, or hearing is based, in part, on your memory of past experiences. (T/F)
True
Whenever we talk about "the media" causing something, we are referring to the content of the media as the cause. (T/F)
False
With a reasonable amount of effort and focusing on just one specific topic, it is possible to read, listen to, or view all of the information for that topic. (T/F)
False
Your understanding of war has a one-to-one relationship with all of the bits of information about war you have encountered in your lifetime, since these are the bits that make up your fourth world. (T/F)
False
Communication scholars who are interested in "variable effects" are attempting to understand why the same sort of mass communication experience has different effects on different people. (T/F)
True
Even though it is quite clear who actually got credit for inventing the telephone, it is not clear who deserves the credit. (T/F)
True
Human perception is analog, and therefore a digital message requires conversion before we can perceive it. (T/F)
True
It is useful to think of communication connections as having "option value." (T/F)
True
It would be fair to say that the mass media is not without its drawbacks. (T/F)
True
Memory is an important factor in helping us fill gaps in the information we grasp from our communication mosaics. (T/F)
True
Memory/time is one dimension of the mosaic model. (T/F)
True
Much of the new value generated by internet companies can be attributed to group-forming networks. (T/F)
True
One of the greatest changes caused by widespread adoption of the telegraph was that it afforded effective management of much larger numbers of people, corporations, and other organizations. (T/F)
True
One reason digital is so pervasive in communication technology is that computers are good at digital. (T/F)
True
Telegraph provided a means to transmit messages faster than the trains moved. (T/F)
True
The Source-Message-Channel-Receiver model of communication grossly distorts the great differences among individuals in patterns of exposure and ways of processing the information they receive. (T/F)
True
The Westley-MacLean model of communication is useful in that it adds feedback as an important element in the communication process. (T/F)
True
The changes that occur in public events when radio microphones or television cameras are introduced can be explained by Systems theory. (T/F)
True
The first telegraph systems in Texas often ran the wires from one tree to the next. (T/F)
True
The infrastructures for the telegraph, telephone, and the internet are very similar, especially in terms of where they have placed their cables and switching centers. (T/F)
True
The most important element in the mass communication system is not the printing press, the camera, or the communication satellite; it is you. (T/F)
True
Watching a couple argue in a movie or show contributes to the construction of our ideas about how relationships work. (T/F)
True
We must believe that we understand our world reasonably well in order to avoid undue tension. (T/F)
True
When you encounter information about one topic, your interpretation of it will be affected by the other issues or topics about which you are getting information. (T/F)
True
Which one of the following worlds is the same for everyone? a. First b. Second c. Third d. Fourth
a. First
Which of the following was the first to use a telegraph network for military advantage? a. Napoleon b. Wellington c. Lincoln d. Grant e. Washington
a. Napoleon
What would best define Lasswell's concept of the function of surveillance? a. Surveillance provides a window into both the external and internal happenings of a society. b. Surveillance is a tool the government uses to bolster its power over the people. c. Surveillance functions as a strictly internal monitor within a society. d. Surveillance is a method of gathering information about foreign societies.
a. Surveillance provides a window into both the external and internal happenings of a society.
What are "gaps" in the mosaic? a. important information about a topic that we did not notice or that was not in any of the messages we received. b. Information not reported by the media or other people. c. Information we encounter that we do not understand. d. Periods of time when we are paying no attention to our communication environment.
a. important information about a topic that we did not notice or that was not in any of the messages we received.
For which category of adopters (in diffusion of innovations theory) is interpersonal communication the LEAST important? a. innovators b. early adopters c. early majority d. late majority e. laggards
a. innovators
The authors argue that understanding media as a ________, and from the vantage point of a _______, will help you understand individual media in different and more useful ways than you did before. a. system, receiver b. social enhancement, social group c. industry, media creator d. tool, persuader
a. system, receiver
According to Nir Eyal author of Hooked, which of the following "supercharges the stress of desire"? a. variable rewards b. predictable rewards c. increasing rewards d. decreasing rewards
a. variable rewards
In which decade did the Internet originate? a. 1950s b. 1960s c. 1970s d. 1980s e. 1990s
b. 1960s
What is the common element found in all forms of media-based gratification? a. Diversion and stimulation. b. A change from one emotional state to another. c. A solidification of an emotional state. d. Amplification of an emotional state.
b. A change from one emotional state to another.
According to Lazarsfeld and Merton, status conferral is a. A narcotizing dysfunction. b. A media function. c. A specific power native to the media. d. A sign of societal stability.
b. A media function.
Who is generally considered the first computer programmer? a. Charles Babbage b. Ada Lovelace c. Grace Hopper d. Alan Turing
b. Ada Lovelace
Which of the following is the most valid description of a communication model? a. A figure, drawn to scale, that shows how communication works. b. An abstract description of the communication process. c. Something concrete, like a statue, that shows in as much detail as possible, what communication is like. d. A definition of the communication process.
b. An abstract description of the communication process.
Which of these people would most likely find parasocial interaction most useful? a. A socialite who sees friends every night. b. An elderly widow who lives alone. c. An introverted person. d. A teen attending high school.
b. An elderly widow who lives alone.
How do the mass media enforce social norms, according to Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton? a. By cooperating with community leaders in encouraging the passage of laws that are consistent with those norms. b. By publicizing deviations from those norms, so the community can no longer ignore them. c. By providing models of appropriate social behavior. d. By the regular production of novels and dramas that are, in effect, morality plays with the characters who violate social norms always being punished.
b. By publicizing deviations from those norms, so the community can no longer ignore them.
When the media gives us the opportunity to read about, hear, and view a variety of people in different kinds of situations, both actual and fictional, it is giving us a chance to: a. Satisfy our need for ritual. b. Develop our concept of ourselves. c. Become politically socialized. d. Reduce cognitive dissonance.
b. Develop our concept of ourselves.
Dissonance theory states that: a. There are hidden or subconscious functions that few of us think about but which make us uncomfortable. b. Each has internal pressures to make our attitude, our beliefs, and our actions consistent. c. Manifest and latent functions of the media are often in conflict, and we feel pressure to reduce that conflict. d. Because we have so many media and other sources of information, there is noise (both visual and aural) in our communication mosaics.
b. Each has internal pressures to make our attitude, our beliefs, and our actions consistent.
Aside from reading specific philosophies and taking polls, which of the following is the best way to measure public beliefs and values? a. Asking individuals what they think. b. Evaluating entertainment. c. Reading and interpreting the news. d. Examining the beliefs and values of elected officials.
b. Evaluating entertainment.
The most important function of feedback is to: a. Give audience members a chance to blow off steam. b. Help sources adjust their communication to their audience. c. Help audiences adjust their reception to the source. d. Provide a cheap and reliable means for the media to analyze audience demographics.
b. Help sources adjust their communication to their audience.
It is useful to think of ourselves and our society as "systems" because that leads us to ask and study such important questions as: a. What is the role of the media in the organization of these systems? b. How do the media help these systems operate and maintain their equilibrium? c. Do the media make us more system-like or less? d. What effects do the media have on our lives and on our society?
b. How do the media help these systems operate and maintain their equilibrium?
In what sense is the world in your head a "fiction"? a. In no sense, because it is based on what you saw, heard, or felt. b. In the sense that it is an interpretation of reality; it is not reality. c. In no sense for a normal person who can see, hear, and feel things accurately. d. In the sense that, after a certain period of time, our memories become shaky so that much of what we remember is not what truly occurred.
b. In the sense that it is an interpretation of reality; it is not reality.
The distinction between individual and societal functions is that; a. Societal functions generally are the sum of all of the individual functions served by the media. b. Individual functions are the purposes for which individuals use the media; societal functions are about how maintain stability or bring about change c. Individual functions are closely related to the effects the media have on people; societal functions are not. d. Julia Morgan
b. Individual functions are the purposes for which individuals use the media; societal functions are about how maintain stability or bring about change
The mass media was feared by governments in the earliest days of the press because of what main factor? a. The power the media had to control large groups of people. b. Its ability to transfer huge amounts of information at rapidly increasing rates c. The dangers of media corrupted by foreign influences. d. The degeneration of human thought due to the lessened need for memorization.
b. Its ability to transfer huge amounts of information at rapidly increasing rates
Which of these best describes the part local media play with regards to the integration of individuals new to a community? a. Local media provides a smooth media transition for new community members. b. Local media helps newly integrated members learn about the values of their new community. c. Local media often makes a point of being especially welcoming to newcomers. d. Local media can help often ignored new members feel heard.
b. Local media helps newly integrated members learn about the values of their new community.
People have "scripts" or "schemas" in their heads that generally: a. Make it harder for them to interpret media messages. b. Make it easier for them to interpret media messages. c. Influence what they read in the newspaper or watch on television. d. Are the result of genetic influences.
b. Make it easier for them to interpret media messages.
Which pair of theoretical ideas below are most closely related? a. Arousal theory and Identification b. Modeling theory and Identification c. Spiral of Silence theory and Political Economy theory d. Cultivation theory and Cultural Imperialism.
b. Modeling theory and Identification
The digital media we typically watch and listen to typically involve ALL of the following EXCEPT: a. compression b. perfect reproduction of the original c. analog to digital conversion d. digital to analog conversion
b. perfect reproduction of the original
Selective Perception is the tendency to: a. Just watch, read, and listen to things you like. b. Construct incomplete meanings. c. Interpret information in a way that ignores a good bit of the relevant information. d. Interpret information in a way consistent with one's prior knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
d. Interpret information in a way consistent with one's prior knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
"Information overload" is a new phenomenon, caused solely by the fact that we have so many media of communication today. (T/F)
False
According to technological determinism, society guides the media and its development. (T/F)
False
Although most adults in our society spend a tremendous portion of their lives watching television, they can easily reduce this consumption dramatically or eliminate it altogether. (T/F)
False
As political scientist Harold Lasswell pointed out, one of the societal functions that the mass media can never serve is the transmission of the social inheritance. This must always be done by family members, teachers, and other elders with whom one regularly associates. (T/F)
False
Businesses used the internet from the very beginning. (T/F)
False
Daniel Pink argues in the the book "Drive," that rewarding small, medium, and large achievements with corresponding small, medium, and large rewards is an absolutely vital strategy for dealing with most workers in the information workforce. (T/F)
False
Digital is always better than analog. (T/F)
False
Even in its earliest days, the telephone was the fastest and most cost-efficient way to communicate over long distances. (T/F)
False
If you are not sure for whom you vote and you study information about each candidate that is published in your local newspaper, that paper is serving a latent function for you. (T/F)
False
If you reward something, you get more of the behavior you want and if you punish something you get less of it. (T/F)
False
In assessing scientific models, we are primarily concerned with simplicity. (T/F)
False
In order for it to be digital, data must be represented in ones and zeroes. (T/F)
False
Schemata are the structures of the newspaper stories, television programs, or other media products to which you are exposed. (T/F)
False
Selective Perception is best explained by variety theory. (T/F)
False
Sending and delivering telegrams is a major part of Western Union's business to this day. (T/F)
False
Serious fears about the possible negative effects of the mass media did not arise until television became popular. (T/F)
False
Since there were few apparent similarities to previous communication media, it took a considerable amount of time to develop useful applications for the transmission and reception of radio frequencies. (T/F)
False
Since your fourth world is your mental representation of the real world, you build it almost exclusively from facts. (T/F)
False
Telegraph is still the standard communication link for timetable and train order operation. (T/F)
False
The Republic of Texas was successful largely because it took early advantage of Morse's donation of telegraph technology. (T/F)
False
The creators of media messages--like journalists, producers, and advertisers--have far more control than you do over the information and meanings that you get from the media. (T/F)
False
The first world is the world in your head. (T/F)
False
The mass media have little, if any, effect on our political behaviors. (T/F)
False
Unlike in radio (and besides the use of telephones for their offices), television networks made little use of the telephone infrastructure because it lacked the necessary bandwidth for video. (T/F)
False
When people are confronted with the fact that one of their attitudes, one of their beliefs, and one of their behaviors are inconsistent, they will almost always change their behavior. (T/F)
False
"Chunking style" refers to the size of the bits, or number of bits, of information you take in at a time. (T/F)
True
According to Cultivation theory, the people who watch a great deal of television have more similar beliefs about police and crime than people who do not watch much television. People who do not watch much television have more varied beliefs. (T/F)
True
According to Rogers, an innovation is any idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual (or other unit of adoption). (T/F)
True
Although the mass media often operate relatively independently of each other, they form a tightly integrated system in your use of them. (T/F)
True
Analog is a continuously variable representation or a representation selected from a continuous range. (T/F)
True
Why is ownership control probably more of a problem today than it was forty or fifty years ago? a. Media ownership is less profitable and so owners are more likely to do questionable things in order to turn a profit. b. More media have been taken over by giant, international corporations that have financial interests in many of the issues the media report on. c. There was a decline in the ethics of big business during this period. d. Because of deregulation, we are more dependent on the willingness of media owners to voluntarily serve the public interest.
b. More media have been taken over by giant, international corporations that have financial interests in many of the issues the media report on.
Economic determinists would take the position that: a. The organization of a newspaper has little, if anything to do with its profitability; the profitability of a newspaper depends almost solely on the health of the overall economy. b. Newspapers are organized the way they are because that form has been found to be most profitable. c. The mass media are a relatively insignificant force in the nation's health. d. The mass media should be tightly controlled by government because of their influence on the economy.
b. Newspapers are organized the way they are because that form has been found to be most profitable.
The civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960s and early 1970s stimulated a. Research on the role of mass communication in political socialization. b. Research on media stereotyping of women and minorities. c. Research on the philosophy and practice of media regulation. d. Research on how the media can help passage of such legislation as the Equal Rights Amendment.
b. Research on media stereotyping of women and minorities.
A great deal of evidence suggests that people have a need for organization and clear structure in their lives. Media provide that order for some people, thus serving what function? a. Socialization b. Ritual c. Organization d. Surveillance
b. Ritual
Which inventor offered his invention to the Republic of Texas for free? a. Claude Chappe b. Samuel Morse c. Thomas Edison d. Eli Whitney
b. Samuel Morse
There are 4 worlds of information; which world consists of everything that is within range of your perception in your lifetime? a. First b. Second c. Third d. Fourth
b. Second
You and a friend both watched the same episode of an Amazon Prime Original and talk about it over coffee. What function is the media serving in this situation? a. The generation of information exchange b. The facilitation of social interaction c. The diffusion of popular entertainment d. The substitution for social interaction
b. The facilitation of social interaction
An "uncertain analogy" is: a. An analogy that is useless because the research cannot determine whether it is positive or negative. b. The most interesting property of a model because it leads to new predictions that can be tested. c. An analogy about which researchers disagree. d. An analogy that some researchers put in their models, while others do not. As a result, we cannot tell whether it belongs in the model.
b. The most interesting property of a model because it leads to new predictions that can be tested.
According to the Spiral of Silence theory, when most of the mass media take a consistent position on an issue, most people will not argue with it because: a. They believe the media know more than they do and that they would sound ignorant if they took a different view. b. They believe the media represent the views of the majority of the public and they fear being isolated from other people. c. The media are highly credible sources and so people are easily persuaded by them. d. Most people have no source for their views and arguments other than the media.
b. They believe the media represent the views of the majority of the public and they fear being isolated from other people.
If people are watching a television news story, set or expectation tends to have the greatest effect on their perception when: a. They have no script or schema for that type of situation. b. They have a well-established script or schema for that type of situation. c. They have a strong, personal stake in the issue. d. They view the story very carefully.
b. They have a well-established script or schema for that type of situation.
Why do large media firms produce commodities in large volumes? a. To fight media illiteracy b. To pursue economies of scale c. To eliminate competition d. To take advantage of network structures
b. To pursue economies of scale
Although there are many exceptions, in general, listeners to a newscast remember best and are most influenced by: a. What they heard last. b. What they heard first and last. c. What they heard in the middle and end of the newscast. d. What they heard first.
b. What they heard first and last.
Becker and Roberts describe four worlds in which each of us lives. Which of the following is NOT one of those worlds? a. The world made up of everything around that you could see, hear, or otherwise experience if you chose to do so. b. Your social world, the world made up of what the people with whom you associate know and believe. c. The world beyond your line of vision or range of hearing that you can never know directly. d. The world you constructed in your head.
b. Your social world, the world made up of what the people with whom you associate know and believe.
Which of the following network types increase in value in direct proportion to the number of communication connections? a. transactional b. broadcast c. political d. group forming e. fraternal
b. broadcast
The process by which communication technologies spread through society can be explained by ____. a. functionalism b. diffusion of innovations c. media convergence d. economies of scale
b. diffusion of innovations
According to BJ Fogg, in order for any behavior to occur we need _______, ability, and a trigger. a. memory b. motivation c. mimesis d. mindfulness
b. motivation
In the mosaic model, the mosaic represents: a. one topic, and the bits of information and sources of information available for this topic b. one person, and the various topics they could possibly know about c. one communication medium, and all the topics for which it can provide information d. one sender, and all the possible messages and all the circumstances in which they send them
b. one person, and the various topics they could possibly know about
Who or what is most responsible for the kinds of information to which you are exposed? a. Media gatekeepers b. Your reference groups c. You d. Varies from individual to individual
c. You
The Mosaic Model best fits which of the following definitions of communication? a. the exchange of meaning b. takes place when a person constructs meanings from words, pictures, objects, or actions that have symbolic value for him or her c. the act of sending messages, ideas and opinions from one person to another d. the transmission of a message from a source to a receiver e. the process of creating shared meaning
b. takes place when a person constructs meanings from words, pictures, objects, or actions that have symbolic value for him or her
Which of the following communication network types is most appropriately associated with Metcalfe? a. telegraph b. telephone c. packet d. broadcast e. group forming
b. telephone
The mosaic model is based on the idea that: a. we assemble all the bits of information we know into a two-dimensional matrix of squares, just like constructing a tile mosaic b. the communication environment is like a vast mosaic of information bits c. the mass media audience is a vast mosaic of individuals d. each person is a matrix of multiple characteristics -- personality, needs, desires, values, fears, and so on
b. the communication environment is like a vast mosaic of information bits
Considering all electronic media, traditional print media, and direct communication with other people on a typical day, the average American spends _____ hours in a communication environment. a. 6-8 b. 8-10 c. 10-12 d. 12-14
c. 10-12
What do scholars who accept the mosaic conception of communication mean by "cumulative meanings"? a. Meanings are a function of the cumulative knowledge of many people. b. The world in our heads is the result of the accumulation of meanings for all of the experiences we have had up to the present moment. c. A person's meaning for almost anything keeps developing as they encounter new bits of information. d. The meanings of many words change with time, as one can see by examining any dictionary that gives the history of words.
c. A person's meaning for almost anything keeps developing as they encounter new bits of information.
The degree to which people are unable to perceive or evaluate information independent of their prior attitudes, beliefs, and needs is labelled by communication scholars as: a. Introversion b. Cognitive dependence c. Dogmatism d. Inner-directedness
c. Dogmatism
In what sense do the sources to which you are exposed in your communication mosaic interact? a. Each provides a different slant on the story or message. b. Exposure to one makes exposure to the others less important. c. Each affects your interpretation of information from the others. d. Each provides a different kind of information.
c. Each affects your interpretation of information from the others.
What do we mean when we say that meanings are not in words or pictures, that meanings are in people? a. People have no meaning for anything until they learn it. b. The meanings of words and other symbols change over time. c. Individuals do not receive meanings, they construct them. d. Dictionaries are a human invention.
c. Individuals do not receive meanings, they construct them.
Are the effects of mass communication direct or indirect? a. Direct b. Indirect c. Mostly indirect, partially direct d. Mostly direct, partially indirect.
c. Mostly indirect, partially direct
Which of the following is NOT true of models? a. All of the sciences use them b. Judged by their degree of utility c. Tend to draw ones attention to specific instances d. Are an abstract description of a phenomenon
c. Tend to draw ones attention to specific instances
Seeing or focusing on largely one particular theme in the news, such as recession or sexism, so that everything else becomes simply background, is similar to what perception phenomenon? a. The narrow focus phenomenon. b. The consistency phenomenon. c. The figure-ground phenomenon. b. The increment-mosaic phenomenon.
c. The figure-ground phenomenon.
Becker and Roberts argue that the boundaries between fact and fiction, or news and entertainment, have broken down so that the news we get is almost always, in some sense, partly fiction, while fiction is, in some sense, partly fact, or even news. What is the most important implication of this for the world you construct in your head? a. We cannot trust the news media to help us construct our views of the world. b. We may not be able to make valid generalizations about reality from that world in our head. c. We get important bits of information for that world from the fiction and entertainment to which we are exposed, as well as from news and so-called informational media. d. The influence of the news media on that world in our heads is decreasing.
c. We get important bits of information for that world from the fiction and entertainment to which we are exposed, as well as from news and so-called informational media.
In what sense is it valid to say that you cannot tell people anything they do not already know? a. People tend to avoid the unknown; they build psychological blocks against it. b. In one sense, each of us knows everything. Knowledge or wisdom comes from putting it together in the right way. c. People tend to distort new information. d. People cannot perceive or understand anything unless they can relate it in some way to prior experience.
d. People cannot perceive or understand anything unless they can relate it in some way to prior experience.
How do reference groups affect our processing of information? a. They reduce our need for information processing because we tend to pick up perceptions from them. b. They do not affect our information processing; we simply use the results of that processing in interactions with these groups. c. They motivate us to process more information so that we have something to talk with them about. d. We tend to test our interpretations of what we read, hear, and see on our family, friends, and others with whom we associated.
d. We tend to test our interpretations of what we read, hear, and see on our family, friends, and others with whom we associated.
The filled-in squares in the mosaic model represent: a. our first world b. our third world c. either our first or second world d. either our third or fourth world e. our fourth world
d. either our third or fourth world
According to diffusion of innovations theory, which category of adopters has the highest degree of opinion leadership? a. late majority b. laggards c. innovators d. early majority e. early adopters
e. early adopters
