b. False
25. Cultivation theory looks at the cumulative effect of television rather than the effects of
individual messages.
a. True
b. False
26. The high incidence of violence in news programming reflects in part the fact that the
abnormal is more newsworthy than the normal.
a. True
b. False
27. Resonance is the extent to which media’s representations are congruent with personal
experience.
a. True
b. False
28. Media portrayals cultivate unrealistic views of relationships.
a. True
b. False
29. People who multitask make more mistakes and actually take longer than people who do one
task at a time.
a. True
b. False
30. To become more media literate, individuals must first examine and be honest about how
media influence us.
a. True
b. False
31. When we engage in extensive digital communication, our emotional and intellectual growth
is enhanced.
a. True
b. False
32. Privacy is not a key issue for those interested in the regulation of social media.
a. True
b. False
33. If access is based on wealth, convergence will increase the divide between haves and have-
nots.
a. True
b. False
Fill-in-the-Blank Items
34. ____________________ allow us to connect and interact actively, collaborate, and
participate in self-organizing, fluid communities.
35. ____________________ are electronic or mechanical channels used to transmit messages to
broad audiences.
36. A(n) ____________________ is a person or group that decides which messages pass through
the media to reach consumers.
37. ____________________ is the cumulative process by which television fosters beliefs about
social reality.
38. ____________________ is the process by which mass communication stabilizes and
homogenizes social perspectives.
39. ____________________ refers to the extent to which media representations are congruent
with personal experience.
40. The ability to understand the influence of mass media and to access, analyze, evaluate, and
respond actively to mass media in informed, critical ways is known as
____________________.
41. ____________________ refers to the mass media’s ability to select and call to the public’s
attention ideas, events, and people.
42. Superlative claims that seem factual but are actually meaningless are called _____________.
43. ____________________ is the step of media literacy in which media consumers seek to
understand how media works.
44. Social media encourage ____________________, which is performing several activities at
the same time.
45. The ____________________ refers to the gap between people and communities with access
to media, especially the social media, and people and communities with little or no access.
Essay Items
46. What is media literacy, and how can you develop it?
47. Explain cultivation theory and use examples to illustrate how cultivation occurs.
48. Define and distinguish mass media and social media and give examples of each.
TEST ITEMS ANSWER KEY
Multiple Choice Items
1. All of the following are examples of mass media EXCEPT
2. How do mass media and social media differ?
3. Which theory assumes that people are active agents who deliberately choose media to gratify
themselves?
4. A person or group that decides which messages pass through the media and which do not are
called
5. If you watch an action movie because you are bored and want some excitement, which of the
following theories applies?
6. The process by which mass communication stabilizes and homogenizes social perspectives is
known as
7. The extent to which media representations are congruent with personal experience is known
as what by cultivation theorists?
8. The three implications of digitization are
9. The theory that claims that television promotes a worldview that is inaccurate but that
viewers nonetheless assume reflects real life is the
10. The term that refers to the gap between people who have access to media and those who have
little to no access is
11. Which theory assumes the media spotlight some issues, events, and people while
downplaying others?
12. Social media include all of the following EXCEPT
13. Which of the following theories includes the concept of a gatekeeper?
14. Tony, who had been mistreated by a policeman, identified with a television program that had
police brutality as a central theme. This is an example of
15. Lana says she enjoys using Facebook because it helps her connect to her friends from high
school who are at other colleges, her cousins who live in New Mexico, and new people she
meets on campus. Lana’s reason for using Facebook is that it
16. Social media alter conceptions of
17. Small electronic packets of information about users that the advertisers store in users’
personal browsers are known as
True-False Items
18. The mass media exercise little control over the events, people, and issues that do and do not
reach the public.
19. According to cultivation theory, the more television you watch, the more accurate your views
of the world are likely to be.
20. Gays, lesbians, and trans people are making an increased presence in commercial
programming.
21. Both information and people saturate us.
22. Violence in the media makes the world seem more dangerous than it actually is.
23. Advertisers and political groups cannot influence which messages get through the
gatekeepers.
24. The media use standard patterns repeatedly.
25. Cultivation theory looks at the cumulative effect of television rather than the effects of
individual messages.
26. The high incidence of violence in news programming reflects in part the fact that the
abnormal is more newsworthy than the normal.
27. Resonance is the extent to which media’s representations are congruent with personal
experience.
28. Media portrayals cultivate unrealistic views of relationships.
29. People who multitask make more mistakes and actually take longer than people who do one
task at a time.
30. To become more media literate, individuals must first examine and be honest about how
media influence us.
31. When we engage in extensive digital communication, our emotional and intellectual growth
is enhanced.
32. Privacy is not a key issue for those interested in the regulation of social media.
33. If access is based on wealth, convergence will increase the divide between haves and have-
nots.
Fill-in-the-Blank Items
34. ____________________ allow us to connect and interact actively, collaborate, and
participate in self-organizing, fluid communities.
35. ____________________ are electronic or mechanical channels used to transmit messages to
broad audiences.
36. A(n) ____________________ is a person or group that decides which messages pass through
the media to reach consumers.
37. ____________________ is the cumulative process by which television fosters beliefs about
social reality.
38. ____________________ is the process by which mass communication stabilizes and
homogenizes social perspectives.
39. ____________________ refers to the extent to which media representations are congruent
with personal experience.
40. The ability to understand the influence of mass media and to access, analyze, evaluate, and
respond actively to mass media in informed, critical ways is known as
____________________.
41. ____________________ refers to the mass media’s ability to select and call to the public’s
attention ideas, events, and people.
42. Superlative claims that seem factual but are actually meaningless are called _____________.
43. ____________________ is the step of media literacy in which media consumers seek to
understand how media works.
44. Social media encourage ____________________, which is performing several activities at
the same time.
45. The ____________________ refers to the gap between people and communities with access
to media, especially the social media, and people and communities with little or no access.
Essay Items
46. What is media literacy, and how can you develop it?
47. Explain cultivation theory and use examples to illustrate how cultivation occurs.
48. Define and distinguish mass media and social media and give examples of each.