Adapting To Your Audience And Situation Ch.5 Exam Questions

CHAPTER 5 Test Bank

Multiple-Choice Questions

5.1. The age and gender of an audience are examples of _____ information.

a. sociocultural

b. demographic

c. psychographic

d. stereotypical

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.2. How is gender stereotyping frequently revealed in American society?

a. sexist language

b. hiring practices

c. racial profiling

d. demographic changes

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.3. Which of these characteristics is typical of a well-educated audience?

a. They have relatively predictable political preferences.

b. They are less tolerant of differing lifestyles.

c. They are more critical and demanding consumers of messages.

d. They are less likely to question the credibility of an unprepared speaker.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.4. While Johnny is careful to avoid the explicit use of ugly labels, he does vent his negative views of non-Americans through comments such as, “In this country, we respect law and order.” Johnny’s words may be characterized as _____.

a. eurocentrism

b. self-actualization

c. symbolic racism

d. marking

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.5. While traveling internationally, Lydia observes that some people from other cultures seem to be less comfortable making eye contact while communicating. Because most Americans equate eye contact with honesty, she concludes that non-Americans in general are dishonest. Lydia’s attitude is an example of _____.

a. ethnocentrism

b. symbolic racism

c. sexist language

d. self-actualization

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.6. Which type of group affiliation is most likely to be selected solely by the individual?

a. religious

b. social

c. political

d. occupational

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.7. The instructor asked the students to learn about the psychographics of their classmates before making their presentations on paying for college. Which of the following students is doing what the instructor asked?

a. Ronan knows that most of his classmates have parents who are Baby Boomers and their parents will pay for college.

b. Sonja decides to collect data on the year her classmates were born. Because she attends community college, she thinks there are people in her class ranging in age from 20 to 50.

c. Janelle surveys her classmates and asks them if they believe government should pay college costs, or if students or their families should pay.

d. Darren knows that many of his classmates belong to the Young Republicans club and are probably able to pay for their own education.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.8. _____ refer to strongly held thoughts and feelings that predispose us to respond positively or negatively to a given topic or message.

a. Attitudes

b. Beliefs

c. Values

d. Morals

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.9. _____ are the psychological needs, desires, and impulses that move audiences to action.

a. Motives

b. Demographics

c. Values

d. Ethos

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.10. What are our most basic needs according to Abraham Maslow?

a. self-actualization

b. financial success

c. a sense of belonging

d. physical

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.11. Abby said that at least 45% of the audience probably had low levels of carbon monoxide in their home that could cause health concerns. Her statement best corresponds to which of the needs identified by Abraham Maslow?

a. belonging

b. physical

c. safety and security

d. self-actualization

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.12. What motivational appeal is best exemplified by stating to an audience that their hard work is the reason for their success?

a. achievement and recognition

b. physical well-being

c. relationships

d. safety and security

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.13. If you were to suggest to an audience that there is nothing wrong with having a good time, what motivation are you hoping to tap into?

a. achievement and recognition

b. personal growth and satisfaction

c. tradition

d. pleasure and recreation

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.14. Which of these speakers is using tradition as a motivational appeal?

a. Katie complimented her audience on their ability to keep active and maintain their weight loss.

b. Malala described the latest achievements in microprocessor technology to the group of science students.

c. Milli told her audience, “We are Americans and Americans have always believed in freedom.”

d. Juan encouraged his audience to join the ski club if they wanted to meet other people who enjoyed the sport as much as they did.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.15. A(n) _____ is what we know or what we think we know about a subject.

a. attitude

b. belief

c. value

d. motive

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.16. What motivational appeal is best exemplified by commercials asking you to give money to charities that provide for needy children?

a. altruism

b. safety and security

c. relational needs

d. achievement and recognition

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.17. Which of the following provides an example of an open-ended question?

a. True or False: North America is the largest continent on Earth.

b. What is the leading cause of premature fatalities in America? (a) homicide; (b) auto accidents; (c) heart disease; or (d) the flu

c. How do you feel about the subject of immigration reform?

d. Yes or No: Did you eat my cookies?

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.18. What is a major drawback of using only closed-ended questions when gathering audience information?

a. They are difficult to administer.

b. They are difficult to tabulate due to the wide variety of possible answers.

c. They are time-consuming for responders to complete.

d. They do not reveal how audience members actually think and feel about an issue.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.19. Jonah wants to gain consistent feedback from his survey so that he can draw general conclusions from the responses. Which type of question would be best for Jonah to include in his survey?

a. open-ended

b. closed-ended

c. short answer

d. long answer/essay

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.20. When developing a questionnaire, which of the following guidelines are important to follow?

a. keep it short

b. use language that is ambiguous

c. each question should address several ideas

d. include technical jargon

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.21. What strategy for engaging diverse audiences did Barack Obama use by insisting that “There is not a Black America and a White America . . . there’s the United States of America”?

a. intercultural communication

b. pointing out the negative aspects of Republican beliefs

c. speaking from shared values

d. using supporting materials

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.4

Learning Objective: LO 5.4 Understand the rewards and challenges of audience diversity.

Topic: The Rewards and Challenges of Audience Diversity

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.22. Which of these speakers is bridging cultural diversity by using inclusive language?

a. Moriah reminded the group, “It’s not up to me, it’s up to you to understand why this is happening.”

b. Barrett said, “If elected I will support proposals to help your people.”

c. The senator tried to reason with voters by saying, “First let me tell you a story about myself.”

d. Sara said, “If we work together we can solve this issue and move forward together.”

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.4

Learning Objective: LO 5.4 Understand the rewards and challenges of audience diversity.

Topic: The Rewards and Challenges of Audience Diversity

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.23. Jenny didn’t think it was appropriate for the speaker to talk about her own contributions to the United Way Fund when she was supposed to be talking about the regional hospital fund. What did this speaker fail to take into consideration?

a. occasion

b. recent events

c. physical location

d. size of the audience

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.5

Learning Objective: LO 5.5 Adjust your message to the speaking situation.

Topic: Adjusting to the Speaking Situation

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.24. What does a preliminary tuning effect refer to?

a. how the time of day affects the audience’s perceptions of a speech

b. how the occasion affects the audience’s perceptions of a speech

c. how recent events affect the audience’s perceptions of a speech

d. how speeches before your speech affect the audience’s perceptions

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.5

Learning Objective: LO 5.5 Adjust your message to the speaking situation.

Topic: Adjusting to the Speaking Situation

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.25. Kendra is worried about giving her speech on seat belt safety because yesterday there was a report of a school bus accident in which children were injured because they did not have seat belts to wear. This demonstrates how a speech can be influenced by the _____ setting.

a. psychological

b. physical

c. socioeconomic

d. physiological

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.5

Learning Objective: LO 5.5 Adjust your message to the speaking situation.

Topic: Adjusting to the Speaking Situation

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

True-False Questions

5.26. By demographics, we mean attitudes that serve as disruptive barriers to communication.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.27. Polls suggest that women are generally less interested in politics than men.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.28. Education is generally a poor indicator of political preference.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.29. Sexist language occurs when a person uses subtle contrasts to imply that one race is superior to another.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.30. Beliefs are best defined as strong feelings toward objects, people, events, or ideas—and how we are inclined to act toward them.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.31. Attitudes might refer to whether we like or dislike a topic, or if we approve or disapprove of a person.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.32. Commercials for home security systems best reflect our need for recognition.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.33. Altruism represents a specific form of ethnocentrism.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.34. A “yes or no” question on a survey is an example of a closed-ended question.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.35. The use of pronouns such as “we” instead of “them” establishes common ground.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.4

Learning Objective: LO 5.4 Understand the rewards and challenges of audience diversity.

Topic: The Rewards and Challenges of Audience Diversity

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

FILL-IN-THE BLANK Questions

5.36. Such general characteristics as age, gender, and sexual orientation refer to the _____ of an audience.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.37. Between men and women, scholars argue that _____ tend to be more verbally aggressive in their communication behaviors.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.38. While it is more subtle, _____ racism still involves the use of code words or implied contrasts that suggest one race is superior to the other.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.39. The tendency of one culture to believe that it is superior or the norm against which other cultures should be evaluated refers to _____.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.40. The beliefs, attitudes, values, and _____ that influence the behavior of listeners are called psychographics.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Easy

Skill: Remember the Facts

5.41. The moral principles that we live by and guide our behavior are called _____.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.42. Widely shared impulses, such as the desire to maintain weight loss, are types of _____.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.43. The basic need for _____ is demonstrated by the satisfaction people feel from helping others who are less fortunate.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.44. A(n) _____-ended question allows the responder to answer in as much detail as they choose.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.3

Learning Objective: LO 5.3 Determine ways to gather information about your audience.

Topic: Gathering Information about Your Audience

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

5.45. The occasion for speaking and the physical and psychological settings for the speech are known as the speaking _____.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.5

Learning Objective: LO 5.5 Adjust your message to the speaking situation.

Topic: Adjusting to the Speaking Situation

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

Short-Answer/Essay Questions

5.46. Describe three types of group affiliations that could affect a speech. Provide examples.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.1

Learning Objective: LO 5.1 Adjust your message to the demographic characteristics of listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Demographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Understand the Concepts

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.47. Explain the difference between beliefs and values. Provide examples.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.48. Discuss three motivational appeals in terms of how you might use them in a speech.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.2

Learning Objective: LO 5.2 Understand how psychographics might influence listeners.

Topic: Understanding Audience Psychographics

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.49. Discuss three strategies for meeting the challenges of audience diversity. Provide examples.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.4

Learning Objective: LO 5.4 Understand the rewards and challenges of audience diversity.

Topic: The Rewards and Challenges of Audience Diversity

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know

5.50. Discuss two variables of the communication situation in terms of how they might influence a speech. Provide examples.

Chapter: 05

Module: 5.5

Learning Objective: LO 5.5 Adjust your message to the speaking situation.

Topic: Adjusting to the Speaking Situation

Difficulty: Moderate

Skill: Apply What You Know