CMN 141 MIDTERM 1 STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
What is a media effect? - Answers A mass media effect is a change in an outcome within a person or
social entity that is due to mass media influence following exposure to a mess media message or
series of messages
What are the six types of media effects? - Answers There are six types of media effects including
Cognitions, Attitudes, Beliefs, Affects, Physiology and Behavior
Describe small effect sizes - Answers Research consistently demonstrates that media effects are
overall small or moderate (usually around +/- .1 and .3). It is important to note that some people are
susceptible to media effects while others are not. Additionally, sometimes the literatures is mixed
about whether or not there is even an effect and this might be due to the fact that some people are
really affected by media effects while others are not at all.
What are the five different types of media effects and what are some examples - Answers There are
five different types of media effects which include conditioned media effects, media use as mediator,
media response state as a mediator, media effects as mediators and transactional media effects.
1.) Conditioned media effects states that media effects are dependent on certain conditions, including
dispositional, developmental or social context.
2.) Media use as a mediator states that individual differences predict media use and use predicts
effects
3.) media response state as a mediator, media use predicts certain responses and these responses
predict effects.
media use > response > effect
4.) media effects as mediators means that media use predicts media effects and these effects predict
further media use. i.e. media use leads to laughter (media effect) and this effect leads to an ache in
the stomach which leads to not exercising and watching more media.
5.) Transactional media effects means that media effects have a reciprocal process over time.
Describe the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model - Answers Prop 1 :
Media effects are conditional and they depend on three types of differential susceptibility variables
including disposition, development and social. Dispositional susceptibility variables include gender,
race/ethnicity, attitudes or beliefs about big topics, etc. and can affect the way media affects you.
There are also many social susceptibility variables that differ across micro-, meso- and macro- levels.
Social context influences media effects, for example, the way your parents raised you affects the lens
through which you consume media. The meso- level includes family rules, what your friends watch,
etc. The micro-level includes who you are/where you are. Lastly, the macro- level is the most
removed, and includes your culture or what country you're in. In short, your degree of susceptibility
depends on who you're with (micro), norms around you (meso) and even what country you're in
(macro).
Prop 2:
Media effects are indirect, therefore, three media response states mediate the relationship between
media use and media effects; cognitive, emotional and excitative. A cognitive response state includes
watching the Office and then going to buy a cat because Angela has a cat in The Office. An emotional
response state includes being angry or annoyed with Dwight while watching The Office. Lastly, an
excitative response state is related to physiology, for example, your heart rate increases, you laugh,
smile, endorphins are pumped into brain, etc. In short, media effects occur when these states are
heightened.
Prop 3:
the differential susceptibility variable has two roles-- they predict the media we use and they
moderate the effect of media use on media response states. For example, when watching an SNL Cold
Open making fun of Trump, Democrats may be more likely to watch the content due to their
disposition as a
, In regard to the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model, what might be some effects of
texting? - Answers Differential susceptibility may play a role in texting. Text messaging is relatively
new, and may have several possible effects, including changing your mood, behavior, beliefs about
behavior and beliefs about speed of communication. In regard to changing your mood, texting may
create a content cloud that influences emotion. In regard to changing your behavior, texting may
make you engage in a constant checking behavior to see if someone has texted you. Texting may
change our beliefs about behavior, for example, the response "fine" versus "fine." Also, we assume
people need to respond immediately-- therefore texting affects our expected speed of
communication, because if we don't receive an immediate response then we get upset.
In regard to differential effects, what age group might be most susceptible to the effects of
techspeak? Why might we expect this age group to have an effect? - Answers Tweens are the most
susceptible to the effects of techspeak. Tweens are learning standard english grammar at this age.
Although standard english grammar is being taught at this time, they do not have a firm sense of
grammar yet. Therefore, tweens may be most susceptible due to observational learning which relies
on attention, retention, production and motivation.
How did we test high road/low road learning in tweens? What did the study find? - Answers In high
road/low road learning, if two tasks are similar (such as writing a paper and texting a friend), then
there is an AUTOMATIC transfer of skills.
In a survey involving 228 12-14 year olds, participants completed a 20 question grammar test and
then given a survey to complete at home. The most important part of the at-home survey was to go
through their last 3 text messages and count the number of initialisms, omissions of letters, lack of
punctuation, capitalization changes, etc. Found that as grade on grammar test went down, initialisms
and tech speak increased. However, when looking closer, as omitting letters from words increased,
grammar scores decreased. In fact, the average number of word adaptions has a stronger effect on
grammar grade (meaning, as number of word adaptions increased, grammar grade decreased). Also,
in support of observational learning, the amount of word adaption received affected the amount of
word adaption sent out. Therefore, an increase in word adaption lead to decrease in grammar.
What is social susceptibility? - Answers Social susceptibility explains how our susceptibility changes
when in the presence of others. For example, we are more likely to laugh while watching TV if you are
in the presence of others.
How might one's social setting influence media effects - Answers Social susceptibility explains how our
susceptibility changes when in the presence of others
For example when watching Clifford, which is suppose to teach children prosocial skills, a child is more
likely to focus on wanting a dog as a pet than on the lesson which is to not judge people based on
their appearance. However, social susceptibility effects may play a role-- meaning if you watch Clifford
with friends, it may be more likely that the desired message actually gets through. HOWEVER,
researchers found that 6 year old children were significantly more stigmatizing when watching Clifford
with their BEST FRIEND and that kids who watched Clifford alone were not as stigmatizing This shows
that social susceptibility was evident when watching Clifford with their best friend which shows that
social context has a powerful influence on media effects
Describe the Fikkers et al. (2016) meso level social susceptibility study - Answers Fikkers et al.
examined meso- level social susceptibility. Meso means norms operating close to you (i.e. how do
your perceived norms influence the effects of violence and violent behavior).
Note: Injunctive norms are the perceived approval of certain attitudes, beliefs or actions. Descriptive
norms are the perception of how often something happens.
Longitudinal survey of 943 adolescents (ages 10-14) at two points in time. Survey asked about media
violent content, descriptive norms, injunctive norms and behavior. Found that media violence
exposure is positively related to injunctive norms, but only with people with high descriptive norms
(aka when they thought their friends approved of aggression). People with low descriptive norms
were not affected by media violence and were not as aggressive.
Therefore, the effect of media violence can be totally different based on perceived norms of
participants and that descriptive norms play a role.
What is a media effect? - Answers A mass media effect is a change in an outcome within a person or
social entity that is due to mass media influence following exposure to a mess media message or
series of messages
What are the six types of media effects? - Answers There are six types of media effects including
Cognitions, Attitudes, Beliefs, Affects, Physiology and Behavior
Describe small effect sizes - Answers Research consistently demonstrates that media effects are
overall small or moderate (usually around +/- .1 and .3). It is important to note that some people are
susceptible to media effects while others are not. Additionally, sometimes the literatures is mixed
about whether or not there is even an effect and this might be due to the fact that some people are
really affected by media effects while others are not at all.
What are the five different types of media effects and what are some examples - Answers There are
five different types of media effects which include conditioned media effects, media use as mediator,
media response state as a mediator, media effects as mediators and transactional media effects.
1.) Conditioned media effects states that media effects are dependent on certain conditions, including
dispositional, developmental or social context.
2.) Media use as a mediator states that individual differences predict media use and use predicts
effects
3.) media response state as a mediator, media use predicts certain responses and these responses
predict effects.
media use > response > effect
4.) media effects as mediators means that media use predicts media effects and these effects predict
further media use. i.e. media use leads to laughter (media effect) and this effect leads to an ache in
the stomach which leads to not exercising and watching more media.
5.) Transactional media effects means that media effects have a reciprocal process over time.
Describe the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model - Answers Prop 1 :
Media effects are conditional and they depend on three types of differential susceptibility variables
including disposition, development and social. Dispositional susceptibility variables include gender,
race/ethnicity, attitudes or beliefs about big topics, etc. and can affect the way media affects you.
There are also many social susceptibility variables that differ across micro-, meso- and macro- levels.
Social context influences media effects, for example, the way your parents raised you affects the lens
through which you consume media. The meso- level includes family rules, what your friends watch,
etc. The micro-level includes who you are/where you are. Lastly, the macro- level is the most
removed, and includes your culture or what country you're in. In short, your degree of susceptibility
depends on who you're with (micro), norms around you (meso) and even what country you're in
(macro).
Prop 2:
Media effects are indirect, therefore, three media response states mediate the relationship between
media use and media effects; cognitive, emotional and excitative. A cognitive response state includes
watching the Office and then going to buy a cat because Angela has a cat in The Office. An emotional
response state includes being angry or annoyed with Dwight while watching The Office. Lastly, an
excitative response state is related to physiology, for example, your heart rate increases, you laugh,
smile, endorphins are pumped into brain, etc. In short, media effects occur when these states are
heightened.
Prop 3:
the differential susceptibility variable has two roles-- they predict the media we use and they
moderate the effect of media use on media response states. For example, when watching an SNL Cold
Open making fun of Trump, Democrats may be more likely to watch the content due to their
disposition as a
, In regard to the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model, what might be some effects of
texting? - Answers Differential susceptibility may play a role in texting. Text messaging is relatively
new, and may have several possible effects, including changing your mood, behavior, beliefs about
behavior and beliefs about speed of communication. In regard to changing your mood, texting may
create a content cloud that influences emotion. In regard to changing your behavior, texting may
make you engage in a constant checking behavior to see if someone has texted you. Texting may
change our beliefs about behavior, for example, the response "fine" versus "fine." Also, we assume
people need to respond immediately-- therefore texting affects our expected speed of
communication, because if we don't receive an immediate response then we get upset.
In regard to differential effects, what age group might be most susceptible to the effects of
techspeak? Why might we expect this age group to have an effect? - Answers Tweens are the most
susceptible to the effects of techspeak. Tweens are learning standard english grammar at this age.
Although standard english grammar is being taught at this time, they do not have a firm sense of
grammar yet. Therefore, tweens may be most susceptible due to observational learning which relies
on attention, retention, production and motivation.
How did we test high road/low road learning in tweens? What did the study find? - Answers In high
road/low road learning, if two tasks are similar (such as writing a paper and texting a friend), then
there is an AUTOMATIC transfer of skills.
In a survey involving 228 12-14 year olds, participants completed a 20 question grammar test and
then given a survey to complete at home. The most important part of the at-home survey was to go
through their last 3 text messages and count the number of initialisms, omissions of letters, lack of
punctuation, capitalization changes, etc. Found that as grade on grammar test went down, initialisms
and tech speak increased. However, when looking closer, as omitting letters from words increased,
grammar scores decreased. In fact, the average number of word adaptions has a stronger effect on
grammar grade (meaning, as number of word adaptions increased, grammar grade decreased). Also,
in support of observational learning, the amount of word adaption received affected the amount of
word adaption sent out. Therefore, an increase in word adaption lead to decrease in grammar.
What is social susceptibility? - Answers Social susceptibility explains how our susceptibility changes
when in the presence of others. For example, we are more likely to laugh while watching TV if you are
in the presence of others.
How might one's social setting influence media effects - Answers Social susceptibility explains how our
susceptibility changes when in the presence of others
For example when watching Clifford, which is suppose to teach children prosocial skills, a child is more
likely to focus on wanting a dog as a pet than on the lesson which is to not judge people based on
their appearance. However, social susceptibility effects may play a role-- meaning if you watch Clifford
with friends, it may be more likely that the desired message actually gets through. HOWEVER,
researchers found that 6 year old children were significantly more stigmatizing when watching Clifford
with their BEST FRIEND and that kids who watched Clifford alone were not as stigmatizing This shows
that social susceptibility was evident when watching Clifford with their best friend which shows that
social context has a powerful influence on media effects
Describe the Fikkers et al. (2016) meso level social susceptibility study - Answers Fikkers et al.
examined meso- level social susceptibility. Meso means norms operating close to you (i.e. how do
your perceived norms influence the effects of violence and violent behavior).
Note: Injunctive norms are the perceived approval of certain attitudes, beliefs or actions. Descriptive
norms are the perception of how often something happens.
Longitudinal survey of 943 adolescents (ages 10-14) at two points in time. Survey asked about media
violent content, descriptive norms, injunctive norms and behavior. Found that media violence
exposure is positively related to injunctive norms, but only with people with high descriptive norms
(aka when they thought their friends approved of aggression). People with low descriptive norms
were not affected by media violence and were not as aggressive.
Therefore, the effect of media violence can be totally different based on perceived norms of
participants and that descriptive norms play a role.
