Potential Exam Questions for Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview (5th Edition) by Glenn
G. Sparks
1. According to the text, “experience” is one way of knowing. This is sometimes called:
a. authority
2. According to the text, what do religious authorities and TV network executives have in
common?
a. They have various interests to protect—thus making them somewhat suspect as
d. They both draw on the tradition established by Copernicus that involves
developing sound theoretical hypotheses for one’s actions.
e. none of the above
3. According to the text, what are scientists interested in when they say that they are
interested in “explanation”?
a. knowing the precise moment when something will occur
4. According to the text, which of the following statements best summarizes the findings of
Bushman & Cantor’s study on how movie ratings affect people’s entertainment choices?
a. MPAA ratings have no effect on people’s entertainment choices.
b. Evaluative ratings that restrict certain members of the audience from seeing a
movie tend to attract viewers to the movie, but mere descriptions of movie content
5. According to the text, which of the following probably places one in the best position to
achieve the goals of science?
a. experimentation
b. survey research
6. According to the text, which of the following best captures the meaning of the concept of
“falsifiability of theory”?
a. If a theory is falsifiable, researchers have actually collected data that tend to
e. If a theory is falsifiable, then it has little value to the scientific community
because it can never be shown to be true.
7. According to the text, which of the following statements was NOT included in a
discussion of the nature of science/social science?
a. Science is dedicated to changing the status quo.
d. Science can’t answer certain kinds of questions.
8. According to the text, what is the logical problem with the statement “There is no such
thing as something that is true for everybody”?
a. You couldn’t verify this statement unless you surveyed every person on the
planet.
9. According to the text, which of the following is the best summary of the
evidence about the effects of playing games on a platform like Lumosity?
a. The research clearly shows that playing such games improves overall
cognitive performance in daily life.
10. According to the text, few scientists are willing to go before the media and
make claims about how easy it is to identify the particular reasons for why a
certain person would commit a mass shooting. Which of the following
characteristics of science best explains the scientists’ reluctance?
e. Science is private.