Question 1

Which of the following theories suggests that it is natural to see yourself in relation to others, but unrealistically comparing yourself to a supermodel can be self-destructive?

Accepted Answer

Social comparison theory proposes people judge themselves largely in comparison to others

Question 2

You notice that your niece's favorite actor is shown on screen smoking a popular brand of cigarettes. You are aware that it is illegal for celebrities to appear in tobacco ads, but you wonder if the tobacco company is rewarding the actor or producer for promoting cigarette smoking in the movies. If so, this would be an illegal form of

Accepted Answer

Paid inclusion of products or brand names in movies, television programs, video games, or other forms of entertainment is called product placement.

Question 3

When advertisers make people feel embarrassed about normal body functions or characteristics, they are said to:

Accepted Answer

Pathologizing the human body is making natural functions seem weird and unnatural.

Question 4

Why is medical science difficult to cover effectively in the media?

Accepted Answer

News writers are at a disadvantage in trying to cover scientific news accurately because the latest ground breaking study today may reach different conclusions from a study that came out last week or one that will come out next month.

Question 5

What is "happy violence," as described by researcher George Gerbner?

Accepted Answer

George Gerbner (1996) wrote: "'Happy violence' is cool, swift, painless, and always leads to a happy ending." Examples include people who run through machine gun fire unscathed and are shot or stabbed but continue performing like athletes or superheroes.

Question 6

Your niece takes part in a media literacy unit at her junior high school. If her teachers follow the literacy model described in your book, she is likely to do all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Participants in media literacy programs learn to identify different types of messages and different types of media; deconstruct media messages by breaking messages down into specific components, such as key points, purpose, implied messages, production techniques, and goals; and write their own messages to better understand the process and demystify the way media messages are created.

Question 7

Your best friend is worried about his four-year-old son's television viewing habits. Based on cultivation theory, you tell your friend:

Accepted Answer

Cultivation theory proposes people develop beliefs about the world based on a complex array of influences, media among them. Media's influence is not uniform or automatic, but it is likely to be most profound if (a) media images are highly consistent, (b) people are exposed to large amounts of media, and (c) people have a limited basis for evaluating what they see and hear. Children and adolescents may be especially susceptible to advertising messages because their frame of reference is limited.

Question 8

Many health professionals worry that pharmaceutical ads will lead patients to self-diagnose and pin their hopes on "designer drugs" that may not be healthy or appropriate for them. When drug companies market their products via the mass media rather than to doctors, it is called:

Accepted Answer

Marketing that is aimed toward consumers when access to a product, such as prescription medication, requires an intermediary is called direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.

Question 9

People were highly critical of R. J. Reynolds's Joe Camel campaign because the spokesperson was designed to look like a cartoon character. When sales pitches resemble elements of prime-time programming, they are called:

Accepted Answer

Entertainomercials are sales pitches that resemble entertainment programming.

Question 10

What do media critics say about messages that depict obesity as a beauty issue?

Accepted Answer

Media messages often encourage an obsessive concern with physical appearance, sometimes to the detriment of people's health and self-esteem. About 30 million Americans (most of them female) will suffer from an eating disorder sometime in their lives. There is solid evidence linking eating disorders to media consumption, which means that media users, including social media users, are more likely to suffer disordered eating than people who are exposed to little or no media.

Question 11

At one point, people thought that increasing the number of cable TV channels would offer greater diversity. Instead, many analysts now feel we are bombarded by even more messages promoting the same stereotypes. Which theory proposes that we are affected by the type and amount of messages we experience through mass media?

Accepted Answer

Accordioning to cultivation theory, media's influence is likely to be most profound if (a) media images are highly consistent, (b) people are exposed to large amounts of media, and (c) people have a limited basis for evaluating what they see and hear.

Question 12

Which of the following theories explains why children sometimes mimic the behaviors of characters they see on TV and in movies.

Accepted Answer

Social learning theory explains that people learn how to behave by (a) watching others, (b) watching media depictions of others, and (c) watching and attending to the consequences of others' behavioral choices.

Question 13

Research about food advertisements that are aimed at children indicates that:

Accepted Answer

Food commercials often misrepresent foods' nutritional value, and this misleading information can prompt children to make poor health choices. Additionally, research finds that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to consider (incorrectly) that heavily advertised diet products are better for them.

Question 14

"The media doesn't influence me, but my sister's friends are clearly very much influenced. They always wear the latest fashions!" The common belief that we aren't influenced by media messages but other people are is known as:

Accepted Answer

The third-person effect hypothesizes that people believe mass media messages have a greater effect on others than on themselves.

Question 15

The producers of a popular teenage soap opera decide to portray the characters engaging in healthy behaviors in hopes that young viewers will benefit from emulating their favorite characters. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Health advocates sometimes use the same logic in inserting pro-health messages into entertainment programs, a practice known as education-entertainment programming.

Question 16

In which stage of media literacy training do participants discuss their perceptions of media and of specific media messages?

Accepted Answer

In the analytic stage, participants discuss their perception of media in general and of specific media messages.

Question 17

Sexual objectification occurs when:

Accepted Answer

Sexual objectification occurs when an individual is treated primarily as the object of another person's desire, not as a whole and unique person with needs and desires of their own. Objectification is evident when the focus is on particular body parts rather than the whole person, when people are depicted as animals or things (as when a model is dressed to resemble a cheetah or a beer bottle), when people are treated as interchangeable (one person looks and acts so much like another that it is difficult to tell them apart), and when people are treated as commodities to be chosen and used by others.

Question 18

As described in your text, radio advertisements for e-cigarettes appeal to young audiences by:

Accepted Answer

The majority of radio ads for e-cigarettes focus on the wide range of flavors available and frequently use humor, sound effects, and music that appeals to young audiences.

Question 19

Research about exposure to alcohol advertisements and teens' alcohol consumption found:

Accepted Answer

When researchers studied teenagers, they found a positive association between viewing alcohol advertisements and a pattern of consuming four or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting (considered binge drinking). The association between ads and drinking was strongest among young participants in the study.

Question 20

Researchers have found a link between viewing objectifying alcohol advertisements and:

Accepted Answer

Researchers have found a link between viewing objectifying alcohol advertisements and young people's reluctance to intervene in situations involving sexual assault and alcohol.

Quiz 11: Health Images in the Media