CMN 140 Midterm UPDATED ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
what is the information problem? - there's more media than we can process, so we constantly have to make
decisions which is exhausting
- we end up relying on shortcuts and default to habits instead of evaluating
everything
what is mass communication? - communication designed to reach a large, spread out audience through media
systems
key features of mass communication - heterogeneous
- anonymous
- isolated, little/no interaction among audience members
what is mass-personal communication? - communication is mass distributed but also personalized/interpersonal-feeling
example of mass-personal communication - typically seen on social media
- tik toks have huge potential reach but they feel personal because creators talk
like friends and the algorithm targets you
media multitasking - using multimple media at once
common effects of media multitasking - attention splits
- shallow processing
- worse retention
- more automaticity
statistics for children 0-8 years old - total screentime per day: 2 hours 27 minutes
- gaming trends: jumped 65% in 4 years
- personal tablet ownership: 47% of children own a personal tablet
what is automaticity? - an exposures/decision state where we operate on habit scripts and cues rather
than conscious analysis
- we do this because it saves mental energy, speeds decisions, and handles
routine tasks efficiently
automaticity pros and cons pros:
- efficient
- helps manage info overload
- lets you function without constant deliberate effort
cons:
- you're easier to manipulate
- you miss nuance/credibility cues
- you reinforce habits/biases
- less intentional media choices
, effects of automaticity on attention and retention attention:
- your brain filters out most messages
- you don't fully "notice" what you're exposed to unless something triggers you
retention:
- you remember less because you didn't encode
media literacy - media literacy is continuous, you aren't just "media literate" or "not media literate"
- it's multidimensional
three building blocks of media literacy: media literacy is skills:
multidimensional - what you do mentally with media messages
- seven skills
personal locus:
- your motivation and goals and "i'm in control" mindset when you engage with
media
- when personal locus is weak you go into autopilot and let algorithms choose for
you
knowledge structures:
- organized sets of information
- facts alone are not knowledge without structure
- your stored knowledge that you use to interpret messages
stages of development of media literacy - stage 1: acquiring fundamentals
- stage 2: language acquisition
- stage 3: narrative acquisition
- stage 4: developing skepticism
- stage 5: intensive development
- stage 6: experimental exploring
- stage 7: critical appreciation
- stage 8: social responsibility
stage 1: acquiring fundamentals - occurs during first year of life
- learning that other people and physical objects exist other than self
- interpreting facial expressions and natural sounds
- recognizing basic visual and spatial properties
- forming a basic sense of time through regular patterns
stage 2: language acquisition - occurs ages 2 to 3
- recognizing speech sounds and attaching meaning to them
- reproducing speech sounds
- orient towards visual and audio media
- show emotional and behavioral responses to music and sounds
- begin to recognize characters in visual media and following their movement
stage 3: narrative acquisition - occurs during ages 3 to 5
- learning to distinguish differences between nonfiction vs. fiction, advertising vs.
entertainment, real vs. make-believe
stage 4: developing skepticism - occurs during ages 5 to 9
- begin to discount claims made in advertisements
- sharpen preferences for shows, characters, and actions
Answers
what is the information problem? - there's more media than we can process, so we constantly have to make
decisions which is exhausting
- we end up relying on shortcuts and default to habits instead of evaluating
everything
what is mass communication? - communication designed to reach a large, spread out audience through media
systems
key features of mass communication - heterogeneous
- anonymous
- isolated, little/no interaction among audience members
what is mass-personal communication? - communication is mass distributed but also personalized/interpersonal-feeling
example of mass-personal communication - typically seen on social media
- tik toks have huge potential reach but they feel personal because creators talk
like friends and the algorithm targets you
media multitasking - using multimple media at once
common effects of media multitasking - attention splits
- shallow processing
- worse retention
- more automaticity
statistics for children 0-8 years old - total screentime per day: 2 hours 27 minutes
- gaming trends: jumped 65% in 4 years
- personal tablet ownership: 47% of children own a personal tablet
what is automaticity? - an exposures/decision state where we operate on habit scripts and cues rather
than conscious analysis
- we do this because it saves mental energy, speeds decisions, and handles
routine tasks efficiently
automaticity pros and cons pros:
- efficient
- helps manage info overload
- lets you function without constant deliberate effort
cons:
- you're easier to manipulate
- you miss nuance/credibility cues
- you reinforce habits/biases
- less intentional media choices
, effects of automaticity on attention and retention attention:
- your brain filters out most messages
- you don't fully "notice" what you're exposed to unless something triggers you
retention:
- you remember less because you didn't encode
media literacy - media literacy is continuous, you aren't just "media literate" or "not media literate"
- it's multidimensional
three building blocks of media literacy: media literacy is skills:
multidimensional - what you do mentally with media messages
- seven skills
personal locus:
- your motivation and goals and "i'm in control" mindset when you engage with
media
- when personal locus is weak you go into autopilot and let algorithms choose for
you
knowledge structures:
- organized sets of information
- facts alone are not knowledge without structure
- your stored knowledge that you use to interpret messages
stages of development of media literacy - stage 1: acquiring fundamentals
- stage 2: language acquisition
- stage 3: narrative acquisition
- stage 4: developing skepticism
- stage 5: intensive development
- stage 6: experimental exploring
- stage 7: critical appreciation
- stage 8: social responsibility
stage 1: acquiring fundamentals - occurs during first year of life
- learning that other people and physical objects exist other than self
- interpreting facial expressions and natural sounds
- recognizing basic visual and spatial properties
- forming a basic sense of time through regular patterns
stage 2: language acquisition - occurs ages 2 to 3
- recognizing speech sounds and attaching meaning to them
- reproducing speech sounds
- orient towards visual and audio media
- show emotional and behavioral responses to music and sounds
- begin to recognize characters in visual media and following their movement
stage 3: narrative acquisition - occurs during ages 3 to 5
- learning to distinguish differences between nonfiction vs. fiction, advertising vs.
entertainment, real vs. make-believe
stage 4: developing skepticism - occurs during ages 5 to 9
- begin to discount claims made in advertisements
- sharpen preferences for shows, characters, and actions
