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Chapter 5: Verbal Messages
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of the following terms is the least abstract?
a) personnel analyst
b) job
c) occupation
d) career
2. Which of the following terms is the most abstract?
a) hobby
b) wood carving
c) leisure activity
d) painting
3. Indirect messages __________.
a) are most common in individualist cultures
b) allow you to express a thought without offending anyone
c) are more common with men than women
d) are most common in North American and British cultures
4. Disconfirmation is a communication pattern in which you __________.
a) disagree with a person
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b) are unwilling to accept what someone says
c) acknowl s significance
s presence ons
5. Confirmation is a communication pattern in which you __________.
a) indicate that what someone has to say is not worth taking seriously
b) disagree with the other person
c) accept a person s definition of self
s presence
6. Which of the following techniques could be characterized as disconfirming?
s thoughts and feelings
b) asking questions
c) taking issue with what the other person says
d) claiming that what a person says simply does not count
7. Confirming language __________.
a) places a particular group in an inferior position
b) accepts the other person
c) is sexist
d) ignores lack of clarity in remarks
8. A(n) __________ person attacks the other person and creates resentment and conflict.
a) aggressive
b) assertive
c) nonassertive
d) generous
9. Expressing one s real thoughts while maintaining respect for the other person is
__________.
a) nonassertiveness
b) disconfirmation
c) assertiveness
d) aggressiveness
10. Language that is used by members of one culture to disparage members of other
cultures is called __________.
a) being open-minded
b) racist language
c) universal language
d) spatial communication
11. Nonracist language __________.
a) expresses racist attitudes
b) contributes to developing racist attitudes
c) does not place an ethnic group in an inferior position
d) emphasizes differences
12. Heterosexism __________.
a) is language used to reinforce homosexual attitudes
b) refers to men only
c) is too new to be clearly identified
d) is based on the presumption of heterosexuality
13. Heterosexism refers to __________.
a) a tendency to sexually harass both men and women
b) language that points to the differences among gay men and straight men
c) communications that reveal the sexual orientation of gay men and lesbians
d) attitudes, behaviors, and language that disparage gay men and lesbians
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14. Which of the following is an example of sexist language?
a) teacher
b) postal worker
c) nurse
d) policeman
15. An example of sexist language is __________.
a) actress
b) chairperson
c) he/she
d) Mr.
16. Extensional orientation is __________.
a) when speaker and listener miss each other with their meanings
b) giving primary attention to the real world rather than to the world of words
c) treating inferences as if they were facts
d) giving primary attention to labels
17. An example of extensional orientation is __________.
a) checking your watch to see if it is time to eat
b) viewing your professor as unprofessional
d) looking out the window when you are in a car
18. The tendency to view people, objects, and events in the way they are labeled is called
__________.
a) extensional orientation
b) intensional orientation
c) an inference
d) a factual observation
19. When we make judgments of the whole based on only a part, we are __________.
a) creating polarization
b) using allness
c) bypassing
d) assuming things stay the same
20. Which of the following is an example of an inference?
a) She is wearing a red hat.
b) He is lazy.
c) He is tall.
d) She is a blonde.
21. Factual statements are __________.
a) high-quality inferences
b) made in anticipation of what will be observed
c) limited to what is observed
d) likely to obscure distinctions
22. When we make statements about what we have not observed, we are __________.
a) disconfirming
b) giving primary importance to labels
c) being indiscriminate
d) making inferences
23. Which of the following messages is an example of indiscrimination?
a) Politicians are all liars.
b) You never call me.
c) You are either a hawk or a dove.
d) She hates me.
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24. When we focus on classes of individuals, objects, or events and fail to see that each is
unique, we are __________.
a) demonstrating an intensional orientation
b) using connotation
c) being indiscriminate
d) discriminating against similarities
25. Static evaluation is the __________.
a) failure to acknowledge s definition of self
b) failure to distinguish the uniqueness among items because they are all labeled by the
same term
c) denial of change
d) tendency to divide the world into two extreme categories
et
demonstrates the concept of __________.
a) static evaluation
b) discrimination
c) ageism
d) indiscrimination
27. Static evaluation is best illustrated by which statement?
m sure she is still sh t seen her since eighth grade.
t believe she applied for this job in human services.
m trying to wrap your ankle before you play football.
You we re angry again. Are you going to stay angry
for the rest of your life?
Old people are all the same cranky and opinionated.
True/False Questions
28. Messages communicate objective meanings as well as attitudes and values.
29. Message meanings vary in politeness.
30. Institutional heterosexism is easy to identify.
31. Ageism is not considered discrimination.
32. Sexism has helped open many doors of opportunity for women.
33. The cultural context will influence whether a meaning is friendly or not.
34. Transgendered people should be identified/referred to by their birth-assigned sex.
35. Eric and George are a same-sex couple. One should be referred to as the wife, and the
other as the husband.
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36. Extensional orientation is the tendency to stretch meanings beyond their original
intent.
37. The tendency to end your is an example of
allness.
38. There is nothing wrong with making inferential statements.
You are now either taking a tes This statement is an
example of appropriate polarization.
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Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
40. The dictionary definition of a word is its __________ meaning.
41. Meanings are communicated __________ and __________.
42. If a message is signed by the author, it is considered __________.
43. __________ is the creation of closeness, a sense of togetherness, of oneness, between
speaker and listener.
44. __________ messages enable you to act in your own best interest without denying or
infringing on the rights of others.
46. In __________, you not only acknowledge the presence of the other person, but also
lf-definition, and of your
relationship as defined or viewed by this person.
47. Perhaps the best way to avoid sexism, heterosexism, and racism is to examine the
preferred __________ to use or not use in talking about members of different cultures.
48. To correct indiscrimination, __________ your terms by using a spoken or mental
subscript that identifies each individual in a group as an individual even though all
members of the group may be covered by the same label.
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49. __________ is the tendency to see the world in terms of extremes good or bad,
positive or negative.
50. When you retain an evaluation of a person, despite the inevitable changes in the
person, you are engaging in __________.
Essay Questions
51. Identify the eight principles of verbal messages discussed in your text.
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52. Provide examples from your life of times when you received onymous messages and
times when you received anonymous messages.
53. Describe or list the types of verbal messages used by someone you know who
communicates immediacy.
54. How does a person detect when someone is lying? Is it ever beneficial to tell a lie?
Explain.
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55. Give three examples of sexist language. Revise them using inclusive language.
56. How can you avoid confusing facts and inferences?