Experience Communication, 2e (Child)
Chapter 1 Communication, Perception, and Your Life
1) One reason to study communication is to learn important thinking skills.
2) Studying communication may improve the impression you make on others.
3) Communication is a product, not a process.
4) In communication, we attempt to create shared meaning.
5) Communication includes both people and messages.
6) The most basic model of communication is the transaction model.
7) The process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment is
known as communication.
8) You have had a big conflict with your partner just before class. After the class, you complain to
everyone you meet that the class was a “total waste of time.” This would be an example of
perception due to present feelings.
9) Perceptual checking includes describing an observed behavior to another person to see if your
interpretations of the behavior align.
10) Solitary self-reflection is considered part of interpersonal communication.
11) Which of the following was NOT among the characteristics identified by a large study at a
public university of students who completed an introductory communications course?
A) increased confidence in communication situations
B) increased comfort with others’ perceptions of them
C) increased ability to reason with others
D) increased athletic performance
12) A competent communicator
A) struggles to find the correct words.
B) falls silent unexpectedly.
C) interrupts as he or she sees necessary.
D) uses language correctly.
13) Which of the following items is UNTRUE about listening?
A) Women engage in more relational listening.
B) Men are often praised for being empathic and considerate listeners.
C) Men engage in more action-oriented listening.
D) The poor listening skills of one or both partners may doom a relationship.
14) Which of the following items is NOT a thinking skill one can learn from studying
communication?
A) defining your own position on important issues
B) recognizing the difference between weak and strong arguments
C) understanding which evidence an audience is most likely to accept
D) knowing right from wrong
15) Dr. John Gottman and his colleagues studied conflict resolution. Among their more striking
findings was
A) predicting which couples would divorce because of their inability to manage conflict.
B) predicting early on which individual would win an argument.
C) guessing which couples had a background in athletics based on their use of physical force.
D) accurately predicting which couples had found each other on the Internet.
16) Which of the following is an example of someone studying communication to expand his or
her comfort zone?
A) Miguel knows that good communication skills will help him succeed professionally.
B) Jin wants to communicate well to make a better first impression when he meets girls.
C) Ella hopes to communicate better with coworkers from other countries.
D) Frank believes that studying communication will improve his critical thinking.
17) Communication, broadly defined, is
A) the use of messages to meet one’s goals.
B) the process of using messages to generate meaning.
C) the exchange of ideas.
D) the exchange of goods.
18) Which of the following does NOT relate to the concept of communication as a process?
A) A speaker puts her message into words that others may or may not understand as intended.
B) A group of listeners interprets a received message, but listeners in the group may interpret it
differently.
C) A message has objective meaning that does not depend on speakers and listeners.
D) A message between individuals can continue to resonate in their minds long after the exchange.
19) The situation in which a message occurs is its
A) context.
B) meaning.
C) content.
D) purpose.
20) Interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, and small-group are considered interactive
communication
A) contexts.
B) media.
C) exchanges.
D) catalysts.
21) Which of the following is an example of a mediated communication context?
A) A teacher explains a calculus problem to a roomful of students.
B) A student meets with a teacher during office hours to get help with a calculus problem.
C) A teacher explains a calculus problem to students watching online at home.
D) Students meet in an empty classroom to study together before their calculus midterm.
22) The Latin root communicare means
A) to share.
B) to reason.
C) to argue.
D) to prove.
23) Which of the following is NOT a component of the communication process?
A) message
B) source
C) channel
D) mediation
24) The means of conveying a message from senders to receivers is known as the communication
A) link.
B) highway.
C) network.
D) channel.
25) If a person you know reasonably well refuses to acknowledge you when the two of you meet,
A) no communication has occurred because that person said nothing to you.
B) that person is likely sending a message that something has happened in the relationship.
C) that person is most likely extremely ill.
D) that person is most likely signaling something positive about your relationship.
26) Code can be all of the following EXCEPT
A) language.
B) symbols.
C) verbal or nonverbal signals.
D) channels.
27) You thought your friend meant that he would meet you around 6:00 p.m. when he said “this
evening,” but actually he meant around 7:00 p.m. This misunderstanding relates to
A) conflict between verbal and nonverbal communication.
B) the encoding and decoding of messages.
C) problems of listening and hearing.
D) signal bias.
28) Noise can be any of the following EXCEPT
A) sounds.
B) sights.
C) pains.
D) intelligence.
29) The model that sees communication as a one-way process in which a source encodes and sends
a message through a channel to be decoded by a receiver is known as the
A) action model.
B) interaction model.
C) transaction model.
D) context model.
30) Which of the following best exemplifies the interaction model of communication?
A) During a brainstorming session to develop an advertising campaign for a new product, the
members of a marketing team frequently talk over and interrupt one another as they respond to
each other’s ideas.
B) The President of the United States delivers a televised speech to the nation on several different
channels.
C) During a telephone call with his mother, Enrique is puzzled that she seems to be angry with
him. He later realizes that he had forgotten to call her on Mother’s Day and quickly calls her back
to apologize.
D) Marilupe and her friends converse in a private chat room they set up to plan a surprise birthday
party for another friend.
31) A teacher addressing her class in a large lecture hall provides an example of the ________
model of communication.
A) action
B) interaction
C) transaction
D) constructivist
32) Mikel and several friends, each in a different location, are exchanging text messages to decide
where to meet for dinner. During this exchange, their messages frequently overlap. Which model
of communication best fits this scenario?
A) the action model
B) the interaction model
C) the transaction model
D) the interpersonal model
33) Laetitia revises her history paper after reviewing her teacher’s comments on her first draft.
Which model of communication best fits this scenario?
A) the action model
B) the interaction model
C) the transaction model
D) the constructivist model
34) Yumi is slowing down as she approaches a red light at an intersection. At that moment, her
phone notifies her that a new text message has come in. She turns her attention from the road to the
phone to see who the sender is and bumps into the car ahead of her. Yumi’s poor decision at the
________ stage in the process of perception accounts for her mishap.
A) selection
B) organization
C) activation
D) interpretation
35) The child was frightened by a shape he saw in his closet until he realized it was the shadow of
a shirt. His realization reflects which stage in the process of perception?
A) organization
B) selection
C) interpretation
D) observation
36) You scan your grocery list for all the items you would find in the produce department. Which
stage in the process of perception does this illustrate?
A) organization
B) selection
C) interpretation
D) observation
37) Often we hear only part of a story, but we fill in more details when we pass the story to others.
This aspect of the organization stage of perception is called
A) deduction.
B) background.
C) closure.
D) disclosure.
38) Two individuals see the same car, but one sees an overpriced gas hog that is an insult to the
environment while the other sees a handsome sports car that will thrill everyone. Which stage of
perception does this experience demonstrate?
A) interpretation
B) closure
C) figure and background
D) organization
39) In a social situation you meet a number of new individuals, but one stands out from the rest
because you find that person very attractive. Which aspect of the organization stage of perception
does this experience demonstrate?
A) interpretation
B) figure and background
C) closure
D) observation and description
40) Which statement about perception in communication is INCORRECT?
A) People interpret what they hear in their own ways.
B) People interpret what they see based on their experience.
C) Several individuals who look at a painting all perceive the same thing.
D) Conversational partners often differ in their views of what was said.
41) Proximity, a characteristic of perceptual organization, refers to the way one views
A) depth of character.
B) personal attractiveness.
C) group cohesiveness.
D) physical closeness.
42) Closure, a characteristic of perceptual organization, refers to
A) filling in missing information.
B) blaming others for one’s own failures.
C) crediting oneself for accomplishments that should have been shared.
D) denying one’s own weaknesses.
43) Which statement is INACCURATE about how perception functions in communication?
A) Each person’s perceptions are unique, so meanings need to be negotiated.
B) Perception is active, so we select, organize, and interpret that which we sense.
C) Perception is subjective, so our interpretation of what we sense is really ours.
D) Each person has the same senses, so we receive and interpret messages alike.
44) Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the concept of perceptual constancy?
A) A woman’s negative experience with men in her youth makes her wary of meeting new men.
B) A short man finds everyone literally talking down to him.
C) A man’s menacing looks cause others to see him as a threat to their safety.
D) A woman’s blunt and aggressive manner irritates people in social situations.
45) The night before he was due to give a presentation in his communications class, Demetrio
learned that his father had been laid off. Although he had prepared well for the presentation, his
delivery the next day was distracted and hesitant. Demetrio’s experience most likely reflects the
effect of ________ on communications.
A) past experiences
B) present feelings
C) perceptual constancy
D) roles
46) Which of the following scenarios best illustrates how our “present feelings” can affect our
communication with others?
A) Having just heard that she did poorly on her psychology exam, Sandra was distracted when her
friends tried to talk about plans for that night.
B) Always shy, Karen avoided talking with others as much as she could.
C) Jack was the youngest of six siblings, so his family often viewed him as a child who could not
make adult decisions.
D) Ji Sung struggled with English, which discouraged him from asking questions in class.
47) Which of the following behaviors best accords with perceptual checking?
A) Two people argue over the meaning of a message.
B) One person proves that another person’s interpretation of a message is incorrect.
C) The receiver of a message seeks verification that her interpretation aligns with the sender’s.
D) One person insists that his interpretation of a message is correct.
48) During the first day of Yue’s freshman composition class, the instructor said that students were
expected to hand in a short personal reflection biweekly. Yue asked the instructor whether
“biweekly” meant “twice a week” or “every other week.” What was Yue doing in this case?
A) stereotyping
B) relationship checking
C) perceptual checking
D) fact checking
49) After losing his job, Juan added a current portrait to his resume and LinkedIn profile and
updated them to reflect his most recent and significant accomplishments. Juan’s actions are best
understood as examples of
A) dialogue.
B) intrapersonal communication.
C) identity management.
D) coaching.
50) Which item below illustrates intrapersonal communication?
A) The woman carefully rehearsed in her mind how she would tell her partner about the new bills.
B) The two women carefully negotiated what they meant by a “problem child.”
C) The man worked with the team to come up with a solution to an important issue.
D) The men carefully interpreted the meaning of the new contract before signing it.
51) Identity management at your job would include
A) finding your position on the company organizational chart.
B) being able to describe your role in the organization.
C) identifying the person in your work group who really has power.
D) presenting a professional, competent version of yourself.