CHAPTER 10
TEST ITEMS
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Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Media consumers pay attention to communication that fits their established opinions and attitudes but
ignore messages that challenge or contradict that mind-set. This reinforcement of existing views is
known as
a. boomerang effect.
b. glow and flow.
2. When researchers prove that A and B appear to change together they have established
a. causation
3. This research method interprets, categorizes, and counts, media content to determine the number of
time a certain item occurs.
a. Field studies
4. __________ summarized how the stages of the communication process are the objects of research
with the question “Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect?”
a. Joseph Klapper
b. Albert Bandura
5. This theory asserts that the media’s coverage of public opinion can lead those with an opposing view
to feel they are in the minority and be less likely to speak out.
d. Two-step flow theory
e. Elaboration likelihood model
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6. This theory explains under what conditions of information processing people are either persuaded by
or resistant to a message.
a. Technological determinism
b. Spiral of silence theory
7. __________ is defined as habitual purchase behavior by marketing researchers.
8. The phrase “the medium is the message” was made popular by
a. Maxwell McCombs.
9. Young children are more vulnerable to the effects of media violence because
a. they enjoy violence more than older children.
10. Which of the following methods allows precise control of experimental factors but does not resemble
real-life situations in which subjects experience the media?
a. Content analysis
11. Some scholars state the public’s concern about violence in the Darfur region or political violence in
Zimbabwe largely results from the __________ function of the media.
d. association
e. glow and flow
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12. The use of stereotypes on dramatic programs
a. can have a negative effect by perpetuating erroneous images in viewers’ minds.*
b. has proven to have little real impact on audience members’ perceptions of groups of people, such
13. Television programs serve as an agent of __________when they become a model for viewers,
especially children.
a. catharsis
14. The “glow and flow” principle says that
a. television audiences are selective viewers.
15. The first systematic research on media violence dates to the 1930s and focused on
a. comic books.
16. Research shows that viewing a violent act on television
True/False Questions
2. One example of gatekeeping’s filtering and shaping process is deciding which subjects to present.
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7. Stereotypes are versions of reality that are deliberately oversimplified to fit preconceived images.
8. The term reciprocal determinism, in which a person’s behavior and environment cause each other, is
9. Motivation and ability are two factors that most influence which route a person will take to process
10. Adoption of a high proportion of new products each year supports the assumption that advertising is
Essay Questions
1. Briefly outline the history of media effects study.
2. List and describe the five major areas of media effects study.
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