Chapter 5: Culture and Communication

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Individualist cultures are generally known to ______.

a. emphasize the importance of one’s place in the system

b. stress group benefit

c. emphasize acting for the common good

d. focus on personal goals and achievements

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Individualist Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. A person who comes from a monochronic culture would be most likely to ______.

a. arrive on time, if not early, for appointments

b. multitask on a regular basis

c. carry out multiple conversations at the same time

d. establish relationships before introducing business

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Monochronic Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. A person who comes from a polychronic culture would be most likely to ______.

a. arrive on time, if not early, for appointments

b. think of time as a straight line from beginning to end

c. be less concerned about arriving on time for appointments

d. be more concerned about business than getting to know someone

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Polychronic Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Certain topics that people in a society never bother to persuade anyone else about because their arguments are always raised against a background of common understanding and shared beliefs are known as cultural ______.

a. persuadables

b. expendables

c. communities

d. entities

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Speech Communities

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Believing that our own cultural way of acting is right and normal, and all other ways of acting are only variants of the only really good way to act, is called ______.

a. ethnography

b. ethnocentric bias

c. egocentric bias

d. autoethnography

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Chapter Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. A smaller group of culture within a larger cultural mass is considered to be, according to Duck and McMahan, a(n) ______.

a. subculture

b. nonculture

c. co-culture

d. insignificant culture

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Co-Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Your authors’ perspective that “society is a coded system of meaning” reflects the belief that society is ______.

a. the hierarchical structure in which we live

b. the power structure in which we live

c. a set of beliefs, heritage, and way of being in which we live

d. an illusion in which we live

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. According to your authors, children who learn the “rules” of how to talk to others also learn the ______.

a. habits of their particular culture

b. most effective way to throw a tantrum

c. problems of human communication

d. lack of human culture

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structure-Based Cultural Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. High-context societies are more likely to ______.

a. emphasize the actual words of the message rather than the context

b. consider relationships as important as, if not more important than, the actual message

c. separate the relationships from the message

d. focus on the details and the logic of the message

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: High-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Low-context societies are more likely to ______.

a. take more cues from their relationship with the speaker than from the message

b. pay attention to the details and the logic of the message

c. pay more attention to contextual issues such as nonverbal communication

d. pay less attention to the spoken words of the message

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Low-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. In an organizational setting, a low-context culture would emphasize ______.

a. commitment to people

b. adherence to set plans

c. concern for relationships

d. open friendliness over privacy

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Low-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. In an organizational setting, a high-context culture would emphasize ______.

a. commitment to people

b. adherence to set plans

c. concern for others’ privacy

d. promptness

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: High-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Collectivist cultures are generally known to emphasize ______.

a. the individual person

b. individual goals and achievements

c. the right to personal choice

d. acting for the common good

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Collectivist Cultures

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. ______ cultures place a great deal of emphasis on the total environment or context where speech and interaction take place.

a. Low-Context

b. High-context

c. Collectivistic

d. Individualistic

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: High-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. In ______ societies, people usually recuse (remove) themselves from decision-making roles if a friend or family member is involved.

a. low-context

b. high-context

c. polychronic

d. monochronic

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Low-Context Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Within a ______ society, an individual who acts to achieve personal rather than collective goals would be viewed as simply selfish and disrespectful.

a. low-context

b. high-context

c. collectivistic

d. individualistic

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Collectivism/Individualism

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. A large group like “Americans” can be broken down into smaller groups. These smaller groups are examples of ______.

a. subculture

b. nonculture

c. co-culture

d. insignificant culture

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Co-Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

Multiple Response

1. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which groups are considered members of a unique culture?

a. Comic book fans

b. Farmers

c. Musicians

d. Fast-food employees

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. The research that has been conducted about culture from a structural standpoint, examining communication within and among nations or physical regions, is usually referred to as ______.

a. nation-state communication

b. cross-cultural communication

c. transactional communication

d. intercultural communication

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Cross-Cultural Communication and Intercultural Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Culture is not just structured but is also transacted in communication by which means?

a. Heritage

b. A way of being

c. A coded system of meaning

d. A set of beliefs

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which are considered cross-cultural characteristics?

a. Time

b. Conflict

c. Collectivism/Individualism

d. Context

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structure-Based Cultural Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which best describe the assumptions known as cultural persuadables?

a. It is important to have a well-structured argument or well-delivered presentation.

b. Certain topics and ideas are taken for granted within a given society.

c. There is a background of common understanding and shared belief within a given society.

d. There are norms that delineate a range of what may and what must be persuaded within a given society.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Speech Communities

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which are true of transacting culture?

a. Culture goes beyond physical location.

b. Cultural groups are created through communication.

c. Cultural membership is enacted through communication.

d. Culture is embedded within your communication.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transacting Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which is an indication that culture is embedded within your communication?

a. Wearing “cultural clothes”

b. Speaking in a manner that prompts someone to ask, “Are you from the South?”

c. Speaking in a language that is not your native language

d. When someone says to you, “I love your accent”

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Culture Is Embedded Within Your Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Culture refers exclusively to geographical or ethnic differences between groups of people.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Chapter Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Co-cultural groups and “social communities” often exist within the framework of a larger culture.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Limitations and Benefits

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Context has to do with the number of words in a message.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Collectivism involves placing more emphasis on the needs of the group over the needs of the individual.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Collectivist Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Individualism involves placing more emphasis on the needs of the group over the needs of the individual.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Individualist Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Doing one thing at a time in a linear fashion is typical of monochronic time.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Monochronic Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Cultures that emphasize polychronic time also emphasize being on time for appointments.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Polychronic Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Cultures are universally future oriented rather than being focused on the past or present.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Answer Location: Future and Past Orientations

Difficulty Level: Medium

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

9. Culture is geographical.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Viewing culture from a transaction standpoint focuses on large-scale differences in values, beliefs, goals, and preferred ways of acting among nations, regions, ethnicities, and religions.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. By viewing culture from a structural standpoint, the focus is on belonging to sets of people who share meanings and styles of speaking, systems of beliefs, and customs.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Cross-cultural communication compares the communication styles and patterns of people from very different cultural/social structures, such as nation-states.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Intercultural communication deals with how people from different cultural/social structures speak to one another and what difficulties or differences they encounter, over and above the different languages they speak.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Features of topography may be reflected in attitudes to neighbors, like isolationism, neutrality and independence.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Culture Is Embedded Within Your Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Burleson, Roberts, Coon, & Solo (2019) indicate that acceptance of affectionate touch was much higher in Mexican American as compared with European Americans.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Culture Is Embedded Within Your Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. In such countries as China and Iraq, a person’s status in society is extremely important, and people tend to rely on shared history and their relationship to the speaker/audience to contextualize their talk.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. In a low-context society, spoken words are much less important than the rest of the context

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. In a high-context society, then, people try to separate their relationships from the messages and to focus on the details and the logic.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Nepotism, or favoritism shown to a family member or friend, is evaluated negatively in low-context cultures.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Collectivist cultures place importance on the whole group, stressing common concerns and the value of acting not merely for oneself but for the common good.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Collectivism/Individualism

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Western societies, such as the United States or UK, are generally characterized as collectivistic.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Collectivism/Individualism

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Putting too much emphasis on time so that people’s relationships are ignored is regarded as rude and pushy in monochronic cultures.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Polychronic Cultures

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Polychronic cultures view time as a valuable commodity and punctuality as very important.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Polychronic Cultures

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Some Asian societies pay more attention to the distant future and, like South American and Mediterranean cultures, tend to assume a greater influence of the past on the present.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Future and Past Orientations

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Co-cultures are smaller groups of culture within a larger cultural mass.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Co-Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Cultural groups are set apart based on their communication styles. Sets of communication patterns that are the norm for a culture—and only that culture—are known by what description?

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Speech Communities

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Give an example of how some cultural groups may rejoice in their exclusivity.

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. What must be learned and understood before a person can fully enact membership into a group?

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. If cultural understanding is fundamental to enacting cultural membership, then how is that understanding learned?

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. The most common approach to studying culture has been to view it as what kind of structure?

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. On one hand, the authors say culture is not equivalent to nation or geography, yet they focus on many of those features in this chapter. Why?

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Transacting Culture

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Your culture is ______ in your communication not only in the language you speak but also in the thoughts you express and the assumptions you make.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Culture Is Embedded Within Your Communication

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. What is a term that describes how people can know something about a person’s culture when that person speaks?

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Culture Is Embedded Within Your Communication

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. The view that one’s own cultural styles of communication are the normal ways of communicating and that other ways of communicating are variations of normal communication is known as what type of bias?

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Can Culture Be Identified and Studied?

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Explain a coded system of meaning.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. In terms of context, Iraq is generally classified as what type of culture?

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. What is a co-culture?

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Co-Cultures

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Explain what is meant by the term ethnocentric bias.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Chapter Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Identify what is studied in the field of cross-cultural communication as compared with intercultural communication.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cross-Cultural Communication and Intercultural Communication

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Define what a speech community is and where speech communities are found.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Speech Communities

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Distinguish between low-context and high-context societies.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Identify the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Collectivism/Individualism

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Describe how studying culture as a transaction is different from studying culture in structural or geographic terms.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transacting Culture

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Describe how enacting membership into a cultural group is more complicated and restrictive than it may initially appear?

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Explain how the view of culture as transacted proposes that communication can lead to membership in a particular culture.

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Explain the influence of social networks on romantic relationships in American culture versus Korean culture.

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cross-Cultural Communication and Intercultural Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Why is important to understand how culture is symbolically transacted?

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Describe the difference between monochronic cultures and polychronic cultures.

Learning Objective: 5.3: Describe how communication is organized to reflect cultural beliefs about context, collectivism/individualism, and time.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Monochronic Culture

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. What is a speech community? Provide two examples of a speech community.

Learning Objective: 5.5: Clarify what it means to say that cultural groups are created through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Speech Communities

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Explain the process (and difficulty) of enacting membership into a cultural group through communication.

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. How are outsiders viewed by insiders when attempting to enact membership into a cultural group?

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Before a person can fully enact membership into a group, what must happen?

Learning Objective: 5.6: Outline how people enact cultural membership through communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Cultural Membership Is Enacted Through Communication

Difficulty Level: Hard

16. Explain what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Learning Objective: 5.1: Define what it means to view culture as “structured.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structure-Based Cultural Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Learning Objective: 5.2: Explain what it means to view culture as “transacted.”

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Coded Systems of Meaning

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Explain what it means to say culture is coded into communication.

Learning Objective: 5.4: Explain what it means to say culture is coded into communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transacting Culture

Difficulty Level: Medium