COMM 103 Study Guide Floyd, 1

COMM 103
Study Guide for Chapter 6
Understand the following concepts and terms well enough to be able to answer
true/false, multiple choice, and matching questions about them. When you see the word
“know” below, it connotes a definition, model, or list that contains several parts. When
you see the word “understand,” it means the concepts are a bit more complex. Exam
questions may ask you to identify terms and apply them to hypothetical situations. Good
luck!
Chapter 6
1. Know what listening is
2. Know the myths about listening
3. Understand how culture affects listening
4. Know the stages of effective listening (HURIER model)
5. Know the types of listening
6. Know the common barriers to effective listening
7. Know how to hone your listening skills

Sample Exam Questions

1. Drew wants to become a better empathetic listener. Which should he learn to do

to hone his empathetic listening skills?
a. Be a skeptic
b. Evaluate a speaker’s credibility
c. Understand probability
d. Listen nonjudgmentally

Chapter 7
1. Know why we relationships are important in our lives
2. Understand why we choose to form relationships with others (attraction theory,
uncertainty reduction)
3. Understand why and how we maintain relationships (social exchange theory,
equity theory, relational maintenance behaviors)
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4. Understand self-disclosure (characteristics, benefits, and harms)

5. Know the characteristics of friendships (including closeness in same-sex
friendships)
6. Know the characteristics of social relationships in the workplace

Sample Exam Question

1. You disclose someone something about yourself to someone else, and you expect
that they will then disclose something relatively equal in depth about themselves.
This is called the:
a. Norm of depth
b. Norm of breadth
c. Norm of assurance
d. Norm of reciprocity

Chapter 8
7. Understand the nature of intimate relationships (this includes the dark side box
on obsession and stalking)
b. Know the dialectical tensions
c. Know the ways we manage these tensions (at the end of chapter)
8. Characteristics of romantic relationships
9. Forming and communicating in romantic relationships
a. This includes Knapp’s stages of relationship development and dissolution
b. How couples handle conflict, privacy, and emotional and instrumental
conflict
10. Communicating in families
a. Communication issues in families
b. This includes roles, rituals, stories and secrets
11. Improving communication in intimate relationships
a. This includes confirming and disconfirming messages (six types of each)
b. Four destructive conflict behaviors

Sample Exam Question

2. Will and Sally are in a romantic relationship. They are open and honest with each
other about most things, but have agreed that they will not talk about past
relationships or partners. Which way of managing dialectical tension are Will and
Sally using?
a. Recalibration
b. Segmentation
c. Disorientation
d. Reaffirmation
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Chapter 15
1. Know the appeals or types of proof
2. Understand the different types of propositions
3. Know the organizational patterns
4. Know the logical fallacies
5. Understand the ways you can hone your persuasive speaking skills

Sample Exam Question

a. Tom is persuading his parents to let him borrow their new car. He says, “I know
you’re probably thinking I’m not trustworthy because I totaled my car, but I don’t
do drugs or drink and I could be out partying all night.” Tom’s message isn’t
convincing to his parents because he is using what logical fallacy?
a. Slippery slope
b. False-cause
c. Either-or
d. Red herring
Media Literacy
1. Understand the differences between electronic and social media
2. Understand the theories impacting:
a. Making Media Choices
b. Why Messages Affect Us
c. How messages affect health and wellness
3. Understand how and why we can improve our media literacy

Sample Exam Questions

1. If we want to research what messages are communicated during a news broadcast

and how those messages progress from the editor’s desk to the newsroom, we will
most likely employ what theory of media literacy?
a. Cultivation theory
b. Selective exposure
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c. Uses and gratifications

d. Agenda setting