Question 1

Research studies that examine the effect of mobile phones on social interactions find that if people have a mobile phone visibly nearby during face-to-face interactions, it:
A) increases the quality of the social interactions
B) leads people to see the cell phone owner as less understanding and trustworthy
C) leads people to think that spending more time together would lead to a friendship
D) created a belief that the mobile phone owner was popular and desirable

Accepted Answer

Research studies have shown that having a mobile phone visibly nearby during face-to-face interactions leads people to perceive the cell phone owner as less understanding and trustworthy. This can negatively impact social interactions.

Question 2

When lawyers and politicians want to persuade, they often use:
A) strictly central route arguments
B) strictly peripheral route arguments
C) neither, only logical arguments
D) both central and peripheral arguments

Accepted Answer

Lawyers and politicians often use both central and peripheral route arguments to persuade their audience. Central route arguments appeal to logic, reason, and facts, while peripheral route arguments appeal to emotions, aesthetics, and personal beliefs. Both are utilized to increase the effectiveness of the persuasive message.

Question 3

The news media's sensationalizing of events such as suicides and the Tylenol poisonings sometimes incites copycat suicides and copycat poisonings. This phenomenon is known as:
A) media proliferation
B) reactive imitation
C) emotional contagion
D) forensic journalism

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described in the statement is known as emotional contagion, where the emotionally charged report of an event by media leads to imitation by others who are vulnerable to such influence. It has been observed in cases of suicides and mass shootings as well.

Question 4

The impact of television commercials on very young children is reflected in the fact that:
A) most children express a desire to imitate the behavior of TV characters
B) fewer than 20 percent of preschool-aged children asked for toys or food they saw advertised on TV
C) very young children tend to be quite cynical about advertising claims
D) according to their mothers, a majority of preschoolers were able to sing commercial jingles learned from television

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is D because it directly reflects the impact of television commercials on very young children, indicating that a majority of preschoolers can sing commercial jingles they learned from TV, showcasing the influence of TV advertising on their memory and behavior.

Question 5

Phillips's research on the impact of media coverage of car-crash suicides revealed that following a publicized suicide:
A) there was a decrease in single-car, one-passenger "suicide" accidents
B) victims of "suicide" accidents tended to be of similar age as the victim of the publicized suicide
C) there was an increase in multiple-car accidents
D) there was an increase in pedestrian fatalities involving hit-and-run drivers

Accepted Answer

Phillips's research found a phenomenon known as the "Werther effect," where media coverage of suicides can lead to an increase in suicide attempts among the public. Specifically, his findings indicated that after a highly publicized suicide, there tends to be an increase in the number of suicides, with those individuals often mirroring aspects of the publicized case, such as the method of suicide or the age of the victim. This suggests that individuals who are influenced by the media coverage might identify with the victim, including being of a similar age.

Question 6

In his study of the effects of media coverage of teenage suicides, David Phillips found that:
A) coverage of the confusion and grief surrounding the suicides produced a decrease in teen suicides following the coverage
B) there was an increase in teen suicides following the coverage
C) the suicide rate following the coverage remained surprisingly unchanged, pointing to the limited effects of media coverage of news events
D) the suicide rate increased moderately at first, followed by a sharp decrease as mental health workers responded to the crisis

Accepted Answer

David Phillips' study found that there was an increase in teen suicides following media coverage of teenage suicides. This phenomenon is known as the "Werther effect" or "copycat suicide," where media coverage of suicides can trigger vulnerable individuals to imitate the suicidal behavior.

Question 7

Research studies that examine the effect of mobile phones on cognitive tasks find that:
A) having one visible on a desk hurts performance on difficult cognitive tasks
B) having one visible on a desk hurts performance on easy tasks but not difficult ones
C) having one visible on a desk does not hurt cognitive performance
D) having one visible on a desk improved cognitive performance compared to those students who had put their phones away

Accepted Answer

Research studies have consistently found that having a mobile phone visible on a desk or within reach can hurt performance on difficult cognitive tasks. This is because the mere presence of the phone can create a distraction and reduce focus and attention on the task at hand. However, having a phone visible or nearby may not have a significant impact on performance for easier tasks.

Question 8

A research study that separated one group of schoolchildren from their electronic devices over a five-day summer camp stay found that when they returned home from the summer camp, they:
A) did not improve in social intelligence above the group that kept their phones
B) were excessive in their use of mobile phones and other electronic devices
C) had decreased social intelligence scores compared to their pre-camp scores
D) had increased social intelligence compared to their scores before the trip

Accepted Answer

The research study found that the group of schoolchildren who were separated from their electronic devices over a five-day summer camp stay had increased social intelligence compared to their scores before the trip. Therefore, the best choice is D.

Question 9

According to the text, what percent of tenth-grade students believed that TV commercials were truthful most of the time?
A) 4 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 80 percent

Accepted Answer

Only 4 percent of tenth-grade students believed that TV commercials were truthful most of the time.

Question 10

After a media overexposure of an event like September 11, 2001, citizens are most likely
A) to engage in rational public debate on national policy
B) to allow a variety of ways to show dissent
C) to encourage different viewpoints to seek the truth
D) to react emotionally and to see basically one perspective

Accepted Answer

When a traumatic event like September 11, 2001 is overexposed in the media, people typically react emotionally and tend to see things from one perspective, rather than engaging in rational public debate, allowing dissenting viewpoints, or seeking the truth.

Question 11

In a study by Hovland and Weiss, subjects heard arguments regarding the feasibility of atomic submarines. Subjects were more persuaded by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer rather than the Soviet newspaper Pravda because:
A) Oppenheimer was an attractive source, and thus subjects wished to identify with him
B) Oppenheimer was perceived as an expert and trustworthy source of information, unlike Pravda
C) Oppenheimer's arguments contained vivid examples, whereas Pravda presented the information in the form of statistics
D) subjects knew that Pravda was arguing against its own self-interest and thus could not be trusted

Accepted Answer

Hovland and Weiss found that subjects were more persuaded by Oppenheimer because he was perceived as an expert and trustworthy source of information, unlike the Soviet newspaper Pravda. This suggests that perceived expertise and trustworthiness of the source can influence persuasion.

Question 12

Petty and Cacioppo say there are two routes to persuasion:
A) The central and the peripheral
B) The primacy and the recency
C) The expert and the trustworthy
D) The fluency and the probability

Accepted Answer

Petty and Cacioppo's elaboration likelihood model proposes two routes to persuasion - the central route and the peripheral route. The central route is a thoughtful and logical analysis of the message content, while the peripheral route involves more superficial cues like the source's attractiveness or the message's style.

Question 13

Both opinions and attitudes are primarily cognitive in nature. However, attitudes:
A) have an emotional component
B) have an evaluative component
C) have both an emotional and an evaluative component
D) are transient in nature

Accepted Answer

Attitudes have both an emotional and an evaluative component, distinguishing them from opinions, which are primarily cognitive. This means attitudes involve feelings and evaluations about a particular object, person, or issue, making them more complex than mere opinions.

Question 14

Suppose you are going to organize a program for high school students advocating stricter enforcement of the drug laws. All other things being equal, your most persuasive speaker would be a:
A) police officer
B) concerned and well-liked parent
C) person serving a jail sentence for drug possession
D) student who has always supported this view

Accepted Answer

A person serving a jail sentence for drug possession would likely be the most persuasive speaker because they can provide a firsthand account of the consequences of drug laws, making their message more impactful and credible to the audience.

Question 15

Bobby, a second grader, is working on a problem in his arithmetic book. The problem reads, "Mary and her sister are baking three cakes for the school bake sale. To bake one cake, they will need 2 cups of flour and 1 egg. How many cups of flour and how many eggs will they need to bake 3 cakes?" According to Aronson, Bobby's math problem might be considered by some people to be a subtle form of:
A) propaganda
B) persuasion
C) the inoculation effect
D) a one-sided argument

Accepted Answer

The math problem subtly incorporates a social norm or behavior (baking cakes for a school event) without critically examining it, which can be seen as a form of propaganda by promoting or normalizing certain activities or behaviors implicitly.

Question 16

A study by Aronson and Golden revealed that sixth-graders were more persuaded of the importance of arithmetic after listening to the pro-math arguments of a prize-winning engineer as compared to a dishwasher. However, when the engineer giving the speech was a black man:
A) all students found his arguments less persuasive than those of the white engineer
B) all students found his arguments more persuasive than those of the white engineer
C) most students devalued engineering as a profession
D) only students who were highly prejudiced against blacks found his arguments less persuasive than those of the white engineer

Accepted Answer

The study found that only students who were highly prejudiced against blacks found the black engineer's arguments less persuasive than those of the white engineer. This suggests that racial bias played a role in the students' evaluation of the engineer's arguments.

Question 17

During the 1988 presidential campaign, Willie Horton was candidate George Bush's (the elder) most valuable player because
A) he contributed $2 million to his campaign even though it was illegally done
B) he was Bush's top political campaign adviser
C) Bush used peripheral advertising to discuss this felon's release from prison
D) Bush asked him to design central arguments against Dukakis's economic policy

Accepted Answer

George Bush's campaign used the case of Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who had been released on a weekend furlough from prison during Michael Dukakis's tenure as governor of Massachusetts, to attack Dukakis's crime policies. The campaign ran a controversial ad featuring Horton that many saw as racially charged, helping to reinforce negative stereotypes about African American men.

Question 18

Research in attitude change suggests that to be a credible source, a communicator should be both:
A) expert and trustworthy
B) respected and feared
C) attractive and intelligent
D) trustworthy and intelligent

Accepted Answer

Research in attitude change suggests that a communicator should be both expert and trustworthy to be perceived as credible. Respect and fear are not necessarily associated with credibility, and although being attractive and intelligent may be desirable traits, they do not necessarily contribute to credibility in the same way as expertise and trustworthiness.

Question 19

Suppose you watch a TV ad for a deodorant that tells you almost nothing about the product but presents it being used by beautiful, popular, successful people. The persuasion appeal is:
A) the primacy effect
B) the inoculation effect
C) the central route
D) the peripheral route

Accepted Answer

The ad is using the peripheral route of persuasion, which focuses on surface-level cues like attractiveness and social status rather than the actual qualities of the product itself.

Question 20

Suppose you see an ad for a deodorant that focuses on how effective it is in comparison tests and how it compares in cost to other products and that it is all-natural. The persuasion appeal is:
A) the central route
B) the peripheral route
C) the logical route
D) the inoculation effect

Accepted Answer

The central route to persuasion involves the use of logical arguments and substantial evidence to convince people. In this case, the ad focuses on the deodorant's effectiveness, cost comparison, and natural composition, which are logical and factual aspects aimed at persuading through reasoning and evidence.

Quiz 5: Self-Justification

Research studies that examine the effect of mobile phones on social interactions find that if people have a mobile phone visibly nearby during face-to-face interactions, it:

When lawyers and politicians want to persuade, they often use:

The news media's sensationalizing of events such as suicides and the Tylenol poisonings sometimes incites copycat suicides and copycat poisonings. This phenomenon is known as:

The impact of television commercials on very young children is reflected in the fact that:

Phillips's research on the impact of media coverage of car-crash suicides revealed that following a publicized suicide:

In his study of the effects of media coverage of teenage suicides, David Phillips found that:

Research studies that examine the effect of mobile phones on cognitive tasks find that:

A research study that separated one group of schoolchildren from their electronic devices over a five-day summer camp stay found that when they returned home from the summer camp, they:

According to the text, what percent of tenth-grade students believed that TV commercials were truthful most of the time?

After a media overexposure of an event like September 11, 2001, citizens are most likely

In a study by Hovland and Weiss, subjects heard arguments regarding the feasibility of atomic submarines. Subjects were more persuaded by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer rather than the Soviet newspaper Pravda because:

Petty and Cacioppo say there are two routes to persuasion:

Both opinions and attitudes are primarily cognitive in nature. However, attitudes:

Suppose you are going to organize a program for high school students advocating stricter enforcement of the drug laws. All other things being equal, your most persuasive speaker would be a:

A study by Aronson and Golden revealed that sixth-graders were more persuaded of the importance of arithmetic after listening to the pro-math arguments of a prize-winning engineer as compared to a dishwasher. However, when the engineer giving the speech was a black man:

During the 1988 presidential campaign, Willie Horton was candidate George Bush's (the elder) most valuable player because

Research in attitude change suggests that to be a credible source, a communicator should be both:

Suppose you watch a TV ad for a deodorant that tells you almost nothing about the product but presents it being used by beautiful, popular, successful people. The persuasion appeal is:

Suppose you see an ad for a deodorant that focuses on how effective it is in comparison tests and how it compares in cost to other products and that it is all-natural. The persuasion appeal is: