Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Understanding is the stage of listening where the listener makes sense out of what is being heard by relating it to their past experiences and knowledge. This is different from attending (focusing on the speaker and their message), selecting (choosing what to focus on), and responding (reacting to what was heard).

Question 2

Listening involves the processes of:

Accepted Answer

The processes of listening involve selecting what to focus on, attending to that information, understanding its meaning, remembering it, and then responding in some way. Choice B is the only option that includes all of these processes.

Question 3

Hearing is a ____ process.

Accepted Answer

Hearing involves the physiological process of sound waves entering the ear and being transmitted to the brain for interpretation. While social and psychological factors can affect how we perceive and process sound, the initial hearing process is primarily a physiological one.

Question 4

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?

Accepted Answer

Karl is having trouble with the understanding stage of listening, as the new terminology and symbols are unfamiliar to him and he is having difficulty comprehending the information being presented.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Even though the room was very noisy,...

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Remembering is the last part of the listening process, which involves recalling and retaining information that was heard. The other options are different parts of the listening process: attending is the first step of focusing on the speaker, selecting involves choosing which information to focus on, and understanding requires processing and comprehending the information received.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT one of the listening barriers associated with information-processing?

Accepted Answer

Positive silence is not a barrier associated with information-processing. It is actually an effective listening skill where the listener remains silent to encourage the speaker to continue talking and provide more information. The other options, processing rate, information overload, and receiver apprehension, are barriers that can interfere with effective listening and understanding of information being communicated.

Question 8

Don was working on his new job. When asking his boss for information, he noticed his boss's answers tended to ramble on and this made Don second guess what his boss was saying. This frustrated Don when all he wanted was information. Don's listening style would be described as _____.

Accepted Answer

Don's frustration with his boss's tendency to ramble on suggests that he values efficiency and obtaining specific information, which aligns with a task-oriented listening style. Critical listening involves evaluating and criticizing the speaker's message, relational listening focuses on building relationships, and analytical listening involves a deep analysis of the speaker's message.

Question 9

Rather than listen to what her 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?

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates self-focus as a barrier to effective listening. Carson is more focused on his own interests (the new video game) than on listening to his mother.

Question 10

Which of the following most accurately depicts the relationship between hearing and listening?

Accepted Answer

Hearing refers to the physiological process of detecting sound whereas listening involves actively making sense of what one is listening to by paying attention, interpreting, and responding to the message. In other words, hearing is simply the ability to detect sound waves while listening is the active and conscious effort to understand and comprehend the message conveyed through sound.

Question 11

As Juan sat in his biology lab, the lab instructor was droning 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?

Accepted Answer

Juan is having trouble attending to the information being discussed in class and is instead thinking about something unrelated.

Question 12

Timothy was watching a news program on the television when Emily entered the room and announced that dinner was ready. Timothy continued to watch the program, saying nothing to Emily. In this case, Timothy failed to_____.

Accepted Answer

Timothy failed to respond to Emily's announcement, indicating a lack of social awareness and communication skills in the situation.

Question 13

What is a recommendation found in the text for dealing with information overload?

Accepted Answer

The text recommends prioritizing information and attending to the most urgent to deal with information overload.

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?

Accepted Answer

Keri enjoys connecting with people and building relationships through listening and sharing personal information. This aligns with the characteristics of relational listening, which involves an emphasis on building connections and understanding the emotions and viewpoints of others.

Question 15

Information processing rate can be a barrier to listening because

Accepted Answer

People are capable of processing information faster than most speakers speak, which means that they may become easily distracted or lose focus if the speaker is not engaging enough. This can be a barrier to effective listening.

Question 16

Which of the following is a useful strategy for combating self-focus?

Accepted Answer

Concentrating and staying focused on the message is a useful strategy for combating self-focus as it shifts our attention away from ourselves and onto the speaker and their message. This helps us better understand and engage with the speaker's perspective and ideas. Attending only to messages that we find interesting (A) may limit our exposure to diverse perspectives and ideas. Focusing on our own agenda in the listening situation (B) may cause us to ignore or dismiss important information from the speaker. Listening intently without giving feedback (D) may make the speaker feel unheard and may prevent us from clarifying or confirming our understanding of their message.

Question 17

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

Accepted Answer

The stage of listening in which we maintain a sustained focus on a particular sound or message is attending. The other options refer to different stages of the listening process: selecting involves choosing which sound or message to focus on, recalling involves remembering what was heard, and decoding involves interpreting or understanding the meaning of the message.

Question 18

Which of the following is a recommended strategy for dealing with emotional noise?

Accepted Answer

Using self-talk to manage your own emotions can help you stay calm and focused in the presence of emotional noise. This can include reminding yourself to listen actively, staying calm and respectful, and focusing on the issue at hand. Focusing primarily on the speaker's emotions or immediately responding with your own emotional response can escalate the emotional intensity of the situation. Avoiding expressing your emotions entirely can also be detrimental, as it may come across as disingenuous or uninterested in the speaker's concerns.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

According to various studies, individuals spend about 70% of their communication time listening, which means Americans spend approximately 63% of their overall day listening. Therefore, the closest answer is 55%.

Question 20

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?

Accepted Answer

Isaac was emotionally affected by overhearing his professor's negative statement about Bible thumpers, which created emotional noise that distracted him from focusing on the lecture.

Quiz 5: Listening and Responding