Q&A Hero

Q: The tendency to pay attention only to information that supports our values and beliefs is called what? A. vividness effect B. mere exposure effect C. valuation bias D. confirmation bias

Q: Which of the following statements is true about being skeptical? A. It is the same as being cynical. B. It is about evaluating the evidence for a claim. C. Being skeptical is about finding fault with a claim. D. It harms a listener's credibility.

Q: According to your text, which of the following statements correctly represents the two parts of interpretation? A. Focus on the subjective meaning of the speaker's message and gauge the truthfulness of his or her claim. B. Understand the point of view the speaker represents and assign a mental interpretation of his or her statement based on that understanding. C. Pay attention to all of the speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages and signal your interpretation back to the speaker. D. Interpret the speaker's message carefully and remember your interpretation for future interactions with the speaker.

Q: Which type of listening response includes the use of head nods, facial expressions, and short utterances such as "uh-huh" that signal your interest to the speaker? A. pseudolistening B. engaging C. supporting D. backchanneling

Q: This form of listening occurs when you are trying to experience what another person is thinking or feeling: A. critical B. empathic C. informational D. passive

Q: We engage in this form of listening when our goal is to evaluate or analyze what we're hearing: A. informational B. analytical C. critical D. empathic

Q: This type of listener engages messages for the intellectual challenges; in other words, he or she likes to think things through. A. content-oriented listener B. action-oriented listener C. information-oriented listener D. intellectual-oriented listener

Q: According to your text, this could qualify as noise: A. loud music B. feeling hungry C. being too hot D. all of the above

Q: Rachel finished her oral exam in her Spanish class and her teacher, Seora Lopez, evaluated her performance. Although Rachel did well on the exam and most of Seora Lopez's comments were positive, Rachel only focused on the negative critiques and felt very bad about her performance. Rachel just engaged in which of the following behaviors? A. pseudolistening B. content-oriented listening C. selective attention D. negative attention bias

Q: According to your textbook, people might interrupt for all of the following reasons except: A. to qualify a speaker's concerns B. to take control of the conversation C. to express enthusiasm for what the speaker is saying D. to stop the speaker and ask for clarification

Q: How is pseudolistening related to glazing over? A. They are the same thing. B. You're actually listening during glazing over, but not during pseudolistening. C. You're actually listening during pseudolistening, but not during glazing over. D. Glazing over involves pretending to listen, but pseudolistening does not.

Q: Dan is an atheist with a keen interest in politics. Whenever Dan is watching a debate and one of the candidates mentions his or her belief or interest in God, he stops listening to that candidate. Sometimes, he'll even change his vote if a candidate he likes mentions God too frequently. Which of the following listening barriers describes Dan? A. rebuttal tendency B. closed-mindedness C. attack listening D. information overload

Q: Asking follow-up questions to confirm our interpretations of someone else's statements is a strategy for: A. separating what is said from what isn't said B. avoiding the vividness effect C. minimizing the effect of a confirmation bias D. evaluating the speaker's credibility

Q: In the HURIER model of effective listening, the "I" stands for what? A. internal thoughts B. interviewing C. interpreting D. intellect

Q: On average, we are able to remember about __________________ of what we hear. A. 95% B. 75% C. 50% D. 25%

Q: A(n) _________________ is a memory aid that helps people recall important information. A. memory enhancement device B. mnemonic device C. recall device D. alliteration device

Q: Imagine that you are giving advice to a friend who is interested in someone else (that you both know) as a potential romantic partner. Give this friend some guidance about nonverbal behaviors in romantic relationships. Specifically, what behaviors should your friend focus on to determine if the other person is romantically interested in them? Likewise, what behaviors should your friend engage in to signal that he or she is romantically interested? What behaviors (if any) should your friend avoid when talking to their prospective love interest? Answers will vary c6 Summary

Q: This is the active process of making meaning out of another person's spoken message: A. hearing B. acknowledging C. understanding D. listening

Q: A study conducted by communication researchers Kathryn Dindia and Bonnie Kennedy concluded that college students A. spend as much time listening as they do engaging in all other communication activities combined B. spend about 20% of their time speaking C. spend about 13% of their time reading D. all of these are true

Q: Which of the following statements about listening is true, according to your text? A. Listening is an innate ability. B. People spend more time listening than speaking. C. Everyone who listens to a message hears the same thing. D. Hearing is the same as listening.

Q: Which of the following statements about the importance of listening is not true? A. Employers tend to rank listening skills as the most important factor in effective management. B. A survey of family interaction showed that listening was the most important communication skill. C. Listening has little to no effect on our physical health beyond avoiding sounds that may induce hearing loss. D. Listening skills are important in the workplace for promoting safety, productivity, and satisfaction.

Q: After a lengthy meeting with the boss and several of his coworkers, Alex asked his friend Jeff if he was concerned about the number of layoffs that his boss said were coming. Jeff looked puzzled for a moment before telling Alex that he wasn't sure when exactly their boss had said to expect layoffs. That exchange reflects which of the following myths of listening? A. All listeners hear the same thing. B. Listening is natural and effortless. C. Hearing is the same as listening. D. People vividly recall information that they hear.

Q: Discuss at least two different ways that people use space to communicate relationship status.

Q: Describe the halo effect and comment on the importance of symmetry and proportionality in facial attractiveness.

Q: Why is our sense of touch so important for our physical development and survival? For our emotional development and survival? Your book discusses five major areas in which touch plays a role in human interaction. Briefly comment on the importance of any three of these areas. Be sure to include in your response how people use different touching behaviors to convey these messages.

Q: Take a position on the issue of how much teachers and school staff should be allowed to touch children at school. Consider both the benefits of touch as well as the concern that touch can be abusive or sexually inappropriate. Back up your position with examples, and be sure to acknowledge the strengths of the opposing viewpoint.

Q: One cultural clich about beauty is that it is "only skin deep," meaning that it is only superficial and it doesn't affect people's lives in any meaningful way. Many people have argued that this is a myth and that beauty has many real effects on people's lives. Which idea would you support, and why? Be sure to offer reasoned arguments and concrete examples to support your position.

Q: Several of the nonverbal channels we've discussed are heavily influenced by culture. Using specific examples when possible, pick at least three different nonverbal channels and highlight how expectations for appropriate nonverbal behavior vary from culture to culture. Next, discuss how these differences are likely to impact interactions. Finally, propose at least two ideas for how people communicating with individuals from other cultures might be able to potentially avoid embarrassing or offensive situations.

Q: Think about the layout of your home. What do the objects, colors, decorations, and furnishings in your home say about you? In a brief essay, walk through your home and describe important items that "say" something about the image of you they reflect. Make sure to incorporate ideas and concepts about artifacts and space from the class and/or text.

Q: Imagine that you are giving advice to a friend who is interested in someone else (that you both know) as a potential romantic partner. Give this friend some guidance about nonverbal behaviors in romantic relationships. Specifically, what behaviors should your friend focus on to determine if the other person is romantically interested in them? Likewise, what behaviors should your friend engage in to signal that he or she is romantically interested? What behaviors (if any) should your friend avoid when talking to their prospective love interest?

Q: Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

Q: During a phone conversation, you are able to infer something about the speaker's mood and personality by listening to his or her vocal cues. That fact illustrates which of the following claims about nonverbal communication? A. Nonverbal communication is usually believed over verbal communication. B. Nonverbal communication is present in most forms of interpersonal communication. C. Nonverbal communication conveys more meaning than verbal communication. D. Nonverbal communication metacommunicates.

Q: Explain the concept of olfactic association. Give 2-3 concrete examples of olfactic associations that you have.

Q: Of all the senses, smell is most strongly tied to memory.

Q: People tend to be most attracted to others whose natural body odors are different from their own.

Q: Most Hispanic, southern European, and Middle Eastern cultures are classified as low-contact cultures.

Q: Our use of time can send powerful messages about value and power.

Q: Arousal is an increase in energy.

Q: Explain the idea that people believe nonverbal cues over verbal cues when the two conflict. Give a concrete example and indicate why we give preference to nonverbal cues.

Q: Choose two of the following forms of gesticulation and describe each, using concrete examples: emblems, illustrators, regulators, affect displays, adaptors.

Q: Explain the difference between articulation and pronunciation, and give examples of each.

Q: These are textual representations of facial expressions, often used in e-mail messages: A. textspressions B. emoticons C. e-smiles D. faceprints

Q: When nonverbal cues conflict with verbal cues, people usually believe the verbal statements.

Q: Most research strongly supports the common notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Q: The face communicates more information than any other nonverbal channel.

Q: The pupil of the eye contracts when we look at someone we find attractive.

Q: Children who are regularly touched develop stronger immune systems than those who are not.

Q: Voices that have low amounts of inflection are said to be monotone.

Q: Your textbook identifies several ways that speakers can use nonverbal communication to increase the persuasiveness of their statements. Which of the following nonverbal behaviors is not in line with these prescriptions? A. speaking softly, slowly, and calmly B. matching someone else's nonverbal behavior C. casually touching someone on the arm D. maintaining eye contact with someone while speaking

Q: Research shows that olfactory cues play a role in mate selection. Which of the following statements is true? A. Men prefer women who smell like themselves. B. Women with more attractive faces smell better to men. C. Men's facial attractiveness is unrelated to how they smell. D. All of the above statements are false.

Q: Which of the following nonverbal cues is commonly associated with deception, according to research? A. decreased smiling B. increased kinesic behavior C. increased vocal pitch D. decreased pupil dilation

Q: Effectively interpreting nonverbal communication includes all of the following except: A. sensitivity to others' nonverbal messages B. trying to decipher the correct meaning of nonverbal behavior C. looking past cultural differences to understand the meaning D. asking for clarification when necessary

Q: Vocalic behaviors that go along with verbal behaviors to convey meaning are known as: A. fundamental frequency B. enunciation C. paralanguage D. paravocalic devices

Q: When people get excited or aroused, this usually happens to their voice: A. increased articulation B. decreased loudness C. reduced inflection D. elevated pitch

Q: According to Edward T. Hall, this range of this type of distance is approximately 1 to 4 feet: A. intimate distance B. personal distance C. social distance D. public distance

Q: The tendency to assume that attractive people have other positive qualities is called what? A. positive prototyping B. character assumption C. principle of facial primacy D. halo effect

Q: While talking to a friend at a party, you notice that your romantic partner has just arrived. Eager to greet your partner, you angle your posture away from your friend and toward your partner. That movement: A. is culturally insensitive, especially to members of high-contact cultures B. is a form of leave-taking behavior known as left-positioning C. incorrectly suggests to your friend that your partner is more important than he or she is D. each of these is correct

Q: Which of the following statements about facial or vocal expressions of emotions is factually incorrect? A. Infants are unable to respond to pleasant stimuli before they are 12 months old. B. Facial expressions of emotion are fairly consistent across cultures. C. Disgust, boredom, and grief are typically accompanied by a lower vocal pitch. D. People tend to speak faster when they are scared.

Q: When Rachel saw her neighbor Harold in the hallway, he quickly flagged her down and began to speak with her. Throughout their conversation, Harold maintained steady eye contact, spoke very quickly, laughed frequently, and stood closer to Rachel than he usually would. Harold's nonverbal cues indicate that: A. he was nervous or uncomfortable B. he was engaging in deception C. he was excited D. he was content

Q: Which of the following items was not identified in your textbook as a demographic characteristic? A. age B. ethnic background C. sexual orientation D. socioeconomic status

Q: When you see someone dressed in very tight, dark clothing with spiky hair and eyeliner, you infer that this person is into emo punk rock. Your impression is based on which set of cues? A. demographic B. sociocultural C. socioeconomic D. psychographic

Q: The study of how people use movement is called what? A. haptics B. kinesics C. oculesics D. proxemics

Q: This type of gesture has a direct verbal translation: A. illustrator B. regulator C. emblem D. adaptor

Q: The study of touch behavior is known as: A. haptics B. oculesics C. proxemics D. kinesics

Q: Why do people tend to believe nonverbal messages even when they contradict verbal messages? A. Nonverbal behaviors are completely involuntary and reflect people's true states. B. People will only attempt to control their nonverbal behavior when they are lying. C. It is harder for most people to control their nonverbal communication than their verbal communication. D. All of these are true.

Q: Which of the following pairs of nonverbal channels is particularly useful in communicating emotion? A. facial expression and vocal behaviors B. eye contact and hand gesturing C. body movement and eye contact D. vocal behaviors and body movement

Q: Which of the following emotional states was NOT identified by Paul Ekman as having a universal facial expression? A. happiness B. disgust C. jealousy D. surprise

Q: Rick's manager, Susan, called him into her office one afternoon to discuss his annual evaluation. As soon as Rick sat down, Susan said, "Rick, your performance is unacceptable and I'm going to have to let you go." After a moment of silence, Susan grinned and winked at Rick and he knew she was joking. Susan used nonverbal communication to: A. reinforce the interpersonal nature of her message B. metacommunicate that she was teasing C. convey emotional meaning D. give her statement greater impact

Q: According to the text, the face is used primarily to communicate all of the following except: A. identity B. emotion C. attractiveness D. intellect

Q: This aspect of facial attractiveness refers to the relative size of facial features, such as the nose or ears: A. symmetry B. rhinoplasty C. proportionality D. asymmetry

Q: Which of the following claims about facial expressions of emotion is not true? A. Extroverts tend to be better than introverts at interpreting nonverbal expressions of emotion. B. Women are generally better than men at understanding facial displays of emotion. C. Happiness is the easiest facial expression to decode. D. Facial expressions are second only to vocal behaviors in their ability to express emotion.

Q: Do you agree with some of the criticisms scholars have waged against the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis? How important is language in shaping our worldview? How important is our worldview in shaping language development? Make a case either for or against the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.

Q: Your text has made the suggestion that generally positive forms of language, like humor, can sometimes have negative consequences, and that generally negative forms of language, like profanity, can sometimes be positive. This point illustrates how much the effects of language depend on the context in which it is used. In a short essay, explain this point by using concrete examples of humor and profanity (as both positive and negative). Then, extend your discussion to the other forms of speech discussed in the chapter, including euphemism, slang, libel, slander, and hate speech. It is true that each of these forms of language could have either positive or negative effects, depending on the context?

Q: What are some of the benefits of using language in positive ways that express affection, intimacy, comfort, and support? Think about implications for the speaker, the hearer, and their relationship. What are some of the different ways we can use language to express these sentiments?

Q: Research on humor has found that different cultures and societies have different ideas about what makes a joke funny. Using what you know about humor, about culture, and about language in general, explain why this should be the case? That is, why should cultures differ from each other in their appreciation of humor? In your explanation, make explicit reference to the principles of culture, language, and humor that support your argument.

Q: How prevalent is hate speech in American culture today? What types of environments promote or foster this type of language? What, if anything, should be done to eliminate hate speech and/or protect the targets of hate speech? Finally, using some of the concepts from the textbook and/or class, make some recommendations for ways that hate speech can be avoided on your campus.

Q: 47. Your text has made the suggestion that generally positive forms of language, like humor, can sometimes have negative consequences, and that generally negative forms of language, like profanity, can sometimes be positive. This point illustrates how much the effects of language depend on the context in which it is used. In a short essay, explain this point by using concrete examples of humor and profanity (as both positive and negative). Then, extend your discussion to the other forms of speech discussed in the chapter, including euphemism, slang, libel, slander, and hate speech. It is true that each of these forms of language could have either positive or negative effects, depending on the context?

Q: Which of the following vocal behaviors is a dimension of nonverbal communication? A. tone of voice B. rate of speech C. loudness D. all of these

Q: Contemporary research suggests that approximately this percentage of meaning is transmitted nonverbally: A. 30-35% B. 45-50% C. 65-70% D. 90-95%

Q: Describe how language is tied to issues of credibility, and provide examples of at least three different factors that might affect one's credibility.