A First Look At Communication Theory, 10e (Griffin)
Chapter 37 Common Threads in Comm Theories
1) Which of the following was NOT addressed as a motivation that drives us to act or think in a
particular way?
A) need for affiliation
B) need for achievement
C) need to be controlled
D) need to reduce uncertainty
2) Randy Hirokawa and Dennis Gouran’s functional perspective on group decision making
assumes that people in problem-solving groups want to attain a high-quality solution. This
illustrates the strong pull that is exerted by the ________.
A) need to reduce anxiety
B) need to reduce uncertainty
C) need for control
D) need for achievement
3) What was Griffin’s “cause for pause” regarding credibility?
A) Communication theory should deal with the “how” and not the “who.”
B) Credibility is transitory and subject to interpretation.
C) It doesn’t really address the process of communication, only the evaluation of its source.
D) By focusing on the source of a message, we may lose sight of the intrinsic value of what’s
being said.
4) Which of the following theories warns that when co-owners of private information do not
effectively negotiate and follow mutually held privacy rules, boundary turbulence is the likely
result?
A) coordinated management of meaning
B) cultivation theory
C) media ecology
D) communication privacy management
5) Which of the following theories addresses audience adaptation as a principle facet?
A) cultural studies
B) elaboration likelihood model
C) media ecology
D) speech codes theory
6) Carolyn Sherif’s social judgment theory predicts that those who want to influence others
should try to figure out their latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and non-commitment on a
particular issue. Which of the following threads is most likely illustrated by the theory?
A) credibility
B) motivation
C) audience adaptation
D) social construction
7) Robert McPhee’s communicative constitution of organizations clearly indicates that an
organization is what it is because communication has brought it into existence. This theory
illustrates the thread of ________.
A) social construction
B) expectation
C) conflict
D) audience adaptation
8) Which of the following statements is a succinct summary of Fisher’s narrative paradigm?
A) All of life is drama, and most acts of public communication are efforts to expunge guilt.
B) For groups to come together, they must shift their viewpoints to see the world in similar ways.
C) People are essentially storytellers who respond favorably to stories that ring true and with
which they can identify.
D) Television is a dominant force because it tells stories.
9) Ting-Toomey points out that a free and open discussion of conflict:
A) is a pancultural desire.
B) needs and interests within a collectivistic society is counterproductive.
C) relies on minimal power restraints.
D) stands in sharp contrast to an ethic of peacekeeping.
10) Which of the following theories illustrates the common thread of “dialogue”?
A) standpoint theory
B) uncertainty reduction theory
C) muted group theory
D) symbolic convergence theory
11) Carolyn Haythornthwaite’s media multiplexity theory illustrates the need to reduce
uncertainty.
12) Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory suggests that people born into collectivistic cultures
usually have an I-identity and are mainly concerned with saving face.
13) Gerbner suggests that a steady diet of symbolic violence on television creates an exaggerated
fear that the viewer will be physically threatened, mugged, raped, or killed.
14) Deetz’ critical theory of communication in organizations describes managerial efforts to
suppress conflict by addressing legitimate disagreements through open discussion rather than
through discursive closure.
15) Face-negotiation theory addresses self-image concerns.
16) Aristotle defined ethos as a combination of the speaker’s perceived intelligence or
competence, character or trustworthiness, and goodwill toward the audience.
17) Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) is optimistic that credibility facilitates long-term
persuasive effects.
18) According to Berger, the expectation of future interaction decreases our motivation to reduce
uncertainty.
19) According to Joseph Walther’s hyperpersonal perspective extension of social information
processing theory (SIP), anticipation of future interaction coupled with an exaggerated sense of
similarity results in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
20) Hall’s cultural studies is based on a broad Marxist interpretation of history that claims money
is power.
21) According to Griffin, ________ is defined as the needs and desires that drive or draw people
to think, feel, and act as they do.
22) ________ is defined as a mental picture of who people see themselves to be, which is greatly
influenced by the way others respond to them.
23) ________ is defined as transparent conversation that often creates unanticipated relational
outcomes due to parties’ profound respect for disparate voices.
24) Which thread or principle do you find more compelling or interesting?
25) Are there particular placements of theories along the threads that you believe are inaccurate?
26) Which is most important or salient to an understanding of the communication discipline?
Which is the least useful or least informative?
27) Based on your reading of this chapter, how would you respond to a chemistry student who
asks you about the current state of communication theory? Would your answer change if the
student who asks you the same question were an English major?
28) In Chapter 37, Griffin assembles 10 threads that run through communication theories. What
according to you is likely to be the eleventh thread?
29) Choose two theories from the text and discuss how well they meet the criteria for effective
theory established in Chapter 3.
30) Of all the theories presented in this text, which is your favorite, or the most important to you?
Which is your least favorite or least relevant to your life?
31) Compare the theories presented in A First Look that feature a critical or social agenda. How
are they alike? What significant differences are likely to surface? What are the potential
consequences of combining theory and social advocacy?
32) Are any of the theories presented in this book truly value free? Why or why not?
33) One of the persistent themes in the theories examined in A First Look is that people
communicate more effectively when they become highly aware of the specific communicative
processes they are involved in. Many of the theoretical perspectives in this book seek to replace
natural and habitual modes of speaking and listening with rational, more analytical approaches
that can make us better able to negotiate the challenges of communication. What theories do you
believe should be included on such a list? As a group, what seem to be their principal
characteristics, as well as their strengths and weaknesses?