Deck 1: Foundations of Interpersonal Communication

Question 1

Which of the following messages contain ambiguity?

A) "I'll see you later."
B) "Let's just be friends."
C) "The restaurant is not expensive."
D) All of the above contain ambiguity.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT an example of communication context?

A) Ryan and Joann are from different cultural backgrounds.
B) Bob laughed at the joke.
C) Angela's meeting took place in the boardroom.
D) Susannah's interview was at 8:00 on a Monday morning.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

All of the following are true of punctuation EXCEPT that

A) you divide communication transactions into stimuli and responses.
B) it isn't an important skill in conflict management.
C) it's a crucial step in interpersonal understanding.
D) it's done to benefit each person's self-image.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following characteristics does NOT belong to interpersonal communication?

A) responding to each other as roles instead of individuals
B) interaction based on personally established rules
C) the exchange of highly personal information
D) reacting to each other based on personal information

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of feedback?

A) yawning when an instructor is lecturing
B) deciding how to phrase a question
C) trying to understand a nonverbal gesture
D) being confused by an unfamiliar word in a lecture

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT an example of interpersonal communication?

A) chatting with your friend on Facebook
B) a supervisor teaching an employee
C) a family of four talking over dinner
D) all of the above are examples

Question 7

A state of mental awareness in which you're conscious of your reasons for thinking or communicating in a particular way is called

A) mindlessness.
B) competence.
C) mindfulness.
D) feedforward.

Question 8

In a _____________________ relationship, the two individuals mirror each other.

A) complementary
B) symmetrical
C) dyadic
D) convergent

Question 9

According to Chapter 1, effective interpersonal communication can

A) help prevent workplace violence.
B) reduce medical mistakes.
C)
C) improve doctor-patient relationships.
D) do a, b, and

Question 10

A _______________ is a well-established system of knowledge about how things work or how things are related that is supported by research findings.

A) law
B) theory
C) principle
D) belief

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of complementary relationships?

A) Two individuals engage in different behaviors.
B) The behavior of one serves as the stimulus for the other's complementary behavior.
C) Interactions are based on personally established rules.
D) The people occupy different positions.

Question 12

_____________________ refers to the act of producing messages, whereas _____________________ is the act of understanding them.

A) Encoding, decoding
B) Source, receiver
C) Person-focused, message-focused
D) Feedforward, feedback

Question 13

Which of the following examples of communication falls on the most impersonal side of the continuum?

A) two neighbors talking
B) a mother and daughter talking
C) a bank teller and customer talking
D) a supervisor and employee talking

Question 14

Interpersonal competence refers to

A) signals that serve as stimuli.
B) your ability to communicate effectively.
C) your motive in communicating.
D) feedforward messages.

Question 15

_____________________is the verbal and nonverbal communication that takes place between two interdependent people.

A) Interpersonal communication
B) Self-disclosure
C) Punctuation
D) Intrapersonal communication

Question 16

Using jargon or complex terms can contribute to _____________________ noise.

A) psychological
B) physical
C) physiological
D) semantic

Question 17

In the term "signal-to-noise ratio" the word "signal" refers to

A) what we ignore in a communication situation.
B) what we find useful in a communication situation.
C) what we classify as noise in a communication situation.
D) the gatekeeping function of many people in communication situations.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT true in relation to interpersonal communication?

A) Interpersonal communication involves both verbal and nonverbal messages.
B) Silence sends interpersonal messages.
C) Nonverbal communication counts for 90 percent of communication meaning.
D) In some situations, verbal signals communicate more meaning than nonverbal signals.

Question 19

The principle of _____________________ states that messages often have more than one meaning.

A) punctuation
B) ambiguity
C) unrepeatability
D) irreversibility

Question 20

All of the following are true about the transactional process of interpersonal communication EXCEPT

A) it's always changing.
B) each person acts as a speaker and a listener.
C) the elements are interdependent.
D) it's a linear process.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of communication, according to Chapter 1?

A) to learn
B) to adjust
C) to play
D) to help

Question 22

What are two dimensions of context in interpersonal communication?

A) temporal and social-psychological
B) channel and noise
C) cultural and gestural-visual
D) social-psychological and semantic

Question 23

Research shows that men tend to focus on the relationship dimension of a message, whereas women tend to focus on the content dimension.

Question 24

The ___________ view of ethics argues that what is or is not ethical depends on the culture's values and beliefs as well as the particular circumstances.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) absolute
D) cultural

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT true in relation to metamessages?

A) They are rarely used in everyday communication.
B) They are messages about other messages.
C) Feedback is a type of metamessage.
D) Feedforward is a type of metamessage.

Question 26

Interpersonal communication takes place between two independent people.

Question 27

Sending messages to your friends over Facebook is NOT an example of interpersonal communication.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a guideline for communicating with someone with a visual impairment?

A) face your listener
B) use audible turn-taking cues
C) avoid terms like "see", "look", or "blind"
D) don't assume the person will recognize your voice

Question 29

Terrell responded to an e-mail message that was sent to him the day before. This is an example of ___________ communication.

A) convergent
B) synchronous
C) asynchronous
D) automatic

Question 30

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression" exemplifies the principle of

A) inevitability.
B) irreversibility.
C) unrepeatability.
D) ambiguity.

Question 31

Which of the following is the LEAST ambiguous?

A) The sentence, "I'll be there in a moment."
B) The sentence, "I'll be there in five minutes."
C) The phrase "moving pictures."
D) When someone from another culture smiles at you.

Question 32

_____________________ context refers to the beliefs and customs of the people communicating.

A) Cultural
B) Personal
C) Relational
D) Social-psychological

Question 33

One study showed that more people felt like a lack of effective communication was more responsible for marriage failure than money and in-law interference.

Question 34

Madison had a bad cell phone connection and couldn't understand the directions her friend was trying to tell her. This is an example of __________ noise.

A) psychological
B) physical
C) physiological
D) semantic

Question 35

Just one of the reasons it's so terrifying to tell a romantic partner that you love him or her for the first time is because communication is

A) a series of punctuated events.
B) unrepeatable.
C) irreversible.
D) inevitable.

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT a similarity between computer-mediated communication and face-to-face communication?

A) Communication can be synchronous.
B) A two-way channel is present.
C) Messages are permanent.
D) You control the self you want others to see.

Question 37

Messages that refer to the "real world" are called __________ messages.

A) relationship
B) objective
C) content
D) subjective

Question 38

Interpersonal communication can take place in small, intimate groups such as families.

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of psychological noise while in class?

A) someone coughing next to you
B) worrying about your grade on a test
C) having hearing loss
D) being confused by the meaning of a word

Question 40

Poking someone on Facebook serves the purpose of to

A) play.
B) learn.
C) influence.
D) relate.

Question 41

Feedforward tells the speaker what effect she or he is having on listeners.

Question 42

In computer-mediated-communication it is always your turn and you cannot be interrupted.

Question 43

George is wondering what Bill meant when he said, "This restaurant is not expensive." This is an example of encoding.

Question 44

Some degree of ambiguity exists in all interpersonal communication.

Question 45

Using your own experiences as examples, discuss three differences between face-to-face and computer-mediated communication.

Question 46

Signals that serve as stimuli are called communication channels.

Question 47

Every communication act contains an ethical dimension.

Question 48

Discuss what is meant by the sentence, "Interpersonal communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable." Discuss how this is true in both face-to-face and online communication.

Question 49

A father and son will operate on the basis of personally established rules instead of societal rules.

Question 50

Think back to a time when you had a "miscommunication" with someone else. Using the elements of communication, describe the communication that took place and what element(s) led to the breakdown. What could have been changed to prevent the misunderstanding?

Question 51

Interpersonal communication can occur without messages being encoded and decoded.

Question 52

Competent communicators communicate the same, regardless of situation or listener.

Question 53

You can take back a message.

Question 54

When Arlene is aggressive toward Ben, Ben is aggressive right back. This is an example of a complementary relationship.

Question 55

Interpersonal communication exists along a continuum that ranges from impersonal to highly personal. Using your own contrasting examples, explain the three characteristics that distinguish an impersonal relationship from an interpersonal one.

Question 56

The study of interpersonal communication can benefit a person in social and professional ways. Discuss three specific benefits you hope to gain from this class, based on the information presented in Chapter 1.

Question 57

A key element in practicing mindfulness is to pay attention to first impressions.

Question 58

It is impossible to not communicate.

Question 59

You are having trouble hearing your professor because people next to you are talking. This is an example of physical noise.

Question 60

Arguments over the content dimension of a message are easier to resolve than arguments concerning the relationship dimension.