Mass Communications Unit 1: Practice Exam
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. 6-8 8-10 10-12 12-14
10-12
What is the common element found in all forms of media-based gratification? Diversion and stimulation. A change from one emotional state to another. A solidification of an emotional state. Amplification of an emotional state.
A change from one emotional state to another.
According to Lazarsfeld and Merton, status conferral is A narcotizing dysfunction. A media function. A specific power native to the media. A sign of societal stability.
A media function
What do scholars who accept the mosaic conception of communication mean by "cumulative meanings"? Meanings are a function of the cumulative knowledge of many people. The meanings of many words change with time, as one can see by examining any dictionary that gives the history of words. A person's meaning for almost anything keeps developing as they encounter new bits of information. 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.
A person's meaning for almost anything keeps developing as they encounter new bits of information.
The term "yellow journalism" was based on: The color of the print in the comic section. A popular comic strip. The appearance of an old newspaper. The paucity of investigative stories around the turn of the century.
A popular comic strip.
The Sedition Law was: A statute to control secret plotting against the government. A statute which prohibited anyone from libeling Congress or the president. A statute which strengthened freedom of the press. A statute enforced by the Royal Governors to control the American colonists.
A statute which prohibited anyone from libeling Congress or the president.
What type of publication has not increased in popularity since World War II? Tabloids. Newsletters. Suburban weeklies. Afternoon dailies.
Afternoon dailies.
The newspapers that have been most severely harmed by television and other current social conditions are: Small town dailies. Suburban weeklies. Afternoon papers in urban areas. Morning papers in urban areas.
Afternoon papers in urban areas.
Which of the following is the most valid description of a communication model? A figure, drawn to scale, that shows how communication works. An abstract description of the communication process. Something concrete, like a statue, that shows in as much detail as possible, what communication is like. A definition of the communication process.
An abstract description of the communication process.
Which of these people would most likely find parasocial interaction most useful? A socialite who sees friends every night. An elderly widow who lives alone. An introverted person. A teen attending high school.
An elderly widow who lives alone.
Travel and recipe columns are published in newspapers to: Attract particular kinds of readers who can be sold to advertisers. Fill space among ads when there is not enough news. Help newspapers fulfill their responsibilities to the public. Attract a greater variety of readers.
Attract particular kinds of readers who can be sold to advertisers.
What role did bookstores play in the American colonies? Much of the plotting against England was done in bookstores. Bookstores were gathering places for intellectuals. Bookstores aided the spread of learning to working people. People from all walks of life gathered in bookstores, thus stimulating the idea of equality.
Bookstores were gathering places for intellectuals.
Which of the following network types increase in value in direct proportion to the number of communication connections? transactional broadcast political group forming fraternal
Broadcast
How do the mass media enforce social norms, according to Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton? By cooperating with community leaders in encouraging the passage of laws that are consistent with those norms. By publicizing deviations from those norms, so the community can no longer ignore them. By providing models of appropriate social behavior. By the regular production of novels and dramas that are, in effect, morality plays with the characters who violate social norms always being punished.
By publicizing deviations from those norms, so the community can no longer ignore them.
Which of these factors did not account for higher book sales in the 1980s? More disposable personal income. Higher levels of funding for libraries and education. Cheaper methods of printing. Gains in the reading population and school enrollment.
Cheaper methods of printing.
Movable type was probably invented by a(n): Chinese German Italian Greek
Chinese
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: Satisfy our need for ritual. Develop our concept of ourselves. Become politically socialized. Reduce cognitive dissonance.
Develop our concept of ourselves.
The degree to which people are unable to perceive or evaluate information independent of their prior attitudes, beliefs, and needs is labeled by communication scholars as: Introversion Cognitive dependence Dogmatism Inner-directedness
Dogmatism
The rapid spread of writing, after it was first developed, was stimulated by people's interest in: Songs. News from distant places. Drama. Poetry.
Drama
In what sense do the sources to which you are exposed in your communication mosaic interact? Each provides a different kind of information. Each provides a different slant on the story or message. Each affects your interpretation of information from the others. Exposure to one makes exposure to the others less important.
Each affects your interpretation of information from the others.
Dissonance theory states that: There are hidden or subconscious functions that few of us think about but which make us uncomfortable. Each has internal pressures to make our attitude, our beliefs, and our actions consistent. Manifest and latent functions of the media are often in conflict, and we feel pressure to reduce that conflict. Because we have so many media and other sources of information, there is noise (both visual and aural) in our communication mosaics.
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? Asking individuals what they think. Evaluating entertainment. Reading and interpreting the news. Examining the beliefs and values of elected officials.
Evaluating entertainment.
"Information overload" is a new phenomenon, caused solely by the fact that we have so many media of communication today. True or False
False
A newspaper chain is the order in which a paper processes a story from the initial event to the published piece. True or False
False
According to technological determinism, society guides the media and its development. True or False
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. True or False
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. True or False
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. True or False
False
Decisions by school board officials to remove library books considered objectionable have no First Amendment implications. True or False
False
Digital is always better than analog. True or False
False
Fanny Hill was one of the first female printers in the American colonies. True or False
False
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. True or False
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. True or False
False
If you reward something, you get more of the behavior you want and if you punish something you get less of it. True or False
False
In assessing scientific models, we are primarily concerned with simplicity. True or False
False
In order for it to be digital, data must be represented in ones and zeroes. True or False
False
It takes particular kinds of media content to provide escape for people from tensions and alienation. True or False
False
Most printing presses in the American colonies were owned by the government. True or False
False
On the whole, men read more books than women do. True or False
False
Schemata are the structures of the newspaper stories, television programs, or other media products to which you are exposed. True or False
False
Selective Perception is best explained by variety theory. True or False
False
Serious fears about the possible negative effects of the mass media did not arise until television became popular. True or False
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. True or False
False
Since your fourth world is your mental representation of the real world, you build it almost exclusively from facts. True or False
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. True or False
False
The first world is the world in your head. True or False
False
The mass media have little, if any, effect on our political behaviors. True or False
False
The penny press was more political than newspapers had been in earlier periods. True or False
False
Valuing up-to-the-minute news was one of the earliest norms to develop among journalists. True or False
False
Virtually everyone forms their picture of the world based on one medium and message at a time. True or False
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. True or False
False
Whenever we talk about "the media" causing something, we are referring to the content of the media as the cause. True or False
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. True or False
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. True or False
False
Which one of the following worlds is the same for everyone? First Second Third Fourth
First
What are "gaps" in the mosaic? Information we encounter that we do not understand. Periods of time when we are paying no attention to our communication environment. Information not reported by the media or other people. Important information about a topic that we did not notice or that was not in any of the messages we received.
Important information about a topic that we did not notice or that was not in any of the messages we received.
In what sense is the world in your head a "fiction"? In no sense, because it is based on what you saw, heard, or felt. In the sense that it is an interpretation of reality; it is not reality. In no sense for a normal person who can see, hear, and feel things accurately. 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.
In the sense that it is an interpretation of reality; it is not reality.
The distinction between individual and societal functions is that: Societal functions generally are the sum of all of the individual functions served by the media. Individual functions are the purposes for which individuals use the media; societal functions are about how to maintain stability or bring about change Individual functions are closely related to the effects the media have on people; societal functions are not. Julia Morgan
Individual functions are the purposes for which individuals use the media; societal functions are about how to maintain stability or bring about change
What do we mean when we say that meanings are not in words or pictures, that meanings are in people? The meanings of words and other symbols change over time. People have no meaning for anything until they learn it. Dictionaries are a human invention. Individuals do not receive meanings, they construct them.
Individuals do not receive meanings, they construct them.
For which category of adopters (in diffusion of innovations theory) is interpersonal communication the LEAST important? innovators early adopters early majority late majority laggards
Innovators
Selective Perception is the tendency to: Just watch, read, and listen to things you like. Construct incomplete meanings. Interpret information in a way that ignores a good bit of the relevant information. Interpret information in a way consistent with one's prior knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
Interpret information in a way consistent with one's prior knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
The mass media was feared by governments in the earliest days of the press because of what main factor? The power the media had to control large groups of people. Its ability to transfer huge amounts of information at rapidly increasing rates The dangers of media corrupted by foreign influences. The degeneration of human thought due to the lessened need for memorization.
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? Local media provides a smooth media transition for new community members. Local media helps newly integrated members learn about the values of their new community. Local media often makes a point of being especially welcoming to newcomers. Local media can help often ignored new members feel heard.
Local media helps newly integrated members learn about the values of their new community.
People have "scripts" or "schemas" in their heads that generally: Make it harder for them to interpret media messages. Make it easier for them to interpret media messages. Influence what they read in the newspaper or watch on television. Are the result of genetic influences.
Make it easier for them to interpret media messages.
Which pair of theoretical ideas below are most closely related? Arousal theory and Identification Modeling theory and Identification Spiral of Silence theory and Political Economy theory Cultivation theory and Cultural Imperialism.
Modeling theory and Identification
Why is ownership control probably more of a problem today than it was forty or fifty years ago? Media ownership is less profitable and so owners are more likely to do questionable things in order to turn a profit. More media have been taken over by giant, international corporations that have financial interests in many of the issues the media report on. There was a decline in the ethics of big business during this period. Because of deregulation, we are more dependent on the willingness of media owners to voluntarily serve the public interest.
More media have been taken over by giant, international corporations that have financial interests in many of the issues the media report on.
What percentage of space in the average newspaper is taken up by advertising? Less than 10 percent. Roughly 15-20 percent. About 30 percent. More than 50 percent.
More than 50 percent
Are the effects of mass communication direct or indirect? Direct Indirect Mostly indirect, partially direct Mostly direct, partially indirect.
Mostly indirect, partially direct
Studies of newspaper readership show generally that the part of the paper read by the most adults is: National news. Sports. Comics. Display advertisement.
National news.
Economic determinists would take the position that: 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. Newspapers are organized the way they are because that form has been found to be most profitable. The mass media are a relatively insignificant force in the nation's health. The mass media should be tightly controlled by government because of their influence on the economy.
Newspapers are organized the way they are because that form has been found to be most profitable.
In what sense is it valid to say that you cannot tell people anything they do not already know? People tend to avoid the unknown; they build psychological blocks against it. In one sense, each of us knows everything. Knowledge or wisdom comes from putting it together in the right way. People tend to distort new information. People cannot perceive or understand anything unless they can relate it in some way to prior experience.
People cannot perceive or understand anything unless they can relate it in some way to prior experience.
The highest selling category of books in this country is the: Religious book. Textbook. Adult trade book. Professional book.
Professional book
The civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960s and early 1970s stimulated Research on the role of mass communication in political socialization. Research on media stereotyping of women and minorities. Research on the philosophy and practice of media regulation. Research on how the media can help passage of such legislation as the Equal Rights Amendment.
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? Socialization Ritual Organization Surveillance
Ritual
There are 4 worlds of information; which world consists of everything that is within range of your perception in your lifetime? First Second Third Fourth
Second
The "news hole" in a newspaper is: The amount of space devoted to hard news. The amount of space devoted to everything except advertising. The space for features which is determined by the size of the hole left after news and advertising are accounted for. The space available for advertising after the news stories are laid out on dummy pages.
The amount of space devoted to everything except advertising.
Which of the following was not a factor in the rapid growth of suburban newspapers after World War II? Advertisers especially like suburbanites. The decline in daily city newspapers. Development of offset printing and desktop publishing. Growth in number and size of suburbs.
The decline in daily city newspapers.
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? The generation of information exchange The facilitation of social interaction The diffusion of popular entertainment The substitution for social interaction
The facilitation of social interaction
The serious decline of American newspapers in the 1930s was NOT affected by: Labor unions. Radio. The Depression. The failure to modernize.
The failure to modernize.
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? The narrow focus phenomenon. The consistency phenomenon. The figure-ground phenomenon. The increment-mosaic phenomenon.
The figure-ground phenomenon.
An "uncertain analogy" is: An analogy that is useless because the research cannot determine whether it is positive or negative. The most interesting property of a model because it leads to new predictions that can be tested. An analogy about which researchers disagree. 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.
The most interesting property of a model because it leads to new predictions that can be tested.
The Statement of Principle of the American Society of Newspaper Editors is: The belief that if you serve the public well, your newspaper will do well financially. Beliefs about what makes a successful newspaper. The self-regulatory code for newspapers. The norms of the field, which any young journalist learns by reading the newspaper, mingling with fellow journalists, and seeing which stories get published.
The self-regulatory code for newspapers.
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: They believe the media know more than they do and that they would sound ignorant if they took a different view. They believe the media represent the views of the majority of the public and they fear being isolated from other people. The media are highly credible sources and so people are easily persuaded by them. Most people have no source for their views and arguments other than the media.
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: They have no script or schema for that type of situation. They have a well-established script or schema for that type of situation. They have a strong, personal stake in the issue. They view the story very carefully.
They have a well-established script or schema for that type of situation.
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? We cannot trust the news media to help us construct our views of the world. We may not be able to make valid generalizations about reality from that world in our head. 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. The influence of the news media on that world in our heads is decreasing.
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.
How do reference groups affect our processing of information? They reduce our need for information processing because we tend to pick up perceptions from them. They do not affect our information processing; we simply use the results of that processing in interactions with these groups. They motivate us to process more information so that we have something to talk with them about. We tend to test our interpretations of what we read, hear, and see on our family, friends, and others with whom we associated.
We tend to test our interpretations of what we read, hear, and see on our family, friends, and others with whom we associated.
Although there are many exceptions, in general, listeners to a newscast remember best and are most influenced by: What they heard last. What they heard first and last. What they heard in the middle and end of the newscast. What they heard first.
What they heard first and last.
Which of the following is NOT a criterion for determining whether the use of some copyrighted material is a "fair use" and does not require permission from the copyright holder? Whether the part used is taken out of context. The effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work. The nature of the copyrighted work. Whether it is for an educational purpose.
Whether the part used is taken out of context.
Who or what is most responsible for the kinds of information to which you are exposed? Media gatekeepers Your reference groups You Varies from individual to individual
You
Becker and Roberts describe four worlds in which each of us lives. Which of the following is NOT one of those worlds? The world made up of everything around that you could see, hear, or otherwise experience if you chose to do so. Your social world, the world made up of what the people with whom you associate know and believe. The world beyond your line of vision or range of hearing that you can never know directly. The world you constructed in your head.
Your social world, the world made up of what the people with whom you associate know and believe.
The process by which communication technologies spread through society can be explained by ____. functionalism diffusion of innovations media convergence economies of scale
diffusion of innovations
According to diffusion of innovations theory, which category of adopters has the highest degree of opinion leadership? late majority laggards innovators early majority early adopters
early adopters
The filled-in squares in the mosaic model represent: either our third or fourth world our third world our fourth world either our first or second world our first world
either our third or fourth world
In the mosaic model, the mosaic represents: one topic, and the bits of information and sources of information available for this topic one person, and the various topics they could possibly know about one communication medium, and all the topics for which it can provide information one sender, and all the possible messages and all the circumstances in which they send them
one person, and the various topics they could possibly know about
The digital media we typically watch and listen to typically involve ALL of the following EXCEPT: compression perfect reproduction of the original analog to digital conversion digital to analog conversion
perfect reproduction of the original
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. system, receiver social enhancement, social group tool, persuader industry, media creator
system, receiver
The Mosaic Model best fits which of the following definitions of communication? the exchange of meaning takes place when a person constructs meanings from words, pictures, objects, or actions that have symbolic value for him or her the act of sending messages, ideas and opinions from one person to another the transmission of a message from a source to a receiver the process of creating shared meaning
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? telegraph telephone packet broadcast group forming
telephone
The mosaic model is based on the idea that: we assemble all the bits of information we know into a two-dimensional matrix of squares, just like constructing a tile mosaic the communication environment is like a vast mosaic of information bits each person is a matrix of multiple characteristics -- personality, needs, desires, values, fears, and so on the mass media audience is a vast mosaic of individuals
the communication environment is like a vast mosaic of information bits
The most important function of feedback is to: Give audience members a chance to blow off steam. Help sources adjust their communication to their audience. Help audiences adjust their reception to the source. Provide a cheap and reliable means for the media to analyze audience demographics.
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: What is the role of the media in the organization of these systems? How do the media help these systems operate and maintain their equilibrium? Do the media make us more system-like or less? What effects do the media have on our lives and on our society?
How do the media help these systems operate and maintain their equilibrium?
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. True or False
True
A major disadvantage of the importance of literary agents in getting books published is that: Agents have too much influence on authors. Some agents are dishonest. Some authors have trouble getting an agent. Authors must pay top agents too large a share of their royalties.
Some authors have trouble getting an agent.
What would best define Lasswell's concept of the function of surveillance? Surveillance provides a window into both the external and internal happenings of a society. Surveillance is a tool the government uses to bolster its power over the people. Surveillance functions as a strictly internal monitor within a society. Surveillance is a method of gathering information about foreign societies.
Surveillance provides a window into both the external and internal happenings of a society.
Which of the following is NOT true of models? All of the sciences use them Judged by their degree of utility Tend to draw ones attention to specific instances Are an abstract description of a phenomenon
Tend to draw ones attention to specific instances
Most newspapers usually have more pages on Wednesday or Thursday because: Most newspapers give advertisers special rates at midweek. That is when they print most of the press releases and other handouts. Most important events generally happen in the first half of the week. That is when food stores advertise weekend specials.
That is when food stores advertise weekend specials.
You, like others, go through your communication environment in different ways at different times. True or False
True
Your perception of something you are reading, seeing, or hearing is based, in part, on your memory of past experiences. True or False
True
Why do large media firms produce commodities in large volumes? To fight media illiteracy To pursue economies of scale To eliminate competition To take advantage of network structures
To pursue economies of scale
"Chunking style" refers to the size of the bits, or number of bits, of information you take in at a time. True or False
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. True or False
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). True or False
True
Although the mass media often operate relatively independently of each other, they form a tightly integrated system in your use of them. True or False
True
Analog is a continuously variable representation or a representation selected from a continuous range. True or False
True
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. True or False
True
Compression artifacts are "mistakes" caused by compressing digital data. True or False
True
Human perception is analog, and therefore a digital message requires conversion before we can perceive it. True or False
True
It is useful to think of communication connections as having "option value." True or False
True
It would be fair to say that the mass media is not without its drawbacks. True or False
True
Memory is an important factor in helping us fill gaps in the information we grasp from our communication mosaics. True or False
True
Memory/time is one dimension of the mosaic model. True or False
True
Much of the new value generated by internet companies can be attributed to group-forming networks. True or False
True
Newspapers in the past few decades have been becoming more standardized. True or False
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. True or False
True
One reason digital is so pervasive in communication technology is that computers are good at digital. True or False
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. True or False
True
The Westley-MacLean model of communication is useful in that it adds feedback as an important element in the communication process. True or False
True
The changes that occur in public events when radio microphones or television cameras are introduced can be explained by Systems theory. True or False
True
The most important element in the mass communication system is not the printing press, the camera, or the communication satellite; it is you. True or False
True
Watching a couple argue in a movie or show contributes to the construction of our ideas about how relationships work. True or False
True
We must believe that we understand our world reasonably well in order to avoid undue tension. True or False
True
