©THEBRIGHT 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
COMS 330 Exam Questions And Answers
100% Guaranteed Pass.
Definition of CA - Answer✔media determines the important issues we think about
What kind of communication is CA? - Answer✔Mass communication
Why is CA a critical theory? - Answer✔because it encourages people to do something to change
the status quo.
What are the assumptions of CA? - Answer✔Television is different from other forms of mass
media,Television shapes our society's ways of thinking and relating, The influence of television
is limited
What is the 'ice age' analogy? - Answer✔just as an average temperature shift of a few degrees
can lead to an ice age or the outcomes of elections can be determined by slight margins, so too
can a relatively small but pervasive influence make a crucial difference.
What are the goals of CA theory? - Answer✔-CA explains and predicts the influence of media
on viewers' perceived reality.
-CA is also a critical theory, because it encourages people to do something to change the status
quo.
What is the concept of cultivation? - Answer✔the power of the media (TV) on peoples
perceptions of reality
What is mainstreaming? - Answer✔As a result of heavy viewing, peoples constructed social
realities more toward the mainstream, not a mainstream in the political sense but a culturally
dominant reality that is more similar to TV's reality than to any measurable objective external
reality.
What is resonance? - Answer✔when things on TV are in fact congruent with viewers actual
everyday realities. Defined as a behavior that occurs when a viewers lived reality coincides w/the
reality pictured in the media
What are first order effects? - Answer✔learning facts from the media
Ex. How many employed males are involved in law enforcement
What are second order effects? - Answer✔learning values and assumptions from the media
1|Page
, ©THEBRIGHT 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Ex. Questions like do you think people are basically honest?
CA theorists argued that TV produces perceptions of a mean world index? - Answer✔-Most
people are just looking out for themselves
-You can't be too careful in dealing with people
-Most people would take advantage of you if they got the chance
What are the 3 B's? - Answer✔Blurring traditional distinctions
Ex. Educated people see the world similarly to those who have less education
Blending realities
Ex. We agree on whats real
Bending the mainstream reality to benefit the elite
Ex. We all want to buy more products
What is PROD? - Answer✔Proportional representation of diversity: Goal of the index was to
examine the distortion in representation of various co-cultures; the index determined how well or
poorly groups were represented on TV relative to their numbers in the population.
What are CA's strengths? - Answer✔-Heuristic
-One of the most frequently used theory in mass communication
What are the criticisms? - Answer✔Logical Consistency
-Research methods do not match conceptual reach
Utility
-Ignores perceived realism
Test of Time
-Times and media use are changing
What is the meta theoretical stance? - Answer✔Social Scientific and Critical Approach
What is Uses and Gratification theory? - Answer✔-Media has a limited effect because of user
control
-People are selective and choose media to satisfy their needs
-What do people do with media?
What kind of communication is Uses and gratification? - Answer✔Mass Communication
Why was the U&G theory developed? - Answer✔Stage one: extending the needs and motivation
theory (Maslow)
Stage two: Creating typologies representing reasons for media use table 23.1
2|Page
COMS 330 Exam Questions And Answers
100% Guaranteed Pass.
Definition of CA - Answer✔media determines the important issues we think about
What kind of communication is CA? - Answer✔Mass communication
Why is CA a critical theory? - Answer✔because it encourages people to do something to change
the status quo.
What are the assumptions of CA? - Answer✔Television is different from other forms of mass
media,Television shapes our society's ways of thinking and relating, The influence of television
is limited
What is the 'ice age' analogy? - Answer✔just as an average temperature shift of a few degrees
can lead to an ice age or the outcomes of elections can be determined by slight margins, so too
can a relatively small but pervasive influence make a crucial difference.
What are the goals of CA theory? - Answer✔-CA explains and predicts the influence of media
on viewers' perceived reality.
-CA is also a critical theory, because it encourages people to do something to change the status
quo.
What is the concept of cultivation? - Answer✔the power of the media (TV) on peoples
perceptions of reality
What is mainstreaming? - Answer✔As a result of heavy viewing, peoples constructed social
realities more toward the mainstream, not a mainstream in the political sense but a culturally
dominant reality that is more similar to TV's reality than to any measurable objective external
reality.
What is resonance? - Answer✔when things on TV are in fact congruent with viewers actual
everyday realities. Defined as a behavior that occurs when a viewers lived reality coincides w/the
reality pictured in the media
What are first order effects? - Answer✔learning facts from the media
Ex. How many employed males are involved in law enforcement
What are second order effects? - Answer✔learning values and assumptions from the media
1|Page
, ©THEBRIGHT 2024/2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Ex. Questions like do you think people are basically honest?
CA theorists argued that TV produces perceptions of a mean world index? - Answer✔-Most
people are just looking out for themselves
-You can't be too careful in dealing with people
-Most people would take advantage of you if they got the chance
What are the 3 B's? - Answer✔Blurring traditional distinctions
Ex. Educated people see the world similarly to those who have less education
Blending realities
Ex. We agree on whats real
Bending the mainstream reality to benefit the elite
Ex. We all want to buy more products
What is PROD? - Answer✔Proportional representation of diversity: Goal of the index was to
examine the distortion in representation of various co-cultures; the index determined how well or
poorly groups were represented on TV relative to their numbers in the population.
What are CA's strengths? - Answer✔-Heuristic
-One of the most frequently used theory in mass communication
What are the criticisms? - Answer✔Logical Consistency
-Research methods do not match conceptual reach
Utility
-Ignores perceived realism
Test of Time
-Times and media use are changing
What is the meta theoretical stance? - Answer✔Social Scientific and Critical Approach
What is Uses and Gratification theory? - Answer✔-Media has a limited effect because of user
control
-People are selective and choose media to satisfy their needs
-What do people do with media?
What kind of communication is Uses and gratification? - Answer✔Mass Communication
Why was the U&G theory developed? - Answer✔Stage one: extending the needs and motivation
theory (Maslow)
Stage two: Creating typologies representing reasons for media use table 23.1
2|Page
