JOUR 2500 Exam 2 Study Guide:
Comprehensive Examination on Media
Theory, Communication Models, and
Journalism Practice
Exam Title: Comprehensive Assessment of
Media Effects, Communication Models,
Research Methods, and Professional
Journalism Practice for JOUR 2500
SECTION A: MEDIA EFFECTS THEORIES AND
COMMUNICATION MODELS
(Questions 1-35)
1. The theoretical perspective that views media messages as
having direct, immediate, and powerful effects on passive
audiences is known as:
A) Minimalist effects theory
B) Cumulative effects theory
C) Hypodermic needle theory
D) Two-step flow theory
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The hypodermic needle theory, also known as the magic
bullet theory, posits that media messages are injected directly into
passive audiences, producing immediate and powerful effects. This
early model assumed audiences were isolated, atomized individuals
who would uniformly respond to media stimuli . This theory
emerged during the pre-World War II era, influenced by
behaviorism and concerns about propaganda's power .
2. Walter Lippmann's concept of "pictures in our heads" refers to:
A) The visual images used in television news broadcasts
B) Mental representations of events we haven't personally
experienced, shaped by media
C) The psychological process of selective perception
D) The emotional responses triggered by graphic media content
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In his 1922 book "Public Opinion," Lippmann argued
that people see the world not as it really is, but as "pictures in their
heads" – mental images shaped by media portrayals of events and
issues they haven't directly experienced. This concept was a
precursor to powerful effects theory .
3. The researcher who conducted the first major test of media
effects on an election and discovered that people were influenced
more by friends and acquaintances than by media was:
,A) Harold Lasswell
B) Walter Lippmann
C) Paul Lazarsfeld
D) Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Paul Lazarsfeld of Columbia University conducted
pioneering research on the 1940 presidential election, tracking 600
people repeatedly. His findings revealed that interpersonal
communication (friends and acquaintances) had more influence on
voters than media exposure, challenging the powerful effects
theory .
4. According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's cumulative effects
theory, media influence is:
A) Immediate and direct on all audience members
B) Minimal and easily resisted by informed citizens
C) Profound over time due to media ubiquity and message
redundancy
D) Limited to those with low media literacy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Noelle-Neumann argued that while media don't have
powerful immediate effects, their influence becomes profound over
time because nobody can escape the media, and messages are
driven home with redundancy. This represents a resurrection of
powerful effects theory with a temporal twist .
, 5. The Shannon-Weaver communication model identifies which of
the following as the correct sequence of communication
elements?
A) Sender → Message → Channel → Receiver → Feedback
B) Source → Encoding → Transmission → Decoding → Receiver
C) Communicator → Message → Medium → Audience → Effect
D) Input → Process → Output → Feedback → Adjustment
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Shannon-Weaver model, developed in 1948 by two
Bell Telephone engineers, identifies five fundamental steps:
stimulation resulting in thought, encoding into a message,
transmission, decoding by recipient, and internalization. In mass
communication, there is double encoding and double decoding .
6. In mass communication, unlike interpersonal communication,
"double encoding" refers to:
A) Encoding the message twice for redundancy
B) Encoding the message into language and then technologically
for transmission
C) Encoding the message for both visual and audio channels
D) Encoding the message for both mass and niche audiences
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In mass communication, double encoding occurs when
the communicator encodes the message into language, and then
the message is encoded technologically for transmission through a
Comprehensive Examination on Media
Theory, Communication Models, and
Journalism Practice
Exam Title: Comprehensive Assessment of
Media Effects, Communication Models,
Research Methods, and Professional
Journalism Practice for JOUR 2500
SECTION A: MEDIA EFFECTS THEORIES AND
COMMUNICATION MODELS
(Questions 1-35)
1. The theoretical perspective that views media messages as
having direct, immediate, and powerful effects on passive
audiences is known as:
A) Minimalist effects theory
B) Cumulative effects theory
C) Hypodermic needle theory
D) Two-step flow theory
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The hypodermic needle theory, also known as the magic
bullet theory, posits that media messages are injected directly into
passive audiences, producing immediate and powerful effects. This
early model assumed audiences were isolated, atomized individuals
who would uniformly respond to media stimuli . This theory
emerged during the pre-World War II era, influenced by
behaviorism and concerns about propaganda's power .
2. Walter Lippmann's concept of "pictures in our heads" refers to:
A) The visual images used in television news broadcasts
B) Mental representations of events we haven't personally
experienced, shaped by media
C) The psychological process of selective perception
D) The emotional responses triggered by graphic media content
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In his 1922 book "Public Opinion," Lippmann argued
that people see the world not as it really is, but as "pictures in their
heads" – mental images shaped by media portrayals of events and
issues they haven't directly experienced. This concept was a
precursor to powerful effects theory .
3. The researcher who conducted the first major test of media
effects on an election and discovered that people were influenced
more by friends and acquaintances than by media was:
,A) Harold Lasswell
B) Walter Lippmann
C) Paul Lazarsfeld
D) Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Paul Lazarsfeld of Columbia University conducted
pioneering research on the 1940 presidential election, tracking 600
people repeatedly. His findings revealed that interpersonal
communication (friends and acquaintances) had more influence on
voters than media exposure, challenging the powerful effects
theory .
4. According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's cumulative effects
theory, media influence is:
A) Immediate and direct on all audience members
B) Minimal and easily resisted by informed citizens
C) Profound over time due to media ubiquity and message
redundancy
D) Limited to those with low media literacy
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Noelle-Neumann argued that while media don't have
powerful immediate effects, their influence becomes profound over
time because nobody can escape the media, and messages are
driven home with redundancy. This represents a resurrection of
powerful effects theory with a temporal twist .
, 5. The Shannon-Weaver communication model identifies which of
the following as the correct sequence of communication
elements?
A) Sender → Message → Channel → Receiver → Feedback
B) Source → Encoding → Transmission → Decoding → Receiver
C) Communicator → Message → Medium → Audience → Effect
D) Input → Process → Output → Feedback → Adjustment
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Shannon-Weaver model, developed in 1948 by two
Bell Telephone engineers, identifies five fundamental steps:
stimulation resulting in thought, encoding into a message,
transmission, decoding by recipient, and internalization. In mass
communication, there is double encoding and double decoding .
6. In mass communication, unlike interpersonal communication,
"double encoding" refers to:
A) Encoding the message twice for redundancy
B) Encoding the message into language and then technologically
for transmission
C) Encoding the message for both visual and audio channels
D) Encoding the message for both mass and niche audiences
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: In mass communication, double encoding occurs when
the communicator encodes the message into language, and then
the message is encoded technologically for transmission through a
