Deck 2: Understanding Mass Media, Convergence, and the Importance of Media Literacy

Question 1

Convergence takes place when content that has traditionally been confined to one medium

A) appears in a new medium
B) is bought by another corporation
C) appears in feature films
D) appears on multiple media channels

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The development of new media channels encouraged the mass audience to

A) read more books
B) tune out completely
C) consolidate
D) fragment

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The thing that makes mass communication different from other kinds of communication is

A) the industrial nature of the process
B) the potential for libel in the process
C) the interpersonal nature of the process
D) the fact that messages are involved in the process

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In the communication process, the source

A) is the transmitter
B) encodes the message
C) is the same as the channel
D) decodes the message

Question 5

In the mass communication process, feedback

A) is always immediate
B) is often indirect
C) is not considered as important as it is in interpersonal communication
D) is always negative

Question 6

In the mass communication process, noise

A) is present in only some mass media, but not in all
B) does not concern the source
C) can be semantic
D) has been completely eliminated by improved technology

Question 7

Mass communication involves

A) the industrial production of message
B) the multiple distribution of messages
C) technological devices
D) all of these

Question 8

Mass media outlets are

A) technological instruments
B) limited to digital technology
C) companies that that send out messages via mass media
D) all of these

Question 9

People tend to use mass media for purposes of

A) surveillance
B) oppression
C) contractual agreements
D) simulating

Question 10

A parasocial interaction is an example of

A) companionship
B) a psychological connection with a media celebrity
C) how mass media can bring pleasure to lonely people
D) all of these

Question 11

The credibility that people place on the interpretive positions that mass media take depends on

A) the style of graphics used to support the positions
B) the technological nature of the communication channel
C) the extent to which the individuals agree with the media content
D) all of these

Question 12

Culture

A) does not include the mass media
B) can be understood as ways of life passed on to members of society
C) is the same thing as society
D) all of these

Question 13

The mass media

A) direct people's attention toward the codes of acceptable behavior
B) tell us what and who count in our world and why
C) help people to understand themselves
D) all of these

Question 14

Stereotypes

A) are predictable depictions that reflect cultural prejudices
B) are present only in electronic media like television and radio
C) help limit the political and economic manipulation of audiences
D) all of these

Question 15

The media literate person understands that media materials

A) are constructed
B) are created and distributed within a commercial environment
C) are created and distributed within a political environment
D) all of these

Question 16

Mass media present their ideas

A) only within printed materials
B) within primary genres
C) unconstrained by the commercial environment
D) all of these

Question 17

The media literate person regards people as

A) believing everything they hear on the radio
B) active recipients of media messages
C) consistently agreeing with everything they read
D) all of these

Question 18

Media literacy skills include

A) an understanding of the commercial forces behind media materials
B) an awareness of political influences that shape media materials
C) an ability to think through the ethical implications of media firms'
D) all of these

Question 19

An understanding of research on the mass media's implications for the individual and for society

A) should be shared by scholars and researchers but not necessarily by the public
B) is an important part of being media literate
C) generally does not include an interest in cultural history
D) focuses solely on questions involving effects of violent programming on society

Question 20

Critics of mass media are concerned that the media's cultural presentations

A) encourages passive consumption
B) are encouraged by political and economic manipulation
C) diminish cultural quality
D) all of these

Question 21

Using the media to learn about what is happening in the world around us is called

A) interpretation
B) parasocial interaction
C) social currency
D) surveillance

Question 22

Which of the following is a form of mediated interpersonal communication?

A) the clothes you wear
B) a handshake
C) a phone call
D) a smile

Question 23

A sound in the communication situation that interferes with the delivery of the message is known as what?

A) noise
B) decoding
C) feedback
D) channel

Question 24

Which technology transmits data in the form of strings of 0s and 1s?

A) amplitude modulation
B) frequency modulation
C) analog
D) digital

Question 25

Imagine being at a lunch with friends but everyone is on their cell phones, sending text messages, checking emails, or surfing the web. What does scholar Sherry Turkle call this era?

A) being alone together
B) suffering from parasocial dysfunction
C) eliminating quality time
D) suspending reality for artificial reality

Question 26

Which one of these is not a quality of a media-literate person?

A) up-to-date on political issues relating to the media
B) able to enjoy media materials in a sophisticated manner
C) sensitive to the ethical dimensions of media activities
D) knowledgeable about the legal rights and responsibilities of the First Amendment

Question 27

What did the arrival of many media channels (more radio and TV stations, the rise of video recorders, the multiplication of cable networks, and the rise of the web) lead to?

A) audience consolidation
B) audience fragmentation
C) audience interpretation
D) audience surveillance

Question 28

By definitions, social currency is when media content is used as __________ of exchange in everyday interpersonal discussions.

A) tables
B) logs
C) coins
D) bonds

Question 29

Which of these is not a skill-building category that is used as a media literacy tool?

A) consider authorship
B) identify the creative techniques
C) analyze the content
D) change the channel

Question 30

On page 2 of your text, what U.S. President said that "Information is the oxygen of the modern age?"

A) Clinton
B) Obama
C) Kennedy
D) Reagan

Question 31

A cell phone call to your friend is an example of

A) Interpersonal Communication
B) Intrapersonal Communication
C) Mediated interpersonal communication
D) Mediated intrapersonal communication

Question 32

A person who watches television in order to have some company is using which type of media use?

A) Enjoyment
B) Companionship
C) Surveillance
D) Interpretation

Question 33

Watching the news to learn more about the world around you is an example of which type of media use?

A) Enjoyment
B) Companionship
C) Surveillance
D) Interpretation

Question 34

The repeated representations of various groups of people through both positive and negative characteristics is a(n)

A) Stereotype
B) Ideology
C) Subculture
D) Parasocial

Question 35

You are watching your favorite television show and suddenly the soundtrack switches to a language you don't understand. Your not understanding the language is an example of

A) Noise
B) Channel
C) Feedback
D) Encoding

Question 36

Media content has very little value as social currency.

Question 37

Media uses such as enjoyment or companionship depend on a particular medium or genre.

Question 38

Most Americans spend less and less time with mass media.

Question 39

Convergence always involves more than one medium.

Question 40

Audiences are fragmenting.

Question 41

Because of audience fragmentation, people are calling for the end to using the term "mass communication."

Question 42

Media companies are engaged in mass production.

Question 43

Decoding is the process by which the receiver translates the source's thoughts and ideas so that they have meaning.

Question 44

Unlike interpersonal communication, the mass communication process seldom experiences noise.

Question 45

Media companies produce materials that are commodities.

Question 46

America is characterized by the almost total absence of subcultures.

Question 47

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a variety of forms.

Question 48

Media representations do not play a role in the way society understands its reality.

Question 49

A media literate person does not necessarily need to examine media content systematically for broadly cultural as well as specifically commercial and political meanings.

Question 50

Catch phrases that enter our everyday speech demonstrate the influence of mass media.

Question 51

Transmission takes place when the source translates thoughts and ideas so they can be perceived by the human senses.

Question 52

Individuals can get just about any gratification they are seeking from just about any program or any kind of mass media materials.

Question 53

The understanding of some the creative techniques involved in the production of media is part of media literacy.

Question 54

The consequences of audience segmentation are a social issue raised by media literacy advocates.

Question 55

Reading a book on an eReader or tablet is an example of media convergence

Question 56

The mass production process creates content with potential for reaching millions of people.

Question 57

Following a celebrity through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, and feeling involved with their lives describes an example of parasocial interaction.

Question 58

Subcultures are threatening to the overall culture and are not tolerated in most cultures.

Question 59

The mass media have the power to tell us who is important in our society and why.

Question 60

Explain the elements involved in mass communication.

Question 61

What are the four ways in which people use media?

Question 62

Discuss the role of mass media in creating culture.

Question 63

Discuss the six foundational principles of media literacy.

Question 64

Provide some criticisms of mass media's influence on culture.