Deck 5: Listening and Responding

Question 1

Even though the room was very noisy, Collette chose to focus on what the teacher was saying. Which stage of listening is Collette demonstrating?

A) selecting
B) attending
C) understanding
D) responding

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Information-processing rate can be a barrier to listening because _____.

A) people are normally capable of processing information faster than most speakers speak
B) people are unable to process information as fast as most speakers speak
C) there is such a wide variety of processing abilities among people that no matter how fast or slow you speak, it will not be appropriate
D) recent research shows that there is little connection between speaker rate and listening effectiveness

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The stage of listening in which we maintain a sustained focus on a particular sound or message is _____.

A) selecting
B) recalling
C) decoding
D) attending

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Brian told Pete that he could not recall the date of the upcoming exam. Brian is not using one of the last parts of the listening process, which is called _____.

A) remembering
B) selecting
C) attending
D) understanding

Question 5

When Don asked his boss for information, he noticed his boss's answers tended to ramble on. This frustrated Don when all he wanted was information. Don's listening style would be described as _____.

A) critical listening
B) task-oriented listening
C) relational listening
D) analytical listening

Question 6

Rather than listen to what his mother was saying, Carson was more interested in thinking about the new video game his friend had told him about at school. This is an example of which of the following barriers to listening?

A) self-focus
B) emotional noise
C) criticism
D) processing rate

Question 7

Max is attempting to listen to his friend on the phone while watching a baseball game on television. This example illustrates the information-processing barrier of _____.

A) receiver apprehension
B) shifting attention
C) processing rate
D) information overload

Question 8

Karl felt lost in his astrophysics class. Although he wrote down everything his instructor said, the terminology was totally new to him. None of the concepts related to anything he had ever experienced before. In addition, much of the instruction was based on equations and symbols that he didn't recognize. Which listening stage is Karl having trouble with?

A) selecting
B) attending
C) understanding
D) responding

Question 9

Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their day communicating. Of that 90 percent, what percent of the time do they spend listening?

A) 15 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 45 percent
D) 55 percent

Question 10

Hearing is a _____ process.

A) sociophysical
B) psychological
C) psychosocial
D) physiological

Question 11

Our ability to process information is at _____ words per minute, while the rate at which information is spoken is 125 words per minute.

A) 10-30
B) 40-90
C) 200-400
D) 600-800

Question 12

As Juan sat in his biology lab, the instructor droned on about the techniques of vivisection. Rather than listen to the instructor, Juan kept thinking about the concert he was going to on the weekend. Which of the following stages of listening is Juan having the most trouble with?

A) attending
B) understanding
C) remembering
D) responding

Question 13

The process of social _____ involves stepping away from your own thoughts and attempting to experience the thoughts of others.

A) listening
B) orientation
C) paraphrasing
D) decentering

Question 14

Keri really enjoys talking with people, learning how they feel about a topic, and sharing personal information. How would you describe Keri's listening style?

A) critical listening
B) task-oriented listening
C) relational listening
D) analytical listening

Question 15

On his way to class, Isaac overheard his professor in the hallway discussing those "radical Bible thumpers" with a fellow professor. Isaac felt a personal sting and just couldn't get the sound of that phrase out of his mind. Later, while in the professor's class, he found that he was taking poor notes and really didn't understand the lecture for that day. Which of the following best describes the cause of Isaac's failure to listen in class?

A) self-focus
B) emotional noise
C) information overload
D) environmental noise

Question 16

In their model for improving listening, your book authors suggest "stop, look, and listen." The step "stop" refers to _____.

A) stop talking
B) stop being self-focused
C) stop moving around
D) stop processing

Question 17

Which stage of listening involves making sense out of what you hear by relating it to your past experiences and knowledge?

A) selecting
B) attending
C) understanding
D) responding

Question 18

The fear of misunderstanding or misrepresenting messages spoken by other people is part of _____.

A) communication triage
B) emotional noise
C) receiver apprehension
D) social decentering

Question 19

When a person replies in a sarcastic tone, it modifies the meaning of the verbal message and is illustrating which of the following?

A) receiver apprehension
B) meta-communication
C) empathy
D) social decentering

Question 20

Asha tells her husband that she is frustrated by his lack of help with household chores. However, he does not seem to be listening because he has just returned home from work and is exhausted. This is an example of what type of barrier?

A) selection barrier
B) information-processing barrier
C) context barrier
D) attention barrier

Question 21

The final stage in the listening process is _____, in which we give verbal or nonverbal feedback to the speaker.

Question 22

Paraphrasing means repeating back to the other person exactly what they said word for word.

Question 23

Joshua called his uncle to get instructions for driving to the airport. It was important to him to know which highways to take, which terminal to go to, and where to park. Joshua's listening goal was to _____.

A) enjoy
B) learn
C) evaluate
D) empathize

Question 24

The first of the five activities of listening is _____, in which we focus on one sound as we sort through various sounds competing for our attention.

Question 25

David says to Joe, "I just don't know what to do. I've got a term paper in Johnson's class, a group project in marketing, my boss wants me to work overtime this week, and now Mary is after me to go visit her parents over the weekend." Which of the following would be an appropriate paraphrase of content to David's statement?

A) Well, obviously, you've got to decide on your priorities.
B) So, what are you going to do?
C) Mary wants you to meet her parents?
D) You sound like you have a lot of demands on your time, Dave.

Question 26

_____ listener considers all sides of an issue before coming to a conclusion.

Question 27

Listening to evaluate includes assessing the validity and reliability of the information one hears.

Question 28

Observing nonverbal behaviors is an important part of listening.

Question 29

Communication triage is the process of determining what information we are receiving is urgent and what information is not urgent.

Question 30

When asked what she thought of the speaker, Trina said, "He was fine. I liked the speech." What suggestions for improving her responding skills should Trina try next time?

A) be descriptive
B) be brief
C) be kind
D) be ready

Question 31

Analytical listeners like to reach a conclusion before hearing all the facts.

Question 32

During the _____ aspect of the listening process, the listener recalls information.

Question 33

In the listening process, remembering and understanding are essentially the same process.

Question 34

You provide _____ support to someone when you listen with sensitivity and empathy and then follow up with messages of comfort or confirmation. This lets a person know that he or she is valued.

A) paralingual
B) nonverbal
C) physiological
D) social

Question 35

When you confirm your understanding of a message, you are in the process of attending to the message.

Question 36

Restating in your own words what you think the other person is saying is called _____.

A) dialogue
B) receiver apprehension
C) a meta-message
D) paraphrasing

Question 37

In the listening process, after a listener selects a sound, he or she will _____ to it.

Question 38

When we assign meaning to a message, we are in a stage of the listening process called understanding.

Question 39

There is evidence that listening skills correlate with academic ability.

Question 40

Empathic responses require a listener to understand his or her communication partner's emotional state.

Question 41

Identify and describe two strategies to help you respond empathically.

Question 42

How does a meta-message (or meta-communication) help us to understand?

Question 43

Ben is afraid that he will misunderstand what others say to him. He is experiencing _____.

Question 44

List and define the five steps of the listening process.

Question 45

Explain and give an example of each of the three self barriers to listening.

Question 46

When you check the accuracy of your understanding of your partner's message by offering a summary in your own words, you are _____.

Question 47

Questioning the assumptions underlying a message is known as _____.

Question 48

Identify and explain the three steps of the process for improving your listening.

Question 49

A meta-message is defined as the message about the _____.

Question 50

Social _____ involves stepping away from your own thoughts and attempting to experience the thoughts of another.