Test Bank for Interpersonal Communication, 2e

Test Bank for Interpersonal Communication, 2e Denise Solomon, Jennifer Theiss (All Chapters)

Chapter 1 Test Bank

• What does it mean to say that communication is personal?
• Interpersonal communication occurs between people
• Interpersonal communication is when one person's actions affect and reflect the other

person's actions.

• Interpersonal communication involves attention to the unique individual qualities of

each communicator.

• All of the above emphasize personal aspects of interpersonal communication.

Answer: c

• What does it mean to say that communication is irreversible?
• You send messages to others even though you might think you aren't communicating

or you might not want to be communicating.

• Once you have communicated something to others, you can never return to the state

you were in before that message was sent.

• What you do and say affects how other people feel, perceive themselves, and think

about others in ways that raise ethical issues.

• All of the above explain how communication is irreversible.

Answer: b

• One characteristic of interpersonal communication is that it is consequential. Which

consequence of interpersonal communication allows you to gather information about yourself, other people, past or present events, and beliefs or attitudes?

• learning
• helping
• influencing
• relating

Answer: a

• One characteristic of interpersonal communication is that it is consequential. Which

consequence of interpersonal communication allows you to experience closeness or distance, agreement or disagreement, and equality or inequality with another person?

• learning
• influencing
• relating
• playing

Answer: c

• What is suggested about the nature of communication to say that meanings change and unfold

over time and that previous messages affect how subsequent messages are created and understood. 1 / 4

• Communication is a continuous process.
• Communication is dynamic process.
• Communication is consequential.
• Communication is irreversible.

Answer: b

• Eric got a text from his girlfriend stating that she would have to cancel their date tonight. He

immediately texted back, “If that’s how you feel, then I guess I don’t want to be with you anyway.” He quickly regretted his decision and called her up to apologize. Although she accepted his apology and forgave him, his message has continued to place a strain on their relationship months after the fact. Which principle of interpersonal communication does this demonstrate?

• Interpersonal communication is continuous
• Interpersonal communication is dynamic
• Interpersonal communication is imperfect
• Interpersonal communication is irreversible

Answer: d

• Alice has recently become frustrated with her friend Billy due to his constant need for

attention. She decided that she simply didn’t have the time or emotional energy to communicate with him anymore. Therefore, she stopped interacting with him, telling herself, “I’m just going to avoid communicating with him for a while. I won’t say anything to him, good or bad.” After a few days, Billy confronted her: “Why are you so mad at me?” Alice replied, “I didn’t say anything! In fact, I didn’t communicate with you at all!” What principle of interpersonal communication was Alice forgetting?

• Interpersonal communication is continuous
• Interpersonal communication is irreversible
• Interpersonal communication is imperfect
• Interpersonal communication is dynamic

Answer: a

• Barack and Michelle are out on their first date. At the end of the night, Barack picks up the

check and says "I'll pay for dinner this time." From this message, Michelle infers that Barack must be interested in her and would like a second date, because paying for dinner “this time” implies he would like there to be a “next time.” What aspect of interpersonal messages allows Michelle to make this judgment about Barack’s feelings?

• relational message
• content message
• future message
• outcome message

Answer: a

• Which of the following characteristics of interpersonal communication competence suggests

that you can produce the desired outcomes you seek with no more than a reasonable amount of effort?

• fidelity 2 / 4

• appropriateness
• effectiveness
• efficiency

Answer: d

• Rosa recently changed schools from a very large public university to a much smaller private

college. She is used to very large lectures with hundreds of students, so the smaller classes at her new school are a bit foreign to her. For the first few weeks of the semester, she remains quiet and observes the behaviors of her classmates to determine the social rules inherent in her new academic environment. What aspect of communication competence is Rosa attending to as she assesses the rules for behavior so that she can better fit in with her classmates?

• fidelity
• appropriateness
• satisfaction
• effectiveness

Answer: b

• Which of the following involves using values as a moral guide when interacting with other

people?

• communication competence
• communication skills
• communication ethics
• communication fidelity

Answer: c

• Sebastian's parents have urged him to find a part-time job to supplement his income while he

is going to school full time. Sebastian would like to find a job on campus so that he doesn't waste a lot of time commuting and would prefer a desk job where he could maybe fit in some homework from time to time. His parents have arranged an interview for him to be a dishwasher at a family friend's restaurant far off campus. He doesn't even want the job, in fact, he's hoping he doesn't get it. Because his parents arranged the interview, he goes anyway without planning or preparation, and comes across as aloof and ambivalent about working there. What ingredient for communication competence is Sebastian lacking if he wants to communicate effectively on his interview?

• motivation
• knowledge
• skill
• all of the above are lacking

Answer: a

• Eliot had an interview for a summer job with a local construction company. Eliot really

needed this job, and prepared carefully for the interview. He bought a new suit for the occasion, and rehearsed answering questions with his father. He was eager to get this job, but when he showed up for the interview, Eliot realized all the other candidates were dressed in jeans and steel-toed boots, as was the interviewer. As it turned out, Eliot didn’t get the job because, they said, he wasn’t “the right fit” for it. He just didn’t demonstrate awareness of the culture and 3 / 4

norms for working at the company. What component of communication competence was lacking at Eliot’s interview?

• Motivation
• Knowledge
• Skills
• All of the above are correct

Answer: b

• Research tells us that people who make a lot of eye contact during conversations are

perceived as more credible and trustworthy. Given that credibility goes up as eye contact increases, what type of relationship exists between these two variables?

• curvilinear association
• positive association
• negative association
• nonsignificant association

Answer: b

• The longer an individual waits to start drinking alcohol (time increases), the less likely they

are to become an alcoholic (likelihood decreases). This is an example of a ____ theoretical association.

• Positive
• Negative
• Curvilinear
• None of the above

Answer: b

• What does it mean to say that a theory is incomplete?
• Theories highlight certain types of relationships among concepts.
• Theories are judged based on how accurate or useful they are for understanding

interpersonal communication.

• Theories necessarily leave out concepts that might be relevant to explaining a

phenomenon to focus only on the most central concepts.

• All of the above explain why theories are incomplete

Answer: c

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