Deck 6: Variation in Communication Styles

Question 1

The nurse is assigned to care for a patient who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Which communication behavior will have the most impact on the patient?

A) What is said
B) Tone of voice
C) Sense of confidence
D) Verbal message

Answer 1

Tone of voice

Question 2

When the nurse asks a patient, "How are you?" the patient states, "I am fine." As the patient turns away, she is crying. This is an example of

A) nonverbal communication.
B) incongruence.
C) proxemics.
D) congruence.

Answer 2

incongruence.

Question 3

Social cognitive competency refers to

A) the ability to use verbal and nonverbal interventions.
B) understanding the relationships between the roles of the sender and receiver.
C) the ability to interpret message content within interactions from the point of view of each participant.
D) interpreting emotional content by observing body language.

Answer 3

the ability to interpret message content within interactions from the point of view of each participant.

Question 4

An adult patient responds to questions inappropriately. The nurse should do which of the following?

A) Assume that the patient is depressed and seek further information.
B) Ask other staff members whether the patient is sick.
C) Leave the patient alone for now and return to reassess.
D) Observe the patient's nonverbal behavior.

Question 5

Which of the following messages would validate the worth of the individual?

A) The nurse says, "Take that tray to room 6 bed 2."
B) "I want to know about your physical symptoms following the chemotherapy."
C) "Now dear, we are going to have a nice bath."
D) "I would like to meet your family and we could talk to them about your aftercare."

Question 6

A description of denotation is

A) a personalized meaning of a word or phrase.
B) a generalized meaning assigned to a word.
C) a meaning shared by families.
D) a meaning generally shared within a specific culture.

Question 7

A patient states he is feeling fine, but the nurse observes that he has a tense body posture and a frown on his face. The nurse suspects that he is experiencing pain based on knowledge of

A) confirming responses.
B) denotation.
C) proxemics.
D) kinesics.

Question 8

The nurse is assessing a newly admitted Native American patient. When assessing the patient's perception of touch, the nurse should

A) casually touch the patient.
B) use timing with touch.
C) ask the patient for permission to touch.
D) shake the patient's hand.

Question 9

Message competency refers to which phase of the nursing process?

A) Assessment
B) Planning
C) Intervention
D) Evaluation

Question 10

Which of the following is true in relation to the context of the message?

A) It is shaped by the situation in which the interaction occurs.
B) Taking time to evaluate the time and space in which the contact takes place allows for flexibility in choosing the appropriate context.
C) Communication is shaped by the environment in which it takes place.
D) Evaluating the physical setting in which the contact takes place allows for flexibility in choosing the appropriate context.
E) The environment has little effect on communication.

Question 11

Communication is a combination of

A) verbal and nonverbal behaviors.
B) pitch, tone, and paralanguage.
C) proxemics, touch, and kinesics.
D) eye contact, facial expressions, and nonverbal messages.

Question 12

When communicating with a patient, which of the following best demonstrates the use of nonverbal communication?

A) Ignoring nonverbal cues
B) Holding the patient's hand
C) Conversing with the patient
D) Using incongruent nonverbal behaviors

Question 13

Which of the following is a description of metacommunication?

A) Communication style
B) Nonverbal communication
C) Verbal communication
D) Nonverbal and verbal communication

Question 14

In relation to gender differences in communication, which of the following is true?

A) Men use more verbal communication in interpersonal relationships.
B) Women smile more often.
C) Men require less personal space than women.
D) Men have a greater range of vocal pitch.

Question 15

When communicating about a patient with a health care provider from another culture, the nurse states, "The patient stopped taking his medications last week when he fell off the wagon." The health care provider looks at the nurse blankly. This is an example of

A) connotation.
B) information processing.
C) time span between messages.
D) nonverbal cultural variations.

Question 16

The nurse puts his arm around an older adult patient when assisting her to transfer to a chair. The patient could interpret the nurse's touch as

A) a positive gesture only.
B) a threat.
C) denotation.
D) paralanguage.

Question 17

A communication style the nurse can use to ensure that the message sent is the same as the one received is to

A) refer to the patient by diagnosis.
B) establish a common vocabulary.
C) have interactions that focus on physical care.
D) refer to the patient by bed number.

Question 18

The majority of person-to-person communication is

A) verbal.
B) process.
C) nonverbal.
D) content.