Deck 15: Language and Communication

Question 1

Tom evaluates Professor Pumpernickel on the basis of his intelligence, competence and power. In this way Tom is using:

A) consensus factors.
B) his right hemisphere.
C) solidarity variables.
D) status variables.

Answer 1

status variables.

Question 2

In its strong form, the theory of linguistic relativity argues that language:

A) is based on innate grammatical rules.
B) depends on the context in which it is used.
C) is learned at a pre-linguistic stage of development.
D) entirely determines thought.

Answer 2

entirely determines thought.

Question 3

The objective features of an inter-ethnic context that influence language behaviour are referred to as:

A) subjective vitality.
B) ethnolinguistic vitality.
C) paralinguistics.
D) inter-ethnic prosody.

Answer 3

ethnolinguistic vitality.

Question 4

Communication is important for social psychologists to study because:

A) it is the essence of social interactions.
B) it validates all social psychological theories.
C) it is a topic that is ignored by all other research fields.
D) its focus on non-verbal communication applies to all cultures.

Question 5

Social markers in speech can act as cues about:

A) grammar.
B) group membership.
C) linguistic relativity.
D) intelligence level.

Question 6

Language is:

A) derived from cave drawings.
B) verbal.
C) only found in conspecifics.
D) specific to humans.

Question 7

People's attitudes towards others based on their speech style have commonly been investigated using:

A) ethnolinguistics.
B) the bogus pipeline technique.
C) the matched-guise technique.
D) matching to standard.

Question 8

Which of the following is a status characteristic associated with high ethnolinguistic vitality in a minority group?

A) A high birth rate for the language group
B) Self-confidence and pride of its members
C) Political influence on the central government
D) low outgroup marriage

Question 9

Yuki grew up in Japan and speaks Japanese. Yvonne grew up in America and speaks English. Yasmin grew up in France and speaks French. Because these three individuals speak different languages, one could argue that this has caused them to view the world in three completely different ways. This argument fits under the concept of:

A) discourse analyse.
B) sociolinguistics.
C) linguistic relativity.
D) paralinguistics.

Question 10

Elena considers Julio to be warm, caring and friendly because of his voice qualities. Elena is basing her judgement on:

A) solidarity variables.
B) morphemes.
C) status variables.
D) ethnolinguistic vitality.

Question 11

Communication is social because:

A) it involves personal truths.
B) our messages are intentional.
C) people are influenced by communication.
D) language is our only form of communication.

Question 12

Pitch, tempo, tonality and rhythm are examples of:

A) received pronunciation.
B) illocution.
C) utterances.
D) paralinguistic cues.

Question 13

If we wanted to experimentally test people's attitudes towards a person based on speech style, a well-established method we could use is:

A) the matched-guise technique.
B) a Thurstone scale.
C) a breath-testing device.
D) the bilateral earphone assembly.

Question 14

Which of the following means to place words in sequence?

A) Utterances
B) Locution
C) Illocution
D) Semantics

Question 15

One of the fundamental reasons why language and cognition are linked is because:

A) language involves the use of the brain.
B) we tend to perceive and think about things in linguistic categories.
C) learning a variety of languages has been shown to make you smarter.
D) prelinguistic communication does not include cognition.

Question 16

'Illocution' refers to:

A) verbal output.
B) putting words in sequence.
C) words in sequence with a context.
D) a combination of sounds.

Question 17

When we are describing a person, using an adjective can suggest an attribute of that person (e.g., Ben is Asian). However, using a noun to describe an individual implies a social group and membership of that group (e.g., Ben is an Asian). The latter is likely to:

A) decrease the salience of group membership.
B) invoke stereotypic inferences.
C) decrease social markers.
D) implies a singular attribute.

Question 18

Sophia is Colombian and moves to the United States where she learns English as a second language. Sophia is very proud of her Colombian heritage and, as such, she does not make a concerted effort to get rid of her Colombian accent when speaking English. This demonstrates that:

A) speech style cues ethnic identity.
B) speech styles can be difficult to change.
C) the United States is a good place to learn English.
D) accents are paralinguistic cues.

Question 19

An example of a prosodic feature is:

A) a sequence of sounds.
B) the different meanings of the word 'home'.
C) the syllable 'un'.
D) a rising intonation at the end of a sentence to indicate a question.

Question 20

Paralanguage is defined as:

A) language that is predominately learnt through parroting.
B) language that is foreign to one's own culture.
C) the non-linguistic accompaniment to speech.
D) the gestures that replace speech.

Question 21

Ekman's work suggests that:

A) facial muscle activity represents cognitive thinking across cultures.
B) facial expressions are obvious cues to deception.
C) federal police officers are good at identifying deception
D) deception is accompanied by a lowered vocal pitch.

Question 22

Sarah has her MBA and now works for a big law firm. While on holiday she bumps into Spike, a onetime childhood classmate. Spike now works at a car assembly plant. They talk about the good old days. Sarah tries to use a few streetwise words, while Spike finds himself editing out some of his favourite swear words. Sarah and Spike show:

A) bilateral speech convergence.
B) that they could be an 'item'.
C) exit behaviour.
D) speech solidarity.

Question 23

Mr and Mrs Braun have immigrated to an English-speaking country and want their daughter to speak English like a native. To achieve this it would help if they:

A) ask their German friends to learn some English.
B) keep reminding their daughter that she must 'pass' as a speaker of English.
C) watch CNN news.
D) do not identify too strongly with their own German heritage.

Question 24

Sharma is a second-generation immigrant in an English-speaking country. The language of her parents and grandparents is spoken less and less where she lives. Kevin lives in the same city but belongs to the ethnolinguistic majority. In a conversation between the two, Sharma is likely to show:

A) her usual accented English.
B) upward convergence.
C) downward divergence.
D) her command of received pronunciation.

Question 25

Which of the following pairs does NOT include one of Ekman's basic emotions?

A) Happiness and surprise
B) Depressed and anxious
C) Anger and sadness
D) Disgust and fear

Question 26

There is evidence that the facial expressions of emotions may be universal. This supports the idea of universals in ________ with respect to emotions.

A) phylogeny
B) contagion
C) specificity
D) ontogeny

Question 27

Research on speech differences between men and women indicates that sex-stereotypical differences are:

A) minimal.
B) found only in children.
C) highly context dependent.
D) consistent across situations.

Question 28

Speech accommodation theory has recently been extended such that:

A) it recognises that convergence and divergence can occur in the form of both verbal and non-verbal behaviour.
B) it recognises that convergence and divergence cannot occur simultaneously.
C) it recognises that convergence and divergence only occur in the form of verbal behaviour.
D) it recognises that convergence and divergence occur cross-culturally.

Question 29

Cultural and situational prescriptions about when, where and how to express emotions are referred to as:

A) display rules.
B) ontogeny.
C) kinesics.
D) cultural norms.

Question 30

Which of the following variables does NOT have an influence on ethnolinguistic vitality?

A) Individual variables
B) Status variables
C) Institutional variables
D) Demographic variables

Question 31

A minority group's ethnolinguistic vitality is high when:

A) the language is spoken only in the home.
B) the language is specific to its country.
C) the language is well-represented in the schools located where the immigrants live
D) the language is a possible elective as a university course.

Question 32

Research on tribal cultures in Borneo and New Guinea by Ekman suggested that:

A) facial display rules are universal.
B) a variety of facial expressions have disappeared in industrialised societies.
C) facial expressions of basic emotions are universal.
D) tribal societies guard their emotions by not displaying them.

Question 33

A study by Kraut and Johnson (1979) showed that people smile more when interacting with other people than when alone. This is good evidence that:

A) happiness is an inborn emotion.
B) smiling is a false front.
C) it pays to be happy.
D) we smile to communicate happiness.

Question 34

The likelihood of men and women adopting sex-typed speech styles can be influenced by:

A) whether they have a more or less non-traditional sex-role orientation.
B) whether they were socialised in relatively sex-segregated groups during their upbringing.
C) attending to minority cultural norms on gender differences.
D) language acquisition from a personally recognised group membership.

Question 35

Blind and deaf people facially express basic emotions in a similar way to those without a disability. This supports the idea of ________ with respect to emotions.

A) contagion
B) phylogeny
C) specificity
D) ontogeny

Question 36

Facial display rules can be influenced by:

A) gender and cultural differences.
B) cultural and situational differences.
C) situational and gender variables.
D) gender, cultural, and situational variables.

Question 37

Intensifiers, hedges, tag questions and polite forms of address are:

A) not used any longer.
B) characteristic of powerless speech.
C) typical for men addressing women.
D) usually supported by non-verbal communication.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT an example of non-verbal communication?

A) Hedges
B) Gaze
C) Touch
D) Gestures

Question 39

With regard to gender differences and non-verbal behaviour, it has been found that:

A) women are better at decoding visual and auditory cues than men.
B) men are better at decoding visual and auditory cues than women.
C) no significant gender differences have been found with regard to decoding non-verbal behaviour.
D) women are better at decoding visual and auditory cues than men but this ability is context-specific.

Question 40

Ahmed and Rose meet and go out to dinner. They modify the way they talk in order to feel more and more comfortable with each other. This is known as:

A) body language.
B) ethnic vitality.
C) ingratiation.
D) speech accommodation.

Question 41

Body movements as an aid to communication are called:

A) emblems.
B) gestures.
C) signifiers.
D) signs.

Question 42

Research about sex-differences in touch has indicated that:

A) men derive greater pleasure from being touched than women.
B) males consider touch by a close female friend as very pleasant.
C) both men and women perceive being touched by a stranger as unpleasant.
D) females consider touch by a close female friend as very pleasant.

Question 43

A problematic implication of communicating with gestures is:

A) gesturing is a crude form of communication.
B) a gesture can have different meanings across different cultures which can lead to miscommunication.
C) research shows that gestures typically do not enhance communication and are therefore not overly useful when interacting.
D) gestures are a matter of personal interpretation that need to be matched with speech for accurate translation.

Question 44

Kraut and Johnston (1979) went to a bowling alley to investigate facial expressions amongst people playing team sport. They found that players:

A) smiled more when they trashed their opponents.
B) kept a stern face throughout competitions.
C) smiled because they enjoyed a good game.
D) smiled more when their team-mates could see their face.

Question 45

We use our faces to express our emotions and we use display rules to:

A) express our thoughts.
B) communicate with others.
C) hide our emotions.
D) show our logic.

Question 46

You are in a crowded elevator. You notice how people mostly avoid eye contact with each other. This reaction is consistent with the:

A) gestural origins of language.
B) facial affect program.
C) intimacy-equilibrium theory.
D) concept of social distance.

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT one of Hall's interpersonal distance zones?

A) Personal distance
B) Intimate distance
C) Task-related distance
D) Social distance

Question 48

Kinesics refers to:

A) the study of movement.
B) cross-cultural universals in facial expression.
C) the study of bodily communication.
D) the study of human interaction.

Question 49

Visual dominance behaviour refers to:

A) the tendency to make eye-contact with as many people as possible.
B) the tendency to gaze fixedly at a lower-status speaker.
C) having the ability to see more than others in a crowded area.
D) None of the above

Question 50

The facial expressions of stress among Americans and Japanese watching a disturbing film sequence were secretly monitored, each group in their own country (Ekman, 1973). Participants were monitored in two conditions, one in private and the other in public. The results showed that facial stress:

A) was shown by Japanese privately, but not publicly.
B) was never shown by Japanese.
C) was never shown by Americans.
D) was shown by Americans publicly, but not privately.

Question 51

In response to Phil's account of his weekend catch, a whopping big cod, Karen simply raises her eyebrows a little. She did not believe too much of it. Her gesture is:

A) a communication mismatch.
B) dislike.
C) a kinesic.
D) an emblem.

Question 52

Two Americans who barely know each other are conversing. Michael is African American and Kevin is Caucasian. Each has about as much to say as the other, but Kevin gazes at Michael much more than Michael gazes at Kevin. Which of the following inferences best illustrates cultural miscommunication?

A) Kevin thinks that Michael might be hearing-impaired
B) Michael thinks that Kevin might be vision-impaired
C) Kevin thinks that Michael is inattentive
D) Both Kevin and Michael think that the other is rude

Question 53

In a cross-cultural study on gazing and eye contact, LaFrance and Mayo (1976) found that:

A) African Americans gaze more when emphasising their power status.
B) gazing at a subordinate is universal.
C) gazing is more common in Eastern countries.
D) gazing patterns amongst Caucasians are reversed amongst African Americans.

Question 54

Which is true with respect to gaze as a form of non-verbal communication?

A) We gaze longer at people we like
B) People who are intimate gaze less at each other
C) Working-class people gaze longer at an equal
D) Lowering one's gaze stops a conversation

Question 55

In explaining how big the fish was that he caught on the weekend, Phil spread his hands apart. This is an example of a(n):

A) tall story.
B) emblem.
C) gesture.
D) display rule.

Question 56

Maria and Tony are about to have a private and detailed research discussion. They have about equal expertise. Given the results reported by Dovidio and colleagues (1988) regarding sex stereotypes, which of the following outcomes is the most likely?

A) Maria will gaze more when listening than when speaking
B) Maria and Tony will each gaze about the same whether speaking or listening
C) Tony will gaze more when listening than when speaking
D) Maria and Tony will each gaze about the same while speaking, but Tony will gaze more while listening

Question 57

In investigating the origins of human language from an evolutionary perspective Corballis (1999, 2004) argued that:

A) superfluous hand signals are a sign of restricted intelligence.
B) hand gestures are the likely precursor to spoken language.
C) sign language among the deaf is not really language at all.
D) chimpanzees talk better with their hands than their mouths.

Question 58

Karen is a bit nervous about meeting 'the big boss'. She tries to cover this up by smiling carefully at every comment her boss makes, and leans back a little in her chair to show that she is relaxed. Karen is employing that good old standby called:

A) impression management.
B) interview analysis.
C) intimacy equilibrium.
D) back-channel communication.

Question 59

Chrissie wants to increase the number of tips she gets in her part-time waiting job. Her best chance of success is to:

A) drop the odd empty plate in front of guests.
B) after taking an order, let the customer do the talking.
C) maintain steady eye-contact with her customers.
D) casually and discreetly touch each customer's hand.

Question 60

The tendency of a speaker to gaze at a lower-status listener is:

A) empathic.
B) unheard of.
C) downright rude.
D) visual dominance behaviour.

Question 61

Research on sex differences in computer-mediated communication has shown that:

A) women are more likely to feel ostracised when ignored in a chat room.
B) people tell more than in face-to-face communications.
C) there are parallel patterns to sex-differences in direct conversation.
D) women are less likely to disclose personal emotions.

Question 62

In computer-mediated communication, one simple substitute for paralanguage is the:

A) hedge.
B) rubicon.
C) emoticon.
D) software.

Question 63

Noller (1984), in investigating communication patterns among married couples, found that:

A) partners who were better at encoding and decoding were more likely to be maritally satisfied.
B) maritally dissatisfied couples tended to reduce conflict by not talking to each other.
C) overall, men were better at encoding messages.
D) women did most of the talking.

Question 64

Discourse analysis, a relatively recent line of research, argues that:

A) the text of speech is rarely neutral.
B) spoken language is of a lower order than written text.
C) only tangible objects can be discussed sensibly.
D) the real content of a conversation is discovered by free association.

Question 65

Discourse refers to:

A) the ratio of interaction between two individuals during a conversation.
B) the full range of verbal and non-verbal behaviour that we employ when communicating with someone.
C) a communicative episode located in a situational and socio-historical context.
D) the balance of emblems, gestures, and other non-verbal cues within a situation.

Question 66

Felicia loves playing video games. However, at school she often conceals this interest in face-to-face situations because other girls tend to find video games boring and boys often ridicule her by saying that she probably sucks at playing video games because she is a girl. However, when Felicia gets home in the evenings she often animatedly discusses video games in anonymous online chat forums with other gamer enthusiasts. This is an example of:

A) the participant-equalisation effect.
B) intimacy equilibrium theory.
C) communication accommodation theory.
D) ethnolinguistic vitality.

Question 67

In her tutorial class, Sue signals her attention by nodding, making supportive sounds and by looking at the tutor. Inwardly, she is quite bored. Sue is using:

A) back-channel communication.
B) intimacy equilibrium.
C) the de Jong feedback loop.
D) impression management.