Deck 13: Step Three: Taking Action and Communicating

Question 1

What does priming theory tell us?

A)Previously learned information affects audience receptivity to new messages.
B)How people interpret new information depends on what information they already knew.
C)An organization's prior reputation affects how people view organizational actions.
D)All of the above.
E)None of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What results when specific and significant impressions become generalities?

A)Stereotypes
B)Semantics
C)Distortions
D)Symbols
E)Connotation

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Effective encoding and decoding of messages requires which one of the following?

A)Use of symbols
B)Avoidance of barriers
C)Overlap of commonness
D)Analysis of information campaigns
E)Avoidance of stereotypes

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about communication strategy?

A)It is the most visible piece of a public relations program.
B)It deals with message delivery channels.
C)It makes up the main thrust of a public relations program.
D)It supports the organization's action strategy.
E)It deals with message content.

Question 5

Smokey Bear is an example of which one of the following?

A)Decoder
B)Stereotype
C)Congruence
D)Connotation
E)Symbol

Question 6

The textbook reports that messages must benefit audiences-meaning that messages address audience interests and concerns.Which criterion would typically be the most important in public relations messages distributed through the mass media?

A)Audience impact
B)Proximity
C)Timeliness
D)Prominence
E)Novelty or oddity

Question 7

Which one of the following represents opinion pollster Elmo Roper's hypothesis that ideas in public information campaigns penetrate publics slowly through a process similar to osmosis?

A)Semantics of language
B)Concentric-circle theory
C)One-way sender/receiver model
D)Spread of an Internet virus
E)Congruent communication process

Question 8

For which one of the following, should you include only one side of an argument?

A)If receivers oppose your position.
B)If receivers are well educated.
C)If receivers are likely to be exposed later to persuasive messages countering your position.
D)If receivers already agree with your position.
E)All of the above

Question 9

The first principle of framing message content is which one of the following?

A)Know management's position and the problem situation intimately.
B)Time the release of information to coincide with the news cycle.
C)Word the message so that it squares with the audience's images.
D)Put the audience in a listening mood.
E)Standardize the process for framing message content.

Question 10

What is the term for the process of spreading ideas and practices to members of a social system?

A)Implementation
B)Knowledge
C)Transmission
D)Confirmation
E)Diffusion

Question 11

Which one of the following is designed to get a message in the media?

A)Sanctions
B)Stereotypes
C)Opinion leaders
D)Special events
E)New technologies

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about action strategy?

A)It should benefit only the organization, not its stakeholders.
B)It primarily involves internal organizational change.
C)It is an organization's open systems response to change pressures in its environment.
D)It is necessary for organizational survival.
E)It must be socially responsible.

Question 13

Mass media have their greatest impact and usefulness in creating awareness in which one of the following stages in the diffusion process?

A)Knowledge
B)Persuasion
C)Decision
D)Implementation
E)Confirmation

Question 14

In some situations, practitioners craft messages that explain or reinforce organizational credibility or trustworthiness.Which one of the following obstacles is this effort designed to overcome?

A)Audience obstacles
B)Subject obstacles
C)Prior ethos obstacles
D)Purpose obstacles
E)Diffusion obstacles

Question 15

Denotative meaning refers to the generally accepted dictionary meaning of a word.According to the text, connotative meaning refers to which one of the following?

A)Meaning imposed by the arbiters of the English language based at Oxford
B)Meaning attributed to a word based on experience and background
C)Meaning derived from the parts of a word-referred to as "connotes"
D)Meaning associated with the origin of a word-such as Greek
E)Meaning based on regional dialect

Question 16

Hyman and Sheatsley identified several factors that contribute to public information campaign failure.Which one of the following is NOT a reason why campaigns fail?

A)Motivation is essential to learning and assimilating knowledge.
B)Audiences often include hard-core, chronic "know-nothings."
C)People seek information that is compatible with their own views.
D)Selective perception and interpretation affect how people are affected.
E)People are generally already interested in public issues.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about the implementation stage?

A)It involves putting the program into operation.
B)It requires coordination of action and communication strategies and tactics.
C)It is the third step in the public relations strategic planning process.
D)It requires lots of time, effort, and money.
E)It comes after the planning and programming stage.

Question 18

Which one of the following is "a form of symbolic behavior designed to shape or regulate the behaviors of others"?

A)Action strategy
B)Communication strategy
C)Implementation strategy
D)Compliance-gaining strategy
E)Persuasion strategy

Question 19

Which of the following messages uses a sanction strategy?

A)"Donate now."
B)"Please donate now."
C)"These orphans need your help.Donate now."
D)"We are desperate for assistance.Please help us." E
E)"Donate now, and you will receive an autographed photo from Lady Gaga."

Question 20

A word may have emotional or evaluative meanings beyond its dictionary definition.This refers to which one of the following?

A)Denotation
B)Resonance
C)Connotation
D)Inflection
E)Reflection

Question 21

Which one of the following seven Cs of communication suggests that messages must square with the realities of the audience's environment?

A)Credibility
B)Content
C)Context
D)Clarity
E)Channels

Question 22

Which one of the following seven Cs of communication suggests that messages are most effective when they require the least effort on the part of receivers?

A)Context
B)Content
C)Clarity of channels
D)Capability of the audience
E)Continuity and consistency

Question 23

Which of the following best explains why information campaigns can succeed?

A)Interested people acquire the most information.
B)Careful consideration is given to delineating specific targets.
C)People interpret the same information differently.
D)People seek information that is compatible with their prior attitudes.
E)Long-term goals call for much more than communication solutions.

Question 24

A helicopter operated by a metropolitan police department crashes, injuring the two policemen aboard and damaging a home.It crashes in a minority neighborhood, prompting speculation that this is yet another example of the oft-repeated charge that the police department does most of its patrolling in that community.Which of the following is the best way of handling this crisis?

A)Don't do or say anything until you have all the facts.
B)Announce that the department is looking into the possibility of suing the company making the helicopter.
C)Issue a news release, describing the technical problem that caused the crash using the technical language of the department's consulting engineer.
D)Meet with neighborhood groups, reminding them that the police have to patrol their neighborhood more than most because the crime rate in the area is the highest in the metropolitan area.
E)None of the above.