Chapter 2 examples

1. Effect of Parental R-Rated Movie Restriction on Adolescent Smoking Initiation (M)
2. The relationship between religious beliefs and volunteerism among teenagers (P)
3. Is the choice in political parties guided by the level of education (P)
4. The Impact of Background Radio and Television on High School Students' Homework Performance (M)
5. The relationship between media use and gender stereotyping in Hong Kong (M)
6. The effect of gender on level of aggressiveness in a conflict situation (P)
7. Effect of intelligence on fluency in public speaking (P)
8. The effect of race on persuasiveness of advertisements for life-insurance on television (M)
9. The relationship between the availability of a children's television program and song recognition (M)
10. “The higher the credibility of the speaker, the greater the attitude change of the receiver.” (M)
11. “The higher the communication apprehension of the speaker, the higher the verbal nonfluencies.” (P)
12. “The higher the ego-involvement of the receiver, the lower the attitude change.” (P)
13. The Content of Reality Dating Shows and Viewer Perceptions of Dating (M)
14. Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Online Material and Recreational Attitudes Toward Sex (M)
15. Managing Voter Impressions: The Use of Images on Presidential Candidate Web Sites During the 2000 Campaign (M)
16. The Impact of users’ Web-Use Motivation on the perceived Credibility of e-Health Information (P)
17. The Impact of Political Advertising on Knowledge and Candidate Preference (M)
18. The effect of cooperative or competitive orientations of people in contract negotiations on the likelihood of their compromising their positions. (P)

Quiz1

Section 1. Multiple Choice. Select the most appropriate answer.


1. Which of the following statements about definitions of communication is true?
a. One of the major weaknesses of the field is that there is no consensus on a single definition of communication.
b. It is impossible to have a single definition of communication because the term can legitimately be viewed in many different ways.
c. The student of communication should learn those definitions of communication that are concrete and discard those that are abstract.
d. None of the above.

2. Which of the following are valid examples of a mechanistic study?
a. “The effect of listener level of self-esteem on resistance to a persuasive speech?”
b. “The effect of listener level of Intelligence on ability to recall main points of a speech.”
c. “The effect of levels of message threat on listener compliance.”
d. a and b
e. All of the above.
f. None of the above.

3. Which of the following are valid examples of a psychological study?
a. “The effect of level of credibility of the speaker on attitude change of the listener.”
b. “The effect of humor on listener acceptance of a message.”
c. “The effect of a listener’s level of intelligence on listener message comprehension.”
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.

4. Extraneous variables in a mechanistic study are controlled by:
a. keeping source variables constant.
b. keeping message variables constant.
c. keeping channel variables constant.
d. a and b
e. a, b, and c
f. None of the above.




Section 11. Short Answer. (6 points each)

1. Name and briefly characterize the four reasons for having theory.

a. Description: Identifying important variables in a communication situation.
b. Explanation: Accounting for why effects occur.
c. Prediction: Anticipating future effects.
d. Control: Using predictive ability to achieve communication goals/solve problems.









2. Illustrate models of communication.
Present a communication situation which is best characterized by the transactional model. Justify your example.

Interpersonal communication situation in which two communicators are aware of one another, have access to both verbal and nonverbal cues, and recognize one another’s intent to communicate.

Both communicators are simultaneously sending and receiving. They are transceivers.



Present a communication situation which is best characterized by the interaction
model. Justify your example.

Two communicators are sending email messages back and forth.

A communicator is either a sender or a receiver at any point in time. A communicator cannot simultaneously send and receive.

Chapter 1

The study of communication is the study of HUMAN BEHAVIOR

A. Ability to communicate at higher levels than animals makes us human

B. Ability to use symbols to stand for objects and ideas…

C. Abilty to refer to real and imaginary phenomena in past, present and future

What do we mean by the processes of communication?

- How people communicate

1. speakers (adaptation)

2. receivers (listen)

- Outcomes of communication

1. attitude change

2. behavioral change

3. how does communication influence people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, etc.?

4. understand variables that produce these outcomes

- Why people communicate the way they do

1. cognitive, psychological traits for both speakers and receivers

AN ENGINEER, A PSYCHOLOGIST AND A COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST ARE ARGUING ABOUT WHICH OF THEM ACTUALLY STUDIES COMMUNICATION … ALL 3 OF THEM CLAIM THAT THEIR DISCIPLINE STUDIES COMMUNICATION – HOW COULD YOU SETTLE THE ARGUMENT?



What is communication theory?

- Set of statements that describe;

1. what’s going on in a communication situation: understand the theoretic variables that are operating

explain: outcomes that occur

predict: what’s going to happen reasonable predictions are necessary for knowledge

theories allow for reasonable predictions [ad campaign for physicians]



Functions of Science

A. Description

Identifying variables relevant to a situation



B. EXPLANATION

Accounting for outcomes/effects



C. PREDICTION

Hypothesizing future outcomes/effects



D. CONTROL (APPLICATION)

Using theoretic knowledge to attain personal goals and solve problems in the real world

Nature/ Characteristics of Communication

· Symbolic Process

· Social Process

· Co-orientation process

· Individual interpretation process

· Shared meaning process

o Denotation (Literal, dictionary meaning)

o Connotation (Personal meaning based on one’s experience with the concept)



· Contextual Process





Defining Communication



- No single accepted def.

- Choice of definition depends upon …

1. Guides the work of the theorist

2. Reflects perspective of scholar / student

- What are characteristics of a good definition?

1. It specifies what something is

2. It distinguishes what it is from what it is not