Deck 10: Relational Uses and Understanding of Media

Question 1

Explain the basic idea of the concept of 'selective exposure.'

Answer 1

People tend to engage more with media that support their existing beliefs, values, and attitudes, and avoid exposure to media that challenge or contradict those beliefs.

Question 2

Identify why the early views of media as all-powerful, having an absolute/uniform influence on a mass audience, have been rejected by contemporary media scholars.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as a universally-susceptible mass audience. We are influenced by our personal relationships, cultural systems, and other social factors in interpreting mediated messages, which means that any one mediated message can have any number of possible audience interpretations or reactions. Finally, most scholars now believe that media audiences are active and engaged in their media use, not passive receivers of mass messages.

Question 3

Media audiences rarely use the media for personal and individual reasons.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Discuss why your authors claim that personal relationships frequently guide exposure to media.

Question 5

Identify four relational needs satisfied through the shared use of media.

Question 6

Media products are becoming more, rather than less, diverse in their amount and accessibility.

Question 7

People often use multiple media simultaneously/concurrently.

Question 8

The concept of selective exposure explains:

A) People usually seek out media that oppose their own existing beliefs, values, and attitudes
B) People are indifferent to media that oppose their own existing beliefs, values, and attitudes
C) People are not aware of media that support their own existing beliefs, values, and attitudes
D) People usually seek out media that support their own existing beliefs, values, and attitudes

Question 9

Media audiences are rarely particular or selective about what they take in from mediated messages.

Question 10

The majority of people overestimate the actual amount of time they spend using the media.

Question 11

Media producers are becoming more likely to focus their products on smaller, specific audiences rather than mass audiences.

Question 12

Studies indicated that people do not use media in isolation but often use two or more media systems simultaneously, an activity referred to as concurrent media use.

Question 13

Narrowcasting is the tendency to focus media products on spe? cific audience members connected by a common bond.

Question 14

Give an example of a cultural or generational difference in the use of media.

Question 15

The average amount of time most people spend using media daily is reported as:

A) 17 hours
B) 5 hours
C) 11 hours
D) No hours

Question 16

Audience attention to mediated messages tends to fluctuate because:

A) People engage in other activities while using media
B) People are always engrossed and involved in using media
C) People are more attentive to media that provide information they do not need
D) People rarely engage in other activities while using media

Question 17

Summarize the basic idea behind 'uses and gratifications' theory.

Question 18

The idea that media texts are 'polysemic' means that:

A) Interpretation of media texts is unanimous
B) Interpretation of media texts is not affected by cultural backgrounds/beliefs
C) Interpretation of media texts is not affected by media knowledge/experience
D) Interpretation of media texts is affected by media knowledge/experience

Question 19

Our cultural backgrounds often affect our interpretation of media texts.

Question 20

Media audiences are consistent in the amount of attention they pay to all forms of mediated communication.

Question 21

An active consumer of media would be most likely to:

A) Assign meaning to media messages
B) Ask others to explain meaning of media messages
C) Avoid media messages
D) Try not to resist media messages

Question 22

The use of media as a shared relational activity enables people to accomplish certain relational needs. When Media enable interaction to take place, they address which relational need?.

A) Promoting interaction
B) Withdrawing from interaction
C) Differentiating relationships
D) Enacting and evaluating roles

Question 23

The most recent research on television viewing with family members, according to your authors, has discovered:

A) Family television viewing is detrimental to family life
B) Family television viewing decreases social contact
C) Family television viewing increases budget costs
D) Family television viewing enhances family communication

Question 24

The idea of parasocial relationships assumes that:

A) We establish relationships with media characters just as we do with other people
B) We do not establish relationships with media characters just as we do with other people
C) We are attracted to media characters who are very different from ourselves
D) We do not experience loss in parasocial relationships as we do in personal relationships

Question 25

According to Cohen and Metzger, when it comes to our needs for control, these needs seem to be better fulfilled by:

A) Personal relationships
B) The media
C) Both personal relationships and the media
D) Neither one

Question 26

According to uses and gratifications theory, if you watch a reality TV program such as 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' for the very personal reason that you are a Kiss fan, even though you would admit this to none of your friends, you are using media for the following reason:

A) Escapism
B) Reality exploration
C) Character reference
D) Incidental reasons

Question 27

When parents set rules and guidelines for what programs children can and cannot watch, they are enacting:

A) Indirect rules for children's interpretation of television
B) Direct rules for children's interpretation of television
C) Indirect parental influence on children's interpretation of television
D) Direct parental influence on children's interpretation of television

Question 28

The fact that media can allow you to withdraw from social interactions is not always negative because:

A) You can be physically together but still maintain some privacy
B) You can terminate the relationship by changing media messages
C) You can start another relationship by modeling from media messages
D) You can be forced to talk about the media messages

Question 29

Your authors believe that we talk about media in everyday communication because:

A) We have nothing better to talk about than the media
B) We gain insight into the media by discussing it with others
C) We fail to gain secondary information by discussing the media with others
D) We fail to gain critical thinking skills by discussing the media with others

Question 30

Modeling your relationships after those you see in the media can be problematic because:

A) Relationships in the media are usually realistic
B) Relationships in the media are usually diverse
C) Relationships in the media are usually unrealistic
D) Relationships in the media are usually challenging

Question 31

According to uses and gratifications theory, if you watch a TV program such as 'Friends' to see how the main characters resolve roommate conflicts so that you can model their behavior, you are using media for the following reason:

A) Escapism
B) Reality exploration
C) Character reference
D) Incidental reasons

Question 32

The concept of the socialization impact of media implies:

A) People do not attend to role behaviors they receive through the media
B) People learn how to enact role behaviors they receive through the media
C) People do not receive role behaviors through the media
D) People do not learn role behaviors through direct experience

Question 33

According to uses and gratifications theory, if you watch a TV program just to avoid doing your homework or the dishes, you are using media for the following reason:

A) Escapism
B) Reality exploration
C) Character reference
D) Incidental reasons

Question 34

The concept of 'media literacy' implies:

A) We learn less about the media by talking about it
B) We learn less about ourselves by talking about the media
C) We learn more about ourselves by talking about the media
D) We learn more about the media by talking about it

Question 35

According to uses and gratifications theory, if you watch a TV program on the Discovery Channel to gain more insight into and knowledge about Mayan ruins in Guatemala, you are using media for the following reason:

A) Escapism
B) Reality exploration
C) Character reference
D) Incidental reasons

Question 36

When parents comment out loud about the messages or characters they see in a television program, they are enacting:

A) Indirect rules for children's interpretation of television
B) Direct rules for children's interpretation of television
C) Indirect parental influence on children's interpretation of television
D) Direct parental influence on children's interpretation of television

Question 37

According to your text, the current top one Nielsen TV ratings for Network Prime-Time Series is:

A) NCIS
B) 60 Minutes
C) Sunday Night Football-Eagles/49ers
D) Dancing with the stars