Chapter 2 Test Items

1. The common epistemology of people who are self-described social scientists is

a. humanism

b. qualitative

c. quantitative

d. interpretive

2. Based on the following major and minor premises, what should the correct hypothesis be?

Major Premise: Beatty, Behnke, and Henderson (1980) found that respondents scored higher on

the receiver apprehension test when the information required psychological adjustment.

Minor Premise: In a situation where people are surprised and overwhelmed as a result of a crisis situation, it is possible that the traumatic stress of the actual situation would require greater psychological adjustment on the part of the receivers, so they would report lower levels of understanding of the crisis itself (Richmond, Wrench, & Gorham, 2001).

a. There will be a positive relationship between an individual’s level of receiver apprehension and her or his perceived understanding of the crisis.

b. There will be a negative relationship between an individual’s level of understanding and her or his perception of the crisis itself.

c. There will be a negative relationship between an individual’s level of receiver apprehension and her or his perceived understanding of the crisis.

d. There will be a positive relationship between an individual’s level of understanding and her or

his perception of the crisis itself.

3. Which of the following is a proposed explanation for how a set of natural phenomena will occur, capable of making predictions about the phenomena for the future and of being falsified through empirical observation?

a. theory

b. empirical generalization

c. prediction

d. proposition

4. Which of the following presents the correct order of the scientific method?

a. theories 🡪 observations 🡪 empirical generalizations 🡪 predictions

b. empirical generalizations 🡪 theories 🡪 observations 🡪 predictions

c. theories 🡪 predictions 🡪 observations 🡪 empirical generalizations

d. theories 🡪 empirical generalizations 🡪 observations 🡪 predictions

5. Professors often think of similar words (synonyms) to help students understand a question and/or to help him or her more fully understand what the question is actually asking. When this happens, the professor is illustrating which function of a theory?

a. appealing to authority

b. explanation

c. labeling the phenomena

d. evoking empathy

6. The belief that science is only acceptable insofar as the phenomenon in question can be

“sensed” by average people is

a. hypothesis

b. science

c. humanism

d. empiricism

7. While attempting to explain a given phenomenon, Jill opts to define a series of terms related to the phenomenon. Which method of explanation is Jill using?

a. evoke empathy

b. label the phenomenon

c. define terms or give examples

d. appeal to authority

8. Which of the following is NOT true of syllogisms?

a. a basic syllogism has three propositions

b. a basic syllogism has one premise and two conclusions

c. for the syllogism to be true, we have to trust that the premises are true

d. if the syllogism starts with false premises, the conclusion can never be true

9. Consider the following hypothetical proposition:

If one exercises, then he/she may lose weight.

The “then he/she may lose weight” is considered which of the following?

a. consequent

b. antecedent

c. hypothesis

d. prediction

10. Media scholars have often investigated how violence in the media relates to violence in the real world. Politicians have inaccurately tried to use media research in various attempts to get media banned based when there is little research to support their claims. Which common error do politicians in this example illustrate?

a. an empirical leap

b. a hasty generalization

c. a theoretical generalization

d. an empirical end

e. a theoretical advance

11. Which are the two epistemological approaches discussed in the textbook?

a. scientific/humanism

b. scientific/interpretive

c. critical/interpretive

d. critical/scientific

12. Which of the following words most clearly identifies qualitative research?

a. subjective

b. objective

c. numerical

d. sampling

13. Who is credited with the modern understanding of the scientific method?

a. Karl Popper

b. Galileo Galilee

c. Ibn al-Haytham

d. Isaac Newton

14. Every time Judith turns on the television she sees the same commercial depicting dogs that are malnourished, beaten, and otherwise neglected. The organization that created the commercial is seeking donations to continue its mission of saving one dog at a time. What type of explanation of a phenomenon does this example most represent?

a. evoke empathy

b. appeal to authority

c. label the phenomenon

d. appeal to general empirical rules

15. Darla is creating a hypothesis based on some research she’s found. What would her conclusion be, based on the following premises?

Major Premise: Physician use of humor is positively related to an individual’s compliance with her or his physician.

Minor Premise: There is a negative relationship between patient compliance and the likelihood of relapse.

a. A physician’s use of humor negatively relates to a patient’s likelihood of relapse.

b. A physician’s use of humor causes patients to become more ill.

c. A physician’s compliance-gaining strategies lead to a decrease in patient compliance.

d. Physicians who are liked are less likely to have patients who are noncompliant.

16. __________ is a way of knowing.

a. axiology

b. epistemology

c. ontology

d. methodology

17. Which of the approaches to epistemological skepticism argues that knowledge of something impossible?

a. academic

b. epistemist

c. McCroskian

d. Pyrrhonian

18. We also realize that these predictions are __________, meaning they are not accurate 100% of the time.

a. probabilistic

b. impractical

c. statistical

d. unrealistic

19. Which of Harris (2014) six specific differences between ordinary and scientific knowledge argues scientists read a range of research studies on a single topic prior to engaging in a new study or scientific discourse to make sure their positions are backed by evidence and not opinion?

a. analyzing data and presenting results

b. careful measurements

c. ethics and politics

d. reading the literature

20. John comes up with a new theory, but he realizes that it would be impossible to study his theory to demonstrate if it is accurate or inaccurate. Which aspect related to the scientific method acknowledges why John’s theory is scientifically problematic?

a. describing natural phenomena

b. falsification

c. appealing to empirical rules

d. predicting the future

21. Research is the use of the scientific method to answer questions.

a. True

b. False

22. Most quantitative research is subjective.

a. True

b. False

23. Carl Hovland first argued that all theories must be falsifiable.

a. True

b. False

24. The “if” statement of a hypothetical proposition is called the antecedent.

a. True

b. False

25. Data sharing occurs any time one manipulates or alters the data to achieve the results wanted by the researcher.

a. True

b. False

26. Skepticism is important to both knowledge and justification.

a. True

b. False

27. Objectivity involves the inclusion of personal emotions, predictions, and biases when making observations.

a. True

b. False

28. An empirical generalization is an attempt to describe a phenomenon based on what we know about the phenomenon.

a. True

b. False

Essays:

29. Explain the process of the scientific method.

30. Describe the difference between the scientific and humanistic epistemological approaches.

31. Considering the following syllogism. Is it correct in form? Is it sound? Defend your answer.

All animals are living beings.

All dogs are animals.

Therefore, all dogs are living beings.

32. What three branches of knowledge might communication scholars use according to this chapter? Explain each branch.

33. What are the six specific differences between common and scientific knowledge?

Matching:

34. Match each of the following terms with the correct statement.

a. Epistemology = Way of knowing.

b. Proposition = A statement that either confirms something or denies something.

c. Observations = The part of the part of the scientific method where a researcher attempts to test the hypotheses created.

d. Hasty generalizations = Generalizing about something when not enough evidence is available to do so.

e. Theory = Proposed explanation for how a set of natural phenomena will occur that is capable of making predictions about the phenomena for the future and of being falsified through empirical observation.