Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
CHAPTER 2: CONNECTING PERCEPTIONS AND COMMUNICATION
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1) When we make deliberate choices to experience or to avoid experiencing particular stimuli, we engage in
A) selective set.
B) perceptual set.
C) limited closure.
D) selective exposure.
E) selective attention.
2) I assume that Billy likes Chris because I always see Billy making an effort to sit next to Chris in class. The
organizational function of perception governing my conclusion is
A) selectivity.
B) closure.
C) romanticism.
D) proximity.
E) similarity.
3) According to the text, what is at the heart of all communication?
A) behaviors B)
emotion C) culture D) genetics E) perception
4) In his assertion that “Nothing is clear in and of itself but in some context for some person,” Robert L. Scott
meant that
A) when we talk with others, we say things in certain ways that undermine the creation of meaning.
B) in the process of communicating with others, one person’s perceptions are not more accurate than those
of the other.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
C) words are static and unchanging.
D) communication occurs in a linear, step-by-step fashion.
E) communication is infectious, like an epidemic.
5) The process of perceiving combines
A) selecting, deconstructing, and interpreting information.
B) selecting, understanding, and creating information.
C) understanding, selecting, and organizing information.
D) selecting, organizing, and interpreting information.
E) organizing, interpreting, and creating information.
6) When Michael meets prospective dating partners, he works to incorporate their values, beliefs, appearance,
and emotional needs into his messages. His use of “person-centered” messages when communicating with
others indicates a high level of
A) awareness.
B) cognitive complexity.
C) selective exposure.
D) perceptual congruence.
E) selective attention.
7) Tammy’s daughter Kate is putting together a puzzle. She places silver puzzle pieces in one pile, purple
puzzle pieces in another pile, and pink puzzle pieces in a third pile. Kate is grouping items by
A) figure. B) similarity. C) proximity. D) closure. E) complexity.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
8) Cognitively complex individuals
A) use “person-centered” messages.
B) think about things in concrete ways more than in abstract ways.
C) tend to gloss over important details about other people.
D) are unable to integrate new information into their perceptions.
E) are fixed in their interpretation of complicated events.
9) Tina dislikes a lot of television programming and therefore does not watch TV. When it comes to television,
Tina is engaged in selective
A) attention.
B) organization.
C) editing.
D) exposure.
E) retention.
10) Suppose after a basketball game, the fans of Team A believe that Team B committed more fouls, while the
Team B fans think that Team A committed more fouls. Assume that the officials called an equal number of
fouls against each team. Which of the following organizational functions of perception would best help us
understand how each team’s fans viewed the facts differently?
A) selective exposure
B) proximity
C) selective retention
D) closure
E) subjectivity
11) The tendency to fill in missing pieces and to extend lines in order to finish or complete figures illustrates
what organizational process?
A) retention B) proximity C) outlining D) similarity E) closure
12) Our interpretations of different stimuli are based on
A) past experiences and the opinions of others.
B) what our families think is best in a given situation.
C) hypothetical scenarios.
D) unavoidable attribution bias.
E) a set of cultural rules that we all share.
13) You arrive at a mall you have never visited before, and you are not sure where your favorite store is located.
You approach a mall employee at an information kiosk to ask for directions, because you have received
direction at other information kiosks before. This example illustrates the fact that we interpret our
perceptions based on
A) closure.
B) past experiences.
C) complementarity.
D) similarity.
E) proximity.
14) Which of the following metaphors best illustrates the role that perception plays in the communication
process?
A) Perception acts as a funnel.
B) Perception acts as an owner’s manual.
C) Perception acts as filter.
D) Perception acts as a facilitator.
E) Perception acts as a boundary.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
15) Kaitlin continually communicates with Tiffany as if she were still a child. In Kaitlin’s eyes, Tiffany will
always be “her little girl.” This illustrates the fact that ________ can interfere with effective communication.
A) age
B) perceptual set
C) closure
D) gender
E) demographics
16) Angela, who is five feet tall, and Tim, who is six feet tall, both decided to test drive a car. Tim thought the
car was perfect, whereas Angela did not, because she could not get the seat close enough to the pedals. This
example illustrates the fact that ________ influence(s) our perceptions.
A) individualism
B) physical characteristics
C) attribution error
D) stereotyping
E) cultural background
17)
According to the text, stereotyping
A) is based on truth and legitimate premises.
B) is always negative.
C) is always positive.
D) oversimplifies and exaggerates human traits and qualities.
E) is unnecessary in the information age.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
18) Many communication scholars believe that the greatest single problem with human communication is the
assumption that our perceptions
A) are unnecessary.
B) lead to cultural misunderstandings.
C) can help us make efficient decisions.
D) are based on solely on past experiences.
E) are always correct.
19) You are having a terrible day. You woke up late and your car wouldn’t start. Once you got to school, you
couldn’t find a parking place in time and on the way to class realized that you forgot the assignment (it’s on
your kitchen table). You walk in the door and the instructor comments, “It is nice of you to join us.” You
perceive that the instructor is verbally attacking you, even though similar comments (made in jest) on other
days did not seem as bad. This illustrates that ________ influence(s) the way we interpret stimuli.
A) physical characteristics
B) cultural background
C) attribution error
D) stereotyping
E) psychological state
20) Instead of accepting that external factors influence other people’s behavior, you attribute the actions of others
to being “that kind of person.” This process reflects
A) fundamental attribution error.
B) selective retention.
C) proximity dysfunction.
D) psychological state.
E) ethnocentrism.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
21) Jenna believes that fathers should work while mothers take care of the children, while Shauna believes that
she should share work and child care responsibilities with her husband. Which of the following statements
about gender roles in our society most accurately describes this example?
A) Gender roles are related to behaviors other than communication.
B) Gender roles are caused by biological sex differences.
C) Gender roles are socially constructed.
D) Gender roles have very little to do with culture.
E) Gender roles are stable across cultures.
22)
Cassandra has watched the show Grey’s Anatomy for years. When she began to date Caleb, she expected
their relationship to be just like Derek and Meredith’s from Grey’s Anatomy. Cassandra’s viewpoint
illustrates the fact that differences in perception can be affected by
A) media. B) humor. C) gender. D) proximity. E) culture.
23) Which of the following behaviors would be most helpful in improving your perception competence?
A) Take the roles of perception at face value.
B) Go with your first perception because getting more information will be less accurate.
C) Be willing to question the accuracy of your perceptions.
D) Trust your inferences as correct.
E) Limit the amount of information you take in so you can organize it better.
24) Which of the following would be most effective at helping you improve your communication competence?
A) Avoid the tendency to assume too much about what you perceive.
B) Remember that perceptions based on physical attributes are most accurate.
C) Remember that your own view is generally the most accurate.
D) Remember that most people will have very similar perceptions to your own.
E) Limit the amount of information you take in.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
25) According to the text, which of the following statements about the relationship between gender and
perception are true?
A) Men and women have few differences regarding perception.
B) Women and men learn to understand the world differently, which results in a difference in the way they
communicate.
C) Gender is a biological trait that affects perception.
D) Perceptual sets always limit our perceptions, especially regarding gender.
E) Women tend to use closure more than men to organize perception.
26) Which of the following statements about ethnocentrism is most accurate?
A) Ethnocentric people are simply expressing pride in their heritage.
B) Ethnocentrism is a useful tool for improving our ability to perceive.
C) Ethnocentrism involves a belief that one’s own culture is superior to any other cultures.
D) Ethnocentrism is generally unrelated to perception.
E) Ethnocentric people generally have more accurate perceptions than people who are not ethnocentric.
27) Nathan and Ty were both raised in the small town of Cushman, Alabama. Many friends at their university
assume that they behave and think in the same way because they grew up in the same small town. This
inaccurate assumption is rooted in
A) similarity.
B) cultural background.
C) proximity.
D) ethnocentrism.
E) closure.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
communication.
28) Dr. Ford is presenting a lecture on nonverbal communication. In the middle of her lecture she states, “You’ll
really want to remember this because it will be on your exam.” If Dr. Ford’s students choose to store specific
information to retrieve for their exam, they are engaging in
A) organization.
B) feedback.
C) selection.
D) interpretation.
E) stereotyping
29) To improve your communication competency, the text suggests that you
A) recognize that culture does not affect perception.
B) be a passive perceiver.
C) recognize that people, objects, and situations remain stable over time.
D) recognize that gender does not affect perception.
E) recognize that each person’s frame of reference is unique.
30) Recent communication research on gender illustrates that in groups containing both females and males,
A) females participate in more of the decision-making than males.
B) females interrupt males more frequently than males interrupt females.
C) females tend to speak for longer periods of time.
D) males take more turns at speaking.
E) there are no communication differences between males and females.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
TRUE/FALSE
1) Perception does not usually involve the senses.
2) The more cognitively complex we are, the more sophisticated our level of perception.
3) In the perception process, selection must always occur first.
4) The difference between a stereotype and a perceptual set is that a perceptual set uses categories and a stereotype
does not.
5) Perceptual sets can help us make decisions more efficiently.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
6) The degree of ethnocentrism is often judged on a superiority-inferiority scale.
7) John was told that boys should not cry. This learned masculine behavior is related to psychological state.
8) Wesley recently moved to the United States from Kenya to pursue a degree in engineering. Many in his new
surroundings comment on his physical features, such as the color of his skin and shape of his eyes, which are
prominent physical features of many Kenyans. These characteristics make up Wesley’s cultural identity.
9) Our past experiences and our cultural background both play a significant role in determining our perceptual set.
10) Sally and Mike are celebrating their anniversary at a crowded restaurant with a live band. To block out the
music, they focus on each other’s words attentively. This example illustrates selective attention.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
SHORT ANSWER
1) Explain how physical characteristics may alter our perceptions.
2) Explain four factors that impact how we assign meaning to stimuli and provide an example of how you have
used each to assign meaning to stimuli in your own life.
3) Explain the danger of only using past experiences when interpreting new situations.
4) Explain how your psychological state may affect your perceptions.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
5) Explain what a perceptual set is and provide an example.
6) Explain the concept of ethnocentrism and how describe how it can negatively impact how we interact with
others.
7) Contrast facts and inferences. Provide an example of each.
8) Explain why it is wrong to assume that one perceptual system is more accurate than another.
9) Describe some things that you can do to become an active perceiver.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
10) Define perception and briefly explain the role it has in communication.
11) Discuss two ways you may improve your perceptions.
12) Explain the three ways that organization plays a role in perception. Using an example from your own life,
describe how organization can lead to inaccurate assumptions.
13) How is selective attention different from selective exposure?
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
14)
Explain how verbal communication influences our interpretation of others. Provide an example of how verbal
communication has influenced your interpretation of another person.
15) What is stereotyping and how does it relate to perceptual set?
16) How does the textbook define the term “culture”?
17) Explain the role of a stimulus in the selection process.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
18) Selective exposure, selective attention, and selective retention: define each, and explain the relationship they
have with each other.
19) Explain how perceptual set can be both useful and harmful.
20) List and explain two of the influences which may lead to perceptual differences.
ESSAY
1) When we communicate with others, a variety of things might influence our perceptions and behaviors. One
substantial factor affecting our communication encounters is our own cultural background. Explain how
one’s cultural background influences communication. Provide an example from your own communication
experiences that illustrates your answer.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
culture.
2) In our culture, we are constantly bombarded with mediated messages. In part, those messages influence our
perceptions of communication stimuli we try to interpret. Explain how the media influences our perception
and provide an example from your own experiences to illustrate your answer.
3) Identify and describe the types of selection. For each type provide a definition/description and an example.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition
5) We interact differently with the Internet than we do with other types of media. Explain how we formulate our
perceptions in relation to the Internet. Explain how the Internet shapes our perceptions in return. Be sure to
provide specific examples of certain websites that illustrate your answers.
Test Bank for Communication: Making Connections, Tenth Edition