SCOM 240 JMU Midterm Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025/2026
Good objective theory - Answers Prediction of the future,
explanation of data,
Relative simplicity,
Hypothesis can be tested,
Practical Utility,
Quantitative
Good interpretative theory - Answers Clarification of values,
New understanding of people,
Aesthetic appeal,
Community of agreement,
Reform of society,
Qualitative
Traditions 1-7 (1 is objective) - Answers 1 Socio psychological
2 Cybernetic
3 Rhetorical
4 Semiotic
5 Socio cultural
6 Critical
7 Phenomenological
Socio-Psychological Tradition - Answers communication as interpersonal interaction and
influence. scientific or objective approach. look for cause and effect relationships that will
predict the results when people communicate.
Cybernetic Tradition - Answers communication as a system of informational processing. study
of information processing, feedback, and control in communication systems.
Rhetorical Tradition - Answers communication as artful public address. using all available
means of persausion, focusing upon lines of argument, organization of ideas, language use, and
,delivery in public speaking
Semiotic Tradition - Answers communication as the process of sharing meaning through signs.
study of verbal and nonverbal signs that can stand for something else and how their
interpretation impacts society. includes symbols
Socio Cultural - Answers communication as the creation and enactment of social reality.
premise that as people talk they produce and reproduce culture. Cultural patterns, addressing a
group.
Critical Tradition - Answers communication as reflective challenge of unjust disclosure. Power
dynamics
Phenomenological Tradition - Answers communication as the experience of self and others
through dialogue. enphasis on people's perception and their interpretation of their own
experience
Relational Dialectics Theory Type and Tradition - Answers Interpretative,
Socio Cultural and Phenomenological
Baxter & Bakhtin
Utterance Chain - Answers Talk reverberates with words spoken before, words yet to come, and
words that speakers may never dare to voice.
Primary Dialectics Types - Answers 1. Integration and Separation
2. Stability and Change
3. Expression and Nonexpression
Integration and Separation - Answers internal: connection/autonomy
external: inclusion/seclusion
Stability and Change - Answers internal: certainty, uncertainty
external: conventionality, uniqueness
Expression and Non Expression - Answers internal: openness, closeness
external: revelation, concealment
Diachronic Separation - Answers Different arguments at different times (Spiral Inversion,
Segmentation)
Synchronic Interplay - Answers Different at the same time (Negating, Countering, Entertaining)
, Relational Dialectics Critique - Answers The theory relies mostly on self-report data.
Another critique is that the theory's expression lacks aesthetic appeal
Discourse - Answers Split by who speaks them nearby or far away (discourses that occur
between the mother and daughter versus distant discourses spoken by other people, such as
third parties)
and by time (already-spoken discourses in the past versus not-yet-spoken discourses
anticipated in the future)
Expectancy Violations Theory Type and Tradition - Answers Objective,
Socio psychological
Judee Burgoon
Four proxemic zones - Answers 1 Intimate distance: 0 to 18 inches.
2 Personal distance: 18 inches to 4 feet.
3 Social distance: 4 to 12 feet.
4 Public distance: 12 to 25 feet to infinity.
Violation Valence - Answers The positive or negative value we place on the unexpected behavior,
regardless of who does it..
Expectancy - Answers What is predicted to occur rather than what is desired.
Communicator Reward Valence - Answers The sum of the positive and negative attributes that
the person brings to the encounter plus the potential he or she has to reward or punish in the
future
Expectancy Violations Theory Critique - Answers Burgoon's theory meets five criteria for a good
scientific theory (explanation, relative simplicity, testable, quantitative research, and practical
advice) needs improvement with prediction.
Threat Threshold - Answers The boundary of the intimate distance causes physical and
psychological discomfort (dropped)
Burgoon EVT changes - Answers Dropped the concept of the threat threshold.
Arousal is no longer a necessary link between expectancy violation and communication
outcomes such as attraction, credibility, persuasion, and involvement, but rather a side effect of
a partner's deviation.
Good objective theory - Answers Prediction of the future,
explanation of data,
Relative simplicity,
Hypothesis can be tested,
Practical Utility,
Quantitative
Good interpretative theory - Answers Clarification of values,
New understanding of people,
Aesthetic appeal,
Community of agreement,
Reform of society,
Qualitative
Traditions 1-7 (1 is objective) - Answers 1 Socio psychological
2 Cybernetic
3 Rhetorical
4 Semiotic
5 Socio cultural
6 Critical
7 Phenomenological
Socio-Psychological Tradition - Answers communication as interpersonal interaction and
influence. scientific or objective approach. look for cause and effect relationships that will
predict the results when people communicate.
Cybernetic Tradition - Answers communication as a system of informational processing. study
of information processing, feedback, and control in communication systems.
Rhetorical Tradition - Answers communication as artful public address. using all available
means of persausion, focusing upon lines of argument, organization of ideas, language use, and
,delivery in public speaking
Semiotic Tradition - Answers communication as the process of sharing meaning through signs.
study of verbal and nonverbal signs that can stand for something else and how their
interpretation impacts society. includes symbols
Socio Cultural - Answers communication as the creation and enactment of social reality.
premise that as people talk they produce and reproduce culture. Cultural patterns, addressing a
group.
Critical Tradition - Answers communication as reflective challenge of unjust disclosure. Power
dynamics
Phenomenological Tradition - Answers communication as the experience of self and others
through dialogue. enphasis on people's perception and their interpretation of their own
experience
Relational Dialectics Theory Type and Tradition - Answers Interpretative,
Socio Cultural and Phenomenological
Baxter & Bakhtin
Utterance Chain - Answers Talk reverberates with words spoken before, words yet to come, and
words that speakers may never dare to voice.
Primary Dialectics Types - Answers 1. Integration and Separation
2. Stability and Change
3. Expression and Nonexpression
Integration and Separation - Answers internal: connection/autonomy
external: inclusion/seclusion
Stability and Change - Answers internal: certainty, uncertainty
external: conventionality, uniqueness
Expression and Non Expression - Answers internal: openness, closeness
external: revelation, concealment
Diachronic Separation - Answers Different arguments at different times (Spiral Inversion,
Segmentation)
Synchronic Interplay - Answers Different at the same time (Negating, Countering, Entertaining)
, Relational Dialectics Critique - Answers The theory relies mostly on self-report data.
Another critique is that the theory's expression lacks aesthetic appeal
Discourse - Answers Split by who speaks them nearby or far away (discourses that occur
between the mother and daughter versus distant discourses spoken by other people, such as
third parties)
and by time (already-spoken discourses in the past versus not-yet-spoken discourses
anticipated in the future)
Expectancy Violations Theory Type and Tradition - Answers Objective,
Socio psychological
Judee Burgoon
Four proxemic zones - Answers 1 Intimate distance: 0 to 18 inches.
2 Personal distance: 18 inches to 4 feet.
3 Social distance: 4 to 12 feet.
4 Public distance: 12 to 25 feet to infinity.
Violation Valence - Answers The positive or negative value we place on the unexpected behavior,
regardless of who does it..
Expectancy - Answers What is predicted to occur rather than what is desired.
Communicator Reward Valence - Answers The sum of the positive and negative attributes that
the person brings to the encounter plus the potential he or she has to reward or punish in the
future
Expectancy Violations Theory Critique - Answers Burgoon's theory meets five criteria for a good
scientific theory (explanation, relative simplicity, testable, quantitative research, and practical
advice) needs improvement with prediction.
Threat Threshold - Answers The boundary of the intimate distance causes physical and
psychological discomfort (dropped)
Burgoon EVT changes - Answers Dropped the concept of the threat threshold.
Arousal is no longer a necessary link between expectancy violation and communication
outcomes such as attraction, credibility, persuasion, and involvement, but rather a side effect of
a partner's deviation.
