CMN 1148 - FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 2026
Source Credibility Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the personal attractiveness
of a communicator to the audience
Trustworthiness - ANSWERSOne's integrity or character
Competency - ANSWERSOne's expertise in a given area
Status - ANSWERSOne's boldness, energy, and assertiveness
Sociability - ANSWERSOne's likability
Logical Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the logic and reasoning
Emotional Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the expected emotional responses of
an audience
Channel - ANSWERSThe medium used to transmit a message
Effects - ANSWERSThe intended or unintended impact(s) of a message
Information Source - ANSWERSWhere the message is conceived
Transmitter - ANSWERSMechanism for encoding the message
Signal - ANSWERSThe message
Receiver - ANSWERSMechanism for decoding the message
Destination - ANSWERSWhere the message ends up
Noise - ANSWERSInterference that occurs in the transmitting or receiving of signals
Feedback - ANSWERSResponse to a message or activity
External Noise - ANSWERSInterference from an internal source
Physiological Noise - ANSWERSInterference from a biological condition or function
Psychological Noise - ANSWERSInterference from a mental state
,Field of Experience - ANSWERSThe totality of all we are at the moment of
communication
Culture - ANSWERSThe shared ideas, traditions, norms, symbols, and values that
define a community
Transactional Theory - ANSWERSTheory that sees communication as a dynamic
process, involving continuous changes in communications and environments
Paralanguage - ANSWERSElements of speech that are not recognized as language
Standpoint Theory - ANSWERSTheory that holds that our background and experiences
determine our perspective
Reward Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from offering gifts or benefits
Legitimate Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from holding an office, title or other
legitimate position
Expert or Information Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from knowledge or
expertise
Coercive Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from making threats or intimidations
Referent Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from personal attractiveness
Trickle-Down Access - ANSWERSControlled and restricted access to information,
flowing mostly downward
Simultaneous Access - ANSWERSUnrestricted access to information flowing from mass
media and reaching everyone at the same time
Open Access - ANSWERSUnrestricted and uncontrolled sharing of information on open
platforms, accessible to everyone
Perception - ANSWERSThe process of sensing, interpreting and reacting to the
physical world
Breadth of Perceptual Field - ANSWERSThe amount of information we take into our
visual or other perceptual systems
Optical Communities - ANSWERSA social group that shares a similar view of the world
Own-Race Bias - ANSWERSThe idea that accuracy increases when we identify specific
members of our own race
, Out-Group - ANSWERSThe idea that accuracy increases when we identify specific
members of our own race
Selective Perception - ANSWERSThe process by which owe see and retain certain
kinds of information while ignoring or discarding other kinds of information
Load-Induced Blindness - ANSWERSInability to see as a result of information overload
in the visual field
Self-Serving - ANSWERSA focus on what serves our own purpose and makes us look
best
Warranty Theory - ANSWERSTheory that says we are more likely to believe information
that someone cannot manipulate
Impression Formation Theory - ANSWERSTheory related to how we put together
different pieces of information to form an impression of a person
Tar Effect - ANSWERSA tendency to dislike the person who criticises someone else
rather than disliking the person who is criticising
Self-Categorization Theory - ANSWERSThe idea that we see ourselves as both
individuals and group members, whereas we see others as either individuals or group
members based on other factors
Perspective Taking - ANSWERSLooking at a situation from the other person's point of
view
Counter-Stereotyping - ANSWERSEffort to eliminate stereotypes by focusing on
similarities
In-Group - ANSWERSA group of which one is a member
Active Perceivers - ANSWERSIndividuals who rely on others to select information for
them
Passive Receivers - ANSWERSIndividuals who rely on others to select information for
them
Perception Checking - ANSWERSA process for confirming what we think we have
seen, heard or experienced
Low-Contect Cultures - ANSWERSCultures that rely heavily on words rather than
context
AND ANSWERS 2026
Source Credibility Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the personal attractiveness
of a communicator to the audience
Trustworthiness - ANSWERSOne's integrity or character
Competency - ANSWERSOne's expertise in a given area
Status - ANSWERSOne's boldness, energy, and assertiveness
Sociability - ANSWERSOne's likability
Logical Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the logic and reasoning
Emotional Appeals - ANSWERSAppeals based on the expected emotional responses of
an audience
Channel - ANSWERSThe medium used to transmit a message
Effects - ANSWERSThe intended or unintended impact(s) of a message
Information Source - ANSWERSWhere the message is conceived
Transmitter - ANSWERSMechanism for encoding the message
Signal - ANSWERSThe message
Receiver - ANSWERSMechanism for decoding the message
Destination - ANSWERSWhere the message ends up
Noise - ANSWERSInterference that occurs in the transmitting or receiving of signals
Feedback - ANSWERSResponse to a message or activity
External Noise - ANSWERSInterference from an internal source
Physiological Noise - ANSWERSInterference from a biological condition or function
Psychological Noise - ANSWERSInterference from a mental state
,Field of Experience - ANSWERSThe totality of all we are at the moment of
communication
Culture - ANSWERSThe shared ideas, traditions, norms, symbols, and values that
define a community
Transactional Theory - ANSWERSTheory that sees communication as a dynamic
process, involving continuous changes in communications and environments
Paralanguage - ANSWERSElements of speech that are not recognized as language
Standpoint Theory - ANSWERSTheory that holds that our background and experiences
determine our perspective
Reward Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from offering gifts or benefits
Legitimate Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from holding an office, title or other
legitimate position
Expert or Information Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from knowledge or
expertise
Coercive Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from making threats or intimidations
Referent Power - ANSWERSPower that comes from personal attractiveness
Trickle-Down Access - ANSWERSControlled and restricted access to information,
flowing mostly downward
Simultaneous Access - ANSWERSUnrestricted access to information flowing from mass
media and reaching everyone at the same time
Open Access - ANSWERSUnrestricted and uncontrolled sharing of information on open
platforms, accessible to everyone
Perception - ANSWERSThe process of sensing, interpreting and reacting to the
physical world
Breadth of Perceptual Field - ANSWERSThe amount of information we take into our
visual or other perceptual systems
Optical Communities - ANSWERSA social group that shares a similar view of the world
Own-Race Bias - ANSWERSThe idea that accuracy increases when we identify specific
members of our own race
, Out-Group - ANSWERSThe idea that accuracy increases when we identify specific
members of our own race
Selective Perception - ANSWERSThe process by which owe see and retain certain
kinds of information while ignoring or discarding other kinds of information
Load-Induced Blindness - ANSWERSInability to see as a result of information overload
in the visual field
Self-Serving - ANSWERSA focus on what serves our own purpose and makes us look
best
Warranty Theory - ANSWERSTheory that says we are more likely to believe information
that someone cannot manipulate
Impression Formation Theory - ANSWERSTheory related to how we put together
different pieces of information to form an impression of a person
Tar Effect - ANSWERSA tendency to dislike the person who criticises someone else
rather than disliking the person who is criticising
Self-Categorization Theory - ANSWERSThe idea that we see ourselves as both
individuals and group members, whereas we see others as either individuals or group
members based on other factors
Perspective Taking - ANSWERSLooking at a situation from the other person's point of
view
Counter-Stereotyping - ANSWERSEffort to eliminate stereotypes by focusing on
similarities
In-Group - ANSWERSA group of which one is a member
Active Perceivers - ANSWERSIndividuals who rely on others to select information for
them
Passive Receivers - ANSWERSIndividuals who rely on others to select information for
them
Perception Checking - ANSWERSA process for confirming what we think we have
seen, heard or experienced
Low-Contect Cultures - ANSWERSCultures that rely heavily on words rather than
context
