Deck 1: Historical Foundations

Question 1

Communication has been a subject of systematic study for

A) at least 2,500 years.
B) approximately 1,500 years.
C) the last 500 years.
D) only the last 50 years.

Answer 1

at least 2,500 years.

Question 2

The formal study of communication began in

A) 5th century Sicily.
B) 6th century Athens.
C) 7th century Rome.
D) 20th century America.

Answer 2

5th century Sicily.

Question 3

In ancient Greece, the study of communication was known as

A) paidagogos.
B) academics.
C) rhetoric.
D) pathos.

Answer 3

rhetoric.

Question 4

The Lyceum was founded by

A) Plato.
B) Aristotle.
C) Alexander the Great.
D) Demosthenes.

Question 5

Pathos is

A) the study of persuasive communication.
B) the use of personal character to influence an audience.
C) the ability to arouse an audience's emotions.
D) the use of logic and argumentation during persuasion.

Question 6

Ethos is

A) the study of persuasive communication.
B) the use of personal character to influence an audience.
C) the ability to arouse an audience's emotions.
D) the use of logic and argumentation during persuasion.

Question 7

Logos is

A) the study of persuasive communication.
B) the use of personal character to influence an audience.
C) the ability to arouse an audience's emotions.
D) the use of logic and argumentation during persuasion.

Question 8

The classical period in the history of rhetoric lasted

A) from the 10th century BC to the 5th century BC.
B) from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD.
C) from 400 AD to 1,000 AD.
D) from 1,000 AD to 1600 AD.

Question 9

The canons of rhetoric were

A) one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World.
B) judges who awarded prizes for rhetoric at annual competitions in Athens.
C) Greek legislators who took part in forensic argumentation.
D) one of the earliest models of communication.

Question 10

The canons of rhetoric were written in which period?

A) classical
B) medieval
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 11

Bellestristic rhetoric flourished in which period?

A) classical
B) medieval
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 12

In which period were letter writing and preaching the core communication activities studied by rhetoricians?

A) classical
B) medieval
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 13

In which period did communication study expanded to include interpersonal and group as well as public communication?

A) classical
B) medieval
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 14

In which period were Bacon and Campbell major figures?

A) classical
B) medieval/renaissance
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 15

In which period was Erasmus a major figure?

A) classical
B) medieval/renaissance
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 16

In which period were Cicero and Quintilian major figures?

A) classical
B) medieval/renaissance
C) modern
D) contemporary

Question 17

The canons of rhetoric include

A) logos, pathos, ethos.
B) peripatos, agora, paidagogos.
C) invention, arrangement, style, memory, delivery.
D) Simonides, Corax, Tisias.

Question 18

According to Cicero's classifications of speaking style, the style that was logical, clear, and restrained and worked to convince the audience of the speaker's good character, good sense, and trustworthiness was

A) the plain style.
B) the middle style.
C) the vigorous style.
D) All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following skills was Simonides noted for?

A) memory
B) system of logic
C) use of pathos
D) high ethical standards

Question 20

The process of deciding on the subject matter of a speech and developing arguments is called

A) arrangement.
B) style.
C) invention.
D) memory.

Question 21

__________ is the process of selecting proper words to convey a message.

A) Arrangement
B) Style
C) Invention
D) Memory

Question 22

Ordering ideas in an effective way is called

A) arrangement.
B) style.
C) invention.
D) memory.

Question 23

One of the most popular mnemonic systems called for speakers to visualize their speeches as a

A) villa with main ideas in each room.
B) map of Athens with main ideas on different streets.
C) tree with main ideas on each branch.
D) a zoo with main ideas associated with different animals.

Question 24

If a student tries to persuade fellow students to donate money to charity by showing them pictures of starving children in order to arouse their pity, the student is using which method of proof?

A) ethos
B) pathos
C) logos
D) mnemonics

Question 25

When an audience is swayed not by the logic of a speaker's message but by their high regard for the speaker's character, they are being influenced by which method of proof?

A) ethos
B) pathos
C) logos
D) mnemonics

Question 26

Rhetoricians who took a psychological/epistemological approach focused on

A) understanding the thought processes of receivers as they listened to persuasive messages.
B) developing critical standards for evaluating drama, poetry and oratory.
C) recovering the insights of the Greek rhetoricians.
D) improving verbal and nonverbal delivery.

Question 27

According to Francis Bacon, the tendency to use language imprecisely was called

A) the idol of the marketplace.
B) the syllogism.
C) the syntactic fallacy.
D) general semantics.

Question 28

During the contemporary period, communication scientists

A) revised the canons of rhetoric.
B) used statistical methods to study audience variables.
C) took an essentially humanistic stand toward communication.
D) viewed communication as an art that could not be studied objectively.

Question 29

The scientific method emphasizes which method of attaining knowledge?

A) armchair introspection
B) faith in Divine revelation
C) careful objective measurement
D) study of traditional manuscripts

Question 30

The name of Plato's school was the Academy.

Question 31

Most Greek schools were coeducational, admitting both male and female students.

Question 32

Corax and Tisias are generally considered to be the first of the Western rhetoricians.

Question 33

One of the reasons for the rise of rhetoric in ancient Greece was the high status afforded to lawyers.

Question 34

The Greeks put a great deal of emphasis on legal and political discourse.

Question 35

Plato and Aristotle admired the ethical stance of the sophists and modeled their philosophies after them.

Question 36

Axiothea was one of the most famous of the five canons of rhetoric.

Question 37

If you had studied with Aristotle, the focus of your studies would have been on persuasive communication.

Question 38

Public speaking courses were quite popular in classical Greece.

Question 39

Classical Greek society was highly literate.

Question 40

The Sophists were professional speech writers and political consultants.

Question 41

Cicero was Aristotle's teacher.

Question 42

Classical rhetoricians believed that the order of elements in a persuasive speech depended on whether the audience was hostile or friendly.

Question 43

Quintilian defined rhetoric as the study of "the good man speaking well."

Question 44

Augustine was a contemporary and friend of Aristotle.

Question 45

During Medieval and Renaissance times, many important theories were developed, making this time one of the most influential in the history of rhetoric.

Question 46

During the Medieval period the goal of communication was to instruct the faithful in the revealed will of God.

Question 47

Of the four modern approaches to rhetoric, the one that gave communication a bad name for many years was the elocutionary approach.

Question 48

According to Augustine, conventional signs are arbitrarily created by humans.

Question 49

The modern period begins in 1600.

Question 50

The contemporary period begins in l900.

Question 51

Most modern rhetoricians reject empiricism.

Question 52

Francis Bacon called the tendency to believe uncritically in fashionable, received ideas the idols of the cave.

Question 53

The perceptual biases that we engage in simply because of human nature are called the idols of the tribe.

Question 54

What were the three ways Aristotle thought a speaker could sway an audience? Give an example of each.

Question 55

Why was communication so important in the classical period? What characteristics of Greek society made rhetoric an important skill?

Question 56

What are the five canons of rhetoric?

Question 57

What happened to the study of rhetoric during the Medieval period? Who was the most famous of the Medieval rhetoricians?

Question 58

What four directions did rhetoric take in the modern period?