KEY
Chapter 1: Communication: Essential Human Behavior
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. __________ is the process by which individuals use symbols and behaviors to exchange information.
2. A/An __________ perspective of communication examines how communication helps (or doesn’t help) to
accomplish our goals in personal, group, organizational, or public situations.
3. The best definition of interdependence from the list below is
4. All of the following have been identified as the primary reasons why we communicate except for which one?
5. While on a first date, you notice your date leaning in toward you, meeting your gaze, smiling when you make
eye contact, and laughing at your jokes—you infer from your date’s behavior that he or she likes you. This
scenario best represents the use of communication to express
6. The ability of one person, group, or organization to influence others, and the manner in which their
relationships are conducted is called
7. The word “dog” is a __________, an arbitrary construction that refers to the canine companion that sleeps at
the foot of your bed.
8. After looking in your book bag and realizing you forgot to grab a pen, you lean over to one of your classmates
and you say, “Do you have a pen I can borrow for class today?” You have just engaged in what mental process
as you constructed your message?
9. The process of receiving a message by interpreting and assigning meaning to it is referred to as
10. The shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group of people is their
11. The Amish, African Americans, Catholics, and Goths are all groups we might refer to as members of a/an
12. Communication involves two or more people acting in both sender and receiver roles, and their messages are
dependent on and influenced by those of their partner. This means that communication is
13. __________ is the study of morals, specifically the moral choices individuals make in their relationships with
others.
14. When communication is appropriate, it
15. In which model of communication do we see a sender who originates a message and sends it through a channel
to a receiver without any kind of feedback taken into consideration?
16. In the interaction model of communication, we refer to the receiver’s responses as
17. The __________ model of communication presents a transactional perspective, in which individuals
simultaneously send and receive messages within a relational context, a situational context, and a cultural
context.
18. __________ are the thoughts a communicator has about himself or herself and others.
True/False Questions
3. While communication is helpful, we do not need to be able to communicate to get the things we want and need
6. In healthy relationships, there is usually equally shared control—both parties have about even levels of control
10. Individuals are only able to identify with one co-culture at a time, making this aspect of their cultural identity
12. Transactional communication involves a sender and a receiver sending independent messages to one another.
13. Competent communicators are more concerned with the outcome of their communication than they are with the
14. An individual’s ethics are influenced by his or her personal morals and values as well as by broader cultural
16. The appropriateness of a communication act is largely determined by cultural norms and rules about what is
17. While appropriateness is subjective, and may change from one situation to another, competent communication
18. Having exemplary skills in one area of communication makes a person competent at overall communication.
19. The linear model of communication could be used to describe the way an artist uses her recorded music to
20. The interaction model of communication is the most complex and accurate model of communication put forth
because it is the only model to acknowledge that communicators simultaneously send and receive messages.
21. A communicator’s perception of himself or herself can have a profound impact on the way he or she
22. Most people perceive their cognitions, thoughts, and feelings to be innate, but they are actually shaped by the
Short-Answer Questions
1. Define the term communication.
H = Communication: Essential Human Behavior (p. 4); C = knowledge; D = 1
2. What are the three primary reasons why human beings communicate?
H = We Must Communicate: The Functional Perspective (p. 5); C = knowledge; D = 2
3. What is the difference between encoding and decoding of a message?
H = Communication Requires a Shared Code (p. 10); C = comprehension; D = 1
4. Provide an example of a co-culture to which you belong.
H = Communication Is Linked to Culture (p. 10); C = comprehension; D = 2
5. Briefly describe a time in which your unintentional behavior contradicted your intentional message.
H = Communication Can Be Unintentional (pp. 10‒11); C = comprehension; D = 3
6. Define what is meant by communication channel, and provide an example of a channel you have used to
communicate today.
H = Communication Occurs Through Various Channels (p. 11); C = knowledge and comprehension; D = 3
7. Contrast the difference between appropriate and effective communication.
H = Competent Communication Is Appropriate and Effective (pp. 15‒16); C = comprehension; D = 2
8. What term do we use to refer to a person’s ability to have a number of communication behaviors at his or her
disposal, and the willingness to use different communication behaviors in different situations?
H = Appropriate Behavior (p. 16); C = knowledge; D = 2
9. What term is used to refer to anything that interferes with the transmission of a message, changing it in some
way from what was originally encoded?
H = The Linear Model (p. 18); C = knowledge; D = 1
10. In your own words, what do the authors of your textbook mean when they say that communication is
transactional?
H = The Competent Communication Model (p. 19); C = comprehension; D = 2
11. What is the difference between cognition and behavior?
H = The Communicators (p. 20); C = comprehension; D = 2
12. Identify one element of the situational context of the classroom in which you are taking this course that can
create a challenge to the communication between you and your instructor or among the students in the class.
H = The Situation (p. 22); C = comprehension and application; D = 3
13. Define cultural identity.
H = The Cultural Setting (p. 23); C = knowledge; D = 1
Essay Questions
1. Explain what the functional perspective on communication means. What does this perspective say about the
reasons why we communicate?
C = knowledge and comprehension; D = 1
2. List and describe the six characteristics of communication.
C = knowledge; D = 2
3. What are the essential features of competent communication? In what ways are process and outcome related,
and in what ways are they distinctly different from one another? How about appropriateness and effectiveness?
C = comprehension; D = 2
4. Describe how a person’s cultural identity influences his or her communication behavior.
C = comprehension; D = 1
5. Consider a time when you and a communication partner failed to communicate competently. Describe what
happened in the situation and what went wrong in both your and your partner’s communication. Based on what
you have learned so far about competent communication, what could you and the other person do to
communicate more competently if you could go back in time and do the interaction over?
C = comprehension, application, and analysis; D = 3
6. Using classroom interaction as the source for your examples, illustrate the characteristics of communication as
being symbolic, requiring a shared code, being linked to culture, being both intentional and unintentional,
occurring through various channels, and being transactional. Explain how understanding these characteristics
can help a teacher communicate more competently with his or her students.
C = synthesis, application, and analysis; D = 3
7. Compare and contrast the essential features of the three models of communication discussed in your textbook:
the linear model, the interaction model, and the competent communication model.
C = comprehension; D = 2
8. Describe a recent conflict you had with your roommate, a close friend, or your significant other. Apply the
model of competent communication to this interaction to illustrate the elements of the model. How does
considering the interaction through the lens this model provides help you understand the interaction differently
than you might have before engaging in this analysis?
C = application, analysis, and evaluation; D = 3
