Chapter 05 – Coordinated Management of Meaning
Chapter 05
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following is true of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)?
2. Which of the following statements is associated with interpersonal meaning?
3. As we listen to another person in a conversation, we are categorizing the symbols and
beginning to make sense of them. In the hierarchy of meaning, which level does this process of
converting raw data into meaning refer to?
4. Which of the following is true of rules in the context of Coordinated Management of
Meaning?
5. The _____ level of meaning provides guidelines for behavior in a relationship.
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16. All of the following are communication traditions to which Coordinated Management of
Meaning is related EXCEPT
17. Charmed loops occur when
18. To describe life experiences, Pearce and Cronen (1980) use the metaphor _____.
19. _____ refers to a person’s beliefs about how meaning and action fit within an interpersonal
interaction.
20. _____ is the notion that the interests of a group are put before the interests of an individual.
True/False Questions
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28. Charmed loops often result in a vicious cycle.
29. Relationships are like contracts, which set guidelines and often prescribe behavior.
30. Life scripts can be thought of as autobiographies that communicate with one’s sense of self.
Essay Questions
31. Provide an example of a speech act, a contract, and a life script.
Answers will vary.
32. Compare and contrast personal meaning and interpersonal meaning.
Answers will vary.
33. Define constitutive rules and regulative rules, and explain how they influence the
coordination of meaning.
Answers will vary.
34. Do you agree that “humans co-create a social reality”? Why or why not?
Answers will vary.
35. Using the standard criteria for evaluating communication theory, evaluate Coordinated
Management of Meaning.
Answers will vary.
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36. Compare and contrast Coordinated Management of Meaning and Symbolic Interactionism.
Is there a relationship between these two theories? Do they stand in opposition to each other, or
do they peacefully coexist?
Answers will vary.
37. Define and explain what unwanted repetitive patterns are, and discuss the various reasons
why two relational partners may continue to engage in them.
Answers will vary.
38. Develop a study one could use to test Coordinated Management of Meaning. What
questions would you attempt to answer? What methods would you use? Why?
Answers will vary.
39. List and define the components of the hierarchy of meaning in the correct order, and explain
how they are related to each other.