Page 1
1.
The 1938 radio broadcast of War of the Worlds made millions of listeners believe that
Martians were invading Earth; most listeners, however, did not believe that the story
was real. Those outcomes ultimately helped support which research model?
A)
Hypodermic-needle model
B)
Minimal-effects model
C)
Uses and gratifications model
D)
Survey model
2.
The notion that people engage in selective exposure and selective retention when
experiencing various media is a component of which model of media research?
A)
Uses and gratifications model
B)
Minimal-effects model
C)
Hypodermic-needle model
D)
Marketing-research model
3.
Which kind of research method employs a control group for comparison?
A)
Surveys
B)
Experiments
C)
Content analysis
D)
Focus group interviews
4.
The results of this kind of research method are usually generalizable to a larger
population.
A)
Surveys
B)
Experiments
C)
Content analysis
D)
Focus group interviews
5.
Which kind of research method reveals correlations between two variables but not cause
and effect?
A)
Content analysis
B)
Experiment
C)
Focus group interview
D)
Survey
6.
For this kind of method, researchers systematically code and measure media content.
A)
Experiments
B)
Focus group interviews
C)
Surveys
D)
Content analysis
Page 2
7.
The idea that the media tell us what to think about rather than what to think is key to
which theory of media effects?
A)
Agenda-setting
B)
Cultivation effect
C)
Content analysis
D)
Uses and gratifications
8.
Which line of research helps explain why coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005
sparked an increase in public concern about the disaster?
A)
Cultivation effect
B)
Agenda-setting
C)
Spiral of silence
D)
Social learning theory
9.
_____ suggests that the more time individuals spend viewing television and absorbing
its viewpoints, the more likely their views of social reality will be developed by the
images and portrayals they see on television.
A)
The cultivation effect
B)
Agenda-setting
C)
The political economy
D)
Textual analysis
10.
TV viewers who believe that crime is more prevalent than it really is provide evidence
for which theory of media effects?
A)
Bullet theory
B)
Uses and gratifications
C)
Cultivation effect
D)
Agenda-setting
11.
Which of the following is characteristic of a cultural approach to mass media research?
A)
The belief that audiences are primarily passive and easily persuaded
B)
An attempt to understand how people use media to serve their own ends
C)
The belief that media do not tell us what to think but what to think about
D)
A focus on how people experience and interpret their lives through media
Page 3
12.
The close reading and interpretation of the meaning of cultural forms is called _____.
A)
content analysis
B)
agenda-setting
C)
textual analysis
D)
the cultivation effect
13.
Harold Lasswell’s Crystallizing Public Opinion is considered by many academics to be
the founding book in American media studies.
A)
True
B)
False
14.
Social psychology studies measure the attitudes, behavior, and cognition of individuals.
A)
True
B)
False
15.
Media effects research first emerged because of concerns about television violence.
A)
True
B)
False
16.
Between 1930 and 1960, “who says what to whom with what effect” became the key
question “defining the scope and problems of American communications research.”
A)
True
B)
False
17.
The minimal-effects model of mass media research holds that the media reinforce
existing behaviors and attitudes rather than change them.
A)
True
B)
False
18.
One key difference between content analysis and textual analysis is the greater emphasis
on counting, measurement, and reliability in content analysis.
A)
True
B)
False
19.
Agenda-setting theory refers to the media’s ability to change public opinion on
controversial issues.
A)
True
B)
False
Page 4
20.
Textual analysis is able to demonstrate the effects of the media on audiences.
A)
True
B)
False
21.
_____ are typically call-in, online, or person-in-the-street polls that news media use to
address a “question of the day.”
22.
Researchers associated with the minimal-effects model argued that people engage in
selective _____ and selective retention with regard to the media.
23.
In social science research, the _____ group has not been exposed to the particular
phenomenon or media content being studied.
24.
The _____ theory, which links the mass media, social psychology, and the formation of
public opinion, proposes that people who find that their views on controversial issues
are in the minority tend to keep those views silent.
25.
_____ theory is a theory within media effects research that suggests a link between the
mass media and behavior.
26.
In contrast to social scientific media research, the _____ studies mode of media research
involves interpreting written and visual “texts” or artifacts as symbols that contain
cultural, historical, and political meanings.
27.
What are pseudo-polls? Why are they used?
28.
Explain the study used to discount the magic bullet, or hypodermic-needle, theory.
29.
What is the scientific method? Be sure to mention all the steps.
30.
How does a cultural studies approach to media research differ from an experimental,
scientific approach?
Page 5
31.
Explain the process of the social learning theory as it relates to media violence and
aggression.
32.
What is the spiral of silence?
33.
What problems do academic studies face?
Page 6
Answer Key
1.
B
2.
B
3.
B
4.
A
5.
D
6.
D
7.
A
8.
B
9.
A
10.
C
11.
D
12.
C
13.
B
14.
A
15.
B
16.
A
17.
A
18.
A
19.
B
20.
B
21.
Pseudo-polls
22.
exposure
23.
control
24.
spiral of silence
25.
Social learning
26.
cultural
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.