Beebe/Beebe/Ivy Communication: Principles for a Lifetime, 6e Test Bank
TB_Q4.77 Differentiate between intimate and personal space.
Answer: Intimate space. The most personal communication occurs when people are from 0 to
1½ feet apart. Unless we’re forced to stand in a crowded space, intimate space
is only open to those with whom we are well acquainted.
Personal space. Most of our conversations with family and friends occur when we are 1½ to 4
feet apart. We find it uncomfortable if someone we don’t know well enters our personal space
zone on purpose.
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
TB_Q4.78 Explain how humans convey territoriality and their use of territorial markers.
Answer: Territoriality is the study of space and objects and how people use them to convey
occupancy or ownership. People use territorial markers such as placing their things in a
particular area, e.g., a book bag on a seat signifies temporary ownership of that seat. The
most common form of territorial marker is a lock. Space, traditionally thought of as a physical
dimension now links us with cyberspace. An e-mail account, for example, is part of a person’s
territory, and a password is the territorial marker.
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
TB_Q4.79 Explain and give examples of the three dimensions that Mehrabian found we
use to accurately interpret nonverbal behaviors.
Answer: Even though our nonverbal behavior varies according to such things as our culture
and the context, Mehrabian believes there are three dimensions that provide a framework for
interpreting nonverbal behavior. First is immediacy, which is a combination of nonverbal
behaviors that taken together give a sense that the other person likes you. The second
dimension is arousal, which shows the amount of stimulation or interest in interacting with you.
The face, voice, and movement communicate this dimension. The third dimension is
dominance, which includes behaviors that communicate the balance of power between people
in a relationship. Dominance may be communicated through the use of space, body posture,
and artifacts.
Learning Objective: LO 4.4 Explain Mehrabian’s three-part framework for interpreting
nonverbal cues.
Topic: How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues More Accurately
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Apply What You Know
4.4 Fill-in-the-Blank
TB_Q4.80 Saying “ah….um” is a way to _____ a conversation.
Answer: regulate
Learning Objective: LO 4.1 Provide four reasons for studying nonverbal communication.
Topic: Why Focus on Nonverbal Communication?
Difficulty Level: Moderate
message may only be known by the person displaying it.
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
TB_Q4.82 Burgoon’s model that suggests we develop rules or expectations for
appropriate nonverbal behavior, whether we know it or not, and react when those
expectations are broken is called the _____ theory.
Answer: expectancy violations
Learning Objective: LO 4.2 Discuss six elements that reveal the nature of nonverbal
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.83 Making the “ok” sign with the thumb and first finger is interpreted one way
in the United States and a very different way in other countries. This demonstrates
how nonverbal communicated is _____-bound.
Answer: culture
Learning Objective: LO 4.2 Discuss six elements that reveal the nature of nonverbal
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
TB_Q4.84 The skill of asking others if your interpretation of an event is accurate is an
example of _____.
Answer: perception checking
Learning Objective: LO 4.2 Discuss six elements that reveal the nature of nonverbal
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
TB_Q4.85 _____ is a general term for human movements, gestures, and posture.
Answer: Kinesics
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.86 _____ or vocalics are the pitch, rate, and volume of one’s speech and the
use of silence, which are all part of the nonverbal behavior.
Answer: Paralanguage
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.87 Proxemics is the study of _____.
Answer: space
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.88 The zone that Hall defined as public space begins at _____ feet.
Answer: 12
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.89 _____ are the things and actions that show that you have claimed
occupancy or ownership of a space.
Answer: Territory markers
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
TB_Q4.90 The dimension of Mehrabian’s framework of nonverbal communication that
communicates the balance of power in a relationship is _____.
Answer: dominance
Learning Objective: LO 4.4 Explain Mehrabian’s three-part framework for interpreting
nonverbal cues.
Topic: How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues More Accurately
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
4.5 Essay Questions
TB_Q4.91 List and discuss the four reasons for studying nonverbal communication.
Answer: First, nonverbal messages communicate feelings and attitudes. If we only listen to
words, not how they are said, then we will miss a great deal of the message. Research
shows that most of our emotional information is communicated through the face and voice.
Second, nonverbal messages are more believable than verbal messages. This is because
our verbal messages are conscious and under more of our control, whereas nonverbal
messages, although they may be conscious, are less a matter of choice.
Third, nonverbal messages are critical to successful relationships. We begin forming initial
impressions of other people just a fraction of a second after meeting them. As our
relationships deepen, we learn to interpret the nonverbal behaviors of the other person more
accurately. Nonverbal cues also signal changes in the relationship.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
TB_Q4.92 Marcela started working for a new company. At her previous workplace,
people were formal and distant in their communication. Therefore, Marcela was
surprised to find that her new boss, whom Marcela thought to be a competent
individual, often pulled up a chair close to her desk when she was explaining
company procedures. Although this violated Marcela’s idea of how people
communicate in the workplace, it did not seem to bother her and in fact she began to
use a closer distance when communicating with her boss. Explain what Marcela
experienced using Burgoon’s expectancy violations model.
Answer: Marcela had expectations of appropriate nonverbal behavior at work. She
expected people to maintain a less personal distance when communicating. However, her
boss violated this expectation. Marcela’s reaction was to compensate for the space invasion
nonverbally by backing up her chair a bit rather than to resort to a verbal response, since her
boss had a respectable status and credibility.
Learning Objective: LO 4.2 Discuss six elements that reveal the nature of nonverbal
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
TB_Q4.93 Describe the multiple functions of nonverbal messages.
Answer: (1) Nonverbal cues can substitute for verbal messages. Someone might put up two
fingers to order two drinks in a noisy restaurant. (2) Nonverbal cues can complement the
meaning of a verbal cue. When someone makes eye contact and smiles at you when they
say hello they are complementing their verbal “hello.” (3) Nonverbal cues can contradict a
verbal message. If your friend frowns while giving you permission to use his or her car, this
person’s messages are contradictory. The nonverbal message is the one we should believe.
(4) Nonverbal messages can repeat the verbal message. This is typically done when the
verbal message is not understood by the listener so the speaker repeats the message by
using hand signals or head movements, etc. (5) Nonverbal cues can regulate a
conversation. For example, a slight pause, eye contact, or saying “um.” (6) Nonverbal cues
can accent or reinforce a verbal message. When a person gives emphasis to certain words
by saying them louder or softer, he or she is accenting the verbal message.
Learning Objective: LO 4.2 Discuss six elements that reveal the nature of nonverbal
communication.
Topic: The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
TB_Q4.94 Discuss how haptics can be affected by culture.
Answer: Haptics refers to the study of human touch. In some cultures, hugging a friend
when you see them is common while in other cultures this would never be done. It is
important to remember these differences when communicating with people from cultures
other than your own.
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
TB_Q4.96 What do each of the four zones of personal space identified by Hall
communicate about interpersonal relationships?
Answer: Allowing someone into your intimate zone suggests that you have or desire an
intimate relationship with the other person. If this is not the case, we will feel uncomfortable
and ill at ease. The personal zone is reserved for people with whom we have a close, yet not
intimate relationship, friends, family, and some acquaintances. Those, whom we do not
know well, such as acquaintances, will probably be kept at a greater distance than family
and friends. Social space reflects a more formal or professional relationship. Public space
reflects relatively impersonal relationships.
Learning Objective: LO 4.3 Identify and explain the seven nonverbal communication codes.
Topic: Codes of Nonverbal Communication
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It
TB_Q4.97 How might your professor use immediacy cues to improve the perception
students have of him or her?
Answer: Because immediacy cues engender liking, pleasure, and closeness, a professor
might discuss topics with the class at close range rather than by standing behind a podium.
He or she might also talk to students face-to–face and make eye contact with them. Smiling
could enhance the liking between student and professor as well. Head nods, an open and
relaxed posture and higher, upward vocal pitch would also benefit the immediacy between
student and professor. Only appropriate touch would be considered, but such touch could
also be beneficial.
Learning Objective: LO 4.4 Explain Mehrabian’s three-part framework for interpreting
nonverbal cues.
Topic: How to Interpret Nonverbal Cues More Accurately
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Analyze It