Deck 14: Media and Consumption

Question 1

How has the structure of the media evolved over the past couple of decades?

A) There has been a shrinking of the media industry.
B) Media companies have grown in size because of mergers.
C) Media ownership has become much more diffuse.
D) Media outlets have become less global in scope.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In one country, 200 media companies owned the country's media outlets. Two decades later, fewer than 10 corporations owned all the country's media outlets. This shift in ownership represents which trend in the media?

A) planned obsolescence
B) user-generated content
C) ownership concentration
D) cultural imperialism

Answer 2

C

Question 3

How do the "new" media and traditional mass media compare?

A) They are essentially the same thing; there are simply more cable channels today.
B) In new media there are blurrier boundaries between user and receiver of media messages.
C) In traditional media, there is a "many-to-many" web of messages being exchanged.
D) In traditional media, there is a clear distinction between consumers and creators of media.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which one of the following is NOT characteristic of traditional mass media?

A) anonymous receivers
B) one-to-many communication
C) one-way communication
D) no distinction between producers and audience

Question 5

When more media outlets come to be owned by fewer and fewer companies, media ownership becomes

A) diffuse.
B) enhanced.
C) diminished.
D) concentrated.

Question 6

Which of the following is often true about the relationship between media outlets and their corporate sponsors?

A) Media outlets often will do exposés on corporate sponsors to raise ratings.
B) Media outlets are usually not critical of their sponsors in news stories or reports.
C) Corporate allegiances never shape the content of the media they sponsor, either positively or negatively.
D) Corporate sponsors pay a lot of money for ads but do not expect those media outlets to be less critical of them.

Question 7

A ________ is when a company sells two completely different products to two different sets of buyers.

A) sales market
B) single product market
C) global market
D) dual product market

Question 8

What term is used when a media company owns different forms of media (like television networks and newspapers)?

A) vertical integration
B) horizontal integration
C) concentration of ownership
D) mass media

Question 9

What is one consequence of the concentration of media ownership?

A) Fewer perspectives are presented, and those that are presented represent the concerns of corporate powers.
B) Cable prices go up but the quality of programming goes down.
C) Media become more diffuse because they are owned and produced by more groups.
D) More perspectives are presented, particularly those of less powerful groups.

Question 10

A media company acquires a film production company, a film editing firm, and a film distribution firm. By owning different stages of movie making, the company is ________ integrated.

A) vertically
B) upwardly
C) horizontally
D) diagonally

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a way that a sociologist would study the media?

A) comparing media depictions to social reality
B) determining cable television cost structures
C) examining media effects on audience
D) comparing content across two media types

Question 12

Kali, a television producer, creates a new show that she knows will appeal to young people. She also believes it will achieve good ratings, so advertisers will want to buy commercial time for the program as well. This represents

A) media convergence.
B) a dual product market.
C) a vertically integrated company.
D) an active audience.

Question 13

What was the key to the development of new media?

A) individuals' willingness to participate in the creation of media
B) globalization
C) linking digital media to the Internet
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 14

How does personal communication differ from mass media messages?

A) Mass media messages are intended for a large and anonymous audience.
B) Mass media messages are always scripted, whereas personal communication is not.
C) Personal communication is intended for a large and anonymous audience.
D) Personal communication is for entertainment; mass media messages are for news.

Question 15

An active audience is one that

A) uses as many technological means as they can to ingest media content.
B) actively interprets media content.
C) does not watch media content.
D) has premium cable packages.

Question 16

Increasingly, movie ticket sales are described in terms of worldwide rather than only American sales. What does this indicate about the changing structure of mass media?

A) Mass media are more regional in their influence today.
B) Mass media are more global in their scope today.
C) Other countries do not produce movies today.
D) Most everyone in the world speaks English.

Question 17

What do sociologists traditionally call media that are intended to reach a relatively anonymous audience?

A) entertainment
B) new media
C) mass media
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following are considered media?

A) communication technologies such as the Internet
B) companies that produce media content
C) television, film, and newspapers
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 19

The media often promote an ideology that

A) justifies the existence of social inequality.
B) challenges our current capitalist economy.
C) opposes social inequality in all forms.
D) promotes the perspectives of poor people.

Question 20

What does it mean to say that traditional media were only involved in one-way communication?

A) They did not rely on audience participation.
B) They used low-level technologies.
C) They created personalized messages for a single viewer.
D) They never considered their audience.

Question 21

How has the saturation of media changed interpersonal interactions?

A) More and more of our social interactions are filtered through media.
B) We spend a lot of time talking to friends face-to-face about media.
C) We spend more time in interpersonal interactions today because of new media.
D) We spend less time at home because we need to work more hours to pay for expanded media.

Question 22

________ theory argues that after repeated and long-term exposure to media, people come to view media depictions as reality.

A) Vertical integration
B) Cultivation
C) Agenda-setting
D) Hypodermic

Question 23

Which theoretical approach would emphasize media's role in social integration through the construction of a national audience that shares a common culture?

A) conflict
B) symbolic interaction
C) functionalist
D) feminist

Question 24

What is media convergence?

A) the merging of different media forms
B) the diverging of different media forms
C) trading in one form of media for another
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 25

How does the hypodermic model of media influence compare to that of agenda-setting theory?

A) Both describe the media as directly dictating how people think.
B) The hypodermic model describes media influence as more direct; people are directly told what to think.
C) The agenda-setting theory describes the media as directly telling people what to think.
D) Both describe the media as influencing the issues people think about rather than directly telling them what to think.

Question 26

Rebekkah loves the Twilight series of movies. She owns every video and book about the series. She also starts her own website where she posts Twilight-related news for other fans. Her website is an example of

A) traditional mass media.
B) user-generated media.
C) vertical integration.
D) media convergence.

Question 27

What influences how active audiences interpret media images?

A) class
B) race/ethnicity
C) gender
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 28

Which if the following is among the functions of the media?

A) source of information
B) agent of socialization
C) promoter of ideology
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 29

One major media corporation has taken all its media holdings-print, television news, and book publisher-and consolidated all the content into a website. This reflects the merging of media forms known as

A) saturation.
B) convergence.
C) user-generated content.
D) ownership concentration.

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of user-generated content?

A) A television writer completes a script.
B) A movie production company edits a film.
C) A man posts a video of his cat to YouTube.
D) A prestigious journalist uses Twitter to post a message.

Question 31

A group of teenagers in the same neighborhood start a website that is a database of popular music. Users can go and add, edit, or delete content regarding their favorite music to help keep the website up-to-date. This type of new media is known as

A) a social networking site.
B) a wiki.
C) a commercial website.
D) stealth advertising.

Question 32

Why would sociologists be interested in the "CSI effect"?

A) It is a popular television show.
B) They are interested in commercial time pricing.
C) It shows how viewers can be socialized by television content.
D) The "CSI effect" is not as well-known as the "Law & Order effect."

Question 33

Which of the following would NOT be an example of media convergence?

A) A newspaper has an online version.
B) A television series is shown online.
C) A newspaper goes out of business.
D) A website produces a print magazine.

Question 34

Alia is a heavy media user. The images of beauty she sees through the media emphasize thinness. Over time, Alia has come to believe that anyone who is not thin could not be considered beautiful. This scenario illustrates which model of media influence?

A) hypodermic
B) agenda-setting theory
C) cultivation theory
D) horizontal integration

Question 35

Several college students decide to start their own website where they upload stories and links to other websites regarding news on college campuses. This kind of ________ is a new trend in media because more accessible technologies allow easier production of media content.

A) traditional mass media
B) socialization agent
C) user-generated content
D) horizontal integration

Question 36

What does media saturation mean?

A) Media technology has become increasingly heavy and cumbersome.
B) Media are present in more and more aspects of our social world and lives.
C) Media have become so expensive that people are distancing themselves from media products.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 37

Why is it difficult for researchers to truly determine people's level of media use?

A) There is no such thing as a "typical" media user.
B) Most people under-report their media use because they simply are not aware of all the media surrounding them.
C) Most people over-report their media use because they want to appear to be as "tech-savvy" as the media portray Americans to be.
D) None of the answers are correct.

Question 38

________ theory states that the media do not directly tell people what to think, but they do significantly influence what people think about.

A) Vertical integration
B) Cultivation
C) Agenda-setting
D) Hypodermic

Question 39

A media corporation wants to return to more traditional media forms in order to stand out from its competitors. Which of the following would be a step it should take?

A) Increase the proportion of user-generated content.
B) Eliminate the use of user-generated content.
C) Blur the distinctions between producers and audience.
D) Encourage the "many-to-many" model of interaction.

Question 40

Which of the following illustrates someone being an active audience member?

A) A man decides to buy something he saw in an advertisement.
B) A young man plays an interactive video game with friends.
C) A woman calls in to a news show to voice her view on a topic.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 41

A developing nation begins to import more and more films from Western countries because it lacks the resources to produce big-budget blockbuster movies. Eventually, no films are being made locally; everything is coming from abroad. This illustrates

A) cultural hegemony.
B) cultural imperialism.
C) culture clash.
D) cultural production.

Question 42

Which of the following has NOT contributed to the rise of consumer culture in the United States?

A) people being more frugal with their money
B) the rise of industrialization
C) the mass production of goods
D) the rise of advertising and competitive pricing

Question 43

How has social networking contributed to the phenomenon of "Generation Me"?

A) The personalized nature of social networking sites causes young people to be very self-focused.
B) Social networking encourages young people to go out into the world and cause social change.
C) Young people choose not to spend much time on these sites and would rather socialize in person.
D) Young people today use social networking to develop a strong sense of community with their peers.

Question 44

From the sociological perspective, what is consumption?

A) creating products
B) choosing goods you would like to purchase
C) choosing, purchasing, and using goods
D) using a product until it has no utility left

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of an ideology message promoted by the media?

A) A popular television program runs a commercial for a new pain reliever brand.
B) A program on finance assumes free markets and capitalism are in everyone's best interests.
C) A weatherman discusses the weekend weather forecast and how it will be sunny.
D) A station interrupts its normal programming to alert viewers about an impending storm.

Question 46

Under capitalism, workers

A) work for themselves and retain all profits.
B) sell their labor power to others in exchange for wages.
C) become very attached to the products they produce.
D) earn more money than they ever could working for themselves.

Question 47

________ is when media depictions of the world come to replace the experience of individuals in the "real" world.

A) Cultural imperialism
B) Mass media
C) Hyperreality
D) Socialization

Question 48

What is planned obsolescence?

A) intentional design of goods to ensure a product is long-lasting
B) the cycling of products to ensure that consumers are always wanting something new
C) the design of products to ensure that they meet the needs of many consumers
D) intentional design of goods to ensure a loss of utility in a short period of time

Question 49

Which of the following is an example of hyperreality?

A) A young woman watches soap operas with her friends.
B) A rising actress stages a fake news event for publicity and media attention.
C) A young man spends all his free time playing video games.
D) A family goes through a very tragic family event.

Question 50

What is the biggest determinant of the digital divide?

A) race
B) gender
C) age
D) class

Question 51

If media ownership becomes more concentrated, how could the ideology function of the media be affected?

A) More views of the less powerful in society would become promoted.
B) The views of the powerful would be increasingly dominant in the media.
C) The media would shy away from ideology because ideologies are too religious.
D) The ideology function of the media would become less important.

Question 52

As compared to European countries, in the United States there is

A) much more government regulation of the media.
B) much less government regulation of the media.
C) more much government control of children's programming.
D) about the same level of regulation over mass media.

Question 53

Billy does not have a home computer or Internet access away from school because his family cannot afford it. His classmates come from more affluent backgrounds and have these things. This inequality illustrates

A) a social hierarchy.
B) class warfare.
C) the digital divide.
D) alienation.

Question 54

________ refers to the gap between those who have access to computers and the Internet and those who do not.

A) Vertical integration
B) The digital divide
C) The computer divide
D) Internet inequality

Question 55

Which of the following best illustrates the digital divide?

A) all families having the same access to computers
B) middle-class families investing in technology stocks
C) poorer families having less access to the Internet than middle-class families
D) more and more families having access to television today than in the past

Question 56

Which of the following is an example of cultural imperialism?

A) a local film producer premiering her film in the local community
B) a major American movie company having the number-one movie worldwide
C) a band from a developing region exporting their music overseas
D) a critic in the United States reviewing a small-budget foreign film

Question 57

What do some social critics fear will happen as a result of cultural imperialism?

A) American film productions will no longer be dominant in the world.
B) World culture will be homogenized, and local cultures will be eroded.
C) More and more films will use subtitles to broaden their audiences.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 58

Why is the digital divide so determined by class?

A) because rich people are the ones who value technology
B) because poor people spend more time with their families
C) because higher education requires Internet access
D) because media, and access to them, require financial resources

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT an example of media technology?

A) printing press
B) computer
C) television
D) a television host

Question 60

When media corporations from wealthier nations export so many products to poorer nations that they come to dominate the local culture, it is known as

A) the digital divide.
B) cultural imperialism.
C) globalization.
D) government regulation.

Question 61

According to Karl Marx, alienation is when

A) workers become isolated and separated.
B) workers go to other countries in order to find work.
C) capitalism becomes profitable for all involved.
D) capitalism breaks down and is replaced.

Question 62

Which of the following would be an example of commodification?

A) former religious holidays becoming shopping occasions
B) a man buying a birthday present for his daughter
C) a company thinking of a new product to sell online
D) a television show refusing to run a commercial

Question 63

If Emile Durkheim were alive today, what would he likely conclude about our consumerist society?

A) Too few shopping choices leave us dissatisfied.
B) High prices are the root cause of dissatisfaction in society.
C) Limitless desire for goods leaves us dissatisfied.
D) Our limitless material desires are a way for us to be integrated.

Question 64

A family wins a multimillion-dollar lottery. They can now buy whatever they want but they are still unhappy. How would Emile Durkheim explain this?

A) They are just unhappy people with a disposition toward being glum.
B) People are more satisfied when they understand and stay within limits and boundaries.
C) The family ultimately feels guilty because other people they know are still struggling.
D) The money came from gambling, and the family is embarrassed about that fact.

Question 65

How are media and consumer culture related?

A) The media present cultural representations.
B) The media promote consumer culture through advertisements.
C) They are not related; they are different institutions.
D) Consumer culture is shrinking but media are expanding.

Question 66

What do sociologists call it when a society emphasizes shopping and possessions as a road to personal happiness?

A) cultural imperialism
B) alienation
C) consumerism
D) consumption

Question 67

Emotional obsolescence refers to when advertisers

A) appeal to the charitable emotions of their audiences so that they constantly donate money to new causes.
B) constantly cycle new products into the marketplace, keeping customers dissatisfied with what they have.
C) realize that consumers have grown weary of their strategies and they seek out new forms of advertising.
D) want to do more than just sell products to people; instead, they want consumers to think about the environment.

Question 68

________ is the creation of covert advertising practices in which ads become part of real-life situations.

A) Emotional obsolescence
B) Captive audience
C) Product placement
D) Stealth advertising

Question 69

Lin, a company owner, wants her workers to feel less alienated. In addition to trying to institute a supportive work environment, Lin decides to

A) allow workers to be more creative at their jobs.
B) have strict outlines on how jobs should be performed.
C) separate workers physically so they can concentrate better.
D) have unhappy workers fired so she can hire less alienated ones.

Question 70

Which of the following is an example of commodity fetishism?

A) A young man decides to create his own line of footwear to sell online.
B) A teen does not realize how much effort went into the production of her new shoes.
C) A young woman decides she really needs to buy certain shoes in order to fit in at her new school.
D) A family decides to downsize, not buy new items, and only shop for used products.

Question 71

What provides the most revenue for most forms of media?

A) syndication rights
B) cable reruns
C) advertising
D) donations

Question 72

Which of the following is true about consumption patterns worldwide?

A) As media have become globalized, participation in consumerism has grown to the point that all areas of the world participate equally as consumers.
B) Due to differences in available resources, people in the United States and other wealthy nations are more able to participate in consumerism than people in poorer nations.
C) There is a worldwide movement against the rise tide of consumerism; people are returning to more simple lifestyles.
D) Developing regions are now more consumerist than ever; their consumer habits are as extensive as richer Western countries.

Question 73

What does what we buy say about us?

A) which social groups we feel we belong to
B) how much money we have to spend
C) how we identify ourselves
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 74

________ is when people do not recognize the labor and effort that went into the products they use.

A) Culture imperialism
B) Alienation
C) Commodity fetishism
D) Consumerism

Question 75

Which of the following reflects how the nature of identity formation has changed?

A) People today no longer care about family as a part of their identity.
B) Identity in the modern world is more rigid than it was for past generations.
C) Increasingly, people buy and use things to affirm their sense of identity.
D) People today are born with their sense of identity; it does not evolve.

Question 76

What is commodification?

A) the process of transforming all things into products that can be bought and sold
B) the act of buying products that were previously unavailable
C) the process of looking past the monetary worth of products and services to see their intrinsic value
D) taking products from one country and exporting them across the world

Question 77

A movie featuring a star drinking a popular beverage is what form of advertising?

A) emotional obsolescence
B) captive audience
C) product placement
D) stealth advertising

Question 78

What is one outcome of worker alienation that researchers have found?

A) They buy more things to cope with dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
B) They buy fewer things because they do not have enough money.
C) They focus more on their interpersonal relationships with coworkers.
D) They decide to change careers and choose those that are less alienating.

Question 79

Which of the following accurately describes stealth advertising and product placement, according to sociologists?

A) People hate both forms of advertising because they are not as entertaining as television commercials.
B) Both work better than earlier forms of advertising.
C) Both are hidden forms of advertising that individuals do not always readily recognize.
D) Both are old forms of advertising; today's advertisers use social media instead.

Question 80

Dustin, a carpenter, works for a large furniture factory. He must follow strict plans and cannot be creative. He feels distant from his coworkers and he finds his work tedious and unrewarding. Sociologists would see Dustin as being

A) lazy.
B) insubordinate.
C) tired.
D) alienated.