Media Effects Research A Basic Overview by Glenn G. Sparks – Test Bank

Media Effects Research A Basic Overview by Glenn G. Sparks – Test Bank

Potential Exam Questions for Media Effects Research: A Basic Overview (5th Edition) by Glenn
G. Sparks
NOTE: Correct answers are underlined.
Chapter 6
1. According to the text, what situation makes it difficult to assess the merits of the “safety
valve theory” of the effects of sexually explicit material?
a. Children cannot be studied due to ethical concerns.
b. In today’s electronic environment, the concept of “availability” is a difficult one
to assess.
c. The evidence for the “trigger hypothesis” is so overwhelming that researchers
struggle to find any evidence for the “safety valve” idea.
d. Obscenity is not protected under the First Amendment.
e. It is difficult to measure the inner sexual urges of human beings.
2. According to the text, in the study by Kenneth Leonard and Stuart Taylor, males watched
slides that were either neutral or erotic. In the erotic slide conditions, a female partner
either made negative comments (nonpermissive cues) or positive comments (permissive
cues) about the material. What was the major finding in this study?
a. Males in the permissive cues condition were more willing to deliver high levels of
electric shock to females.
b. Males in the nonpermissive cues condition were more willing to deliver high
levels of electric shock to females.
c. Males in the permissive cues were much more likely to express attraction toward
their female viewing partner.
d. Males in the nonpermissive cues condition were much more likely to express
attraction toward their female viewing partner.
e. The forbidden fruit effect: Males in the nonpermissive cues condition were much
more likely to favor legalization of pornography.
3. According to the text, Zillmann and his colleagues had males and females view
frightening films in the presence of an opposite sex partner who displayed behaviors that
were either “conquering” or “escapist.” Which of the following theoretical ideas best
explain the results of this study?
a. social learning theory
b. Piaget’s theory of developmental differences
c. excitation transfer theory
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part.
d. gender role socialization
e. none of the above
4. According to the text, the “sexual uncertainty hypothesis” states that:
a. With increased use of sexual material on the Internet, sexual uncertainty in
adolescents about their sexual values DECREASES.
b. With increased use of sexual material on the Internet, sexual uncertainty in
adolescents about their sexual values REMAINS UNCHANGED.
c. With increased use of sexual material on the Internet, sexual uncertainty in
adolescents about their sexual values INCREASES.
d. With increased instruction from parents about appropriate sexual behavior, sexual
uncertainty in adolescents about their sexual values INCREASES.
e. In general, adolescents are uncertain about their sexual values.
5. According to the text, at one point in his research career, Dolf Zillmann decided to stop
doing research on the effects of sexually explicit media. Why did he make that decision?
a. He believed that all of the important questions had been answered.
b. He could not find sexually explicit material that was nonviolent.
c. He was pressured by university administrators to stop doing research in a
controversial area.
d. Local courts declared the material used in his experiments were legally
“obscene.”
e. His closest research collaborator received death threats and threats of sexual
abuse of his wife and children.
6. According to the text, which of the following is TRUE regarding the 1967 Commission
on Obscenity and Pornography?
a. It was formed under President Lyndon Johnson and concluded that pornography
was extremely harmful to several different populations.
b. It was formed under President Lyndon Johnson and concluded that pornography
had no harmful effects on any population studied.
c. It was formed under President Richard Nixon and concluded that pornography
was extremely harmful to several different populations.
d. It was formed under President Richard Nixon and concluded that pornography
had no harmful effects on any population studied.
e. It was formed by Attorney General Ed Meese and concluded that most
pornography could be declared to be legally obscene.

© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in
part.
7. According to the text, which of the following is the best overall conclusion about the
research that has examined the relationship between the unrestricted flow of sexually
explicit materials in a society and the rate of sex crimes in that society?
a. Overall, the results of these studies are inconclusive.
b. Overall, after restrictive laws are lifted in a given country, the rate of sex crimes
INCREASES.
c. Overall, after restrictive laws are lifted in a given country, the rate of sex crimes
DECREASES.
d. Overall, after restrictive laws are lifted in a given country, the rate of sex crimes
remains UNCHANGED.
e. Overall, it is quite difficult to conduct this research because law enforcement
agencies refuse to release data that pertain to sex crimes.
8. According to the text, which of the following is TRUE regarding the 1986 Meese
Commission on Pornography?
a. It funded a new wave of original scientific research and concluded that there were
no harmful effects of pornography.
b. It funded a new wave of original scientific research and concluded that
pornography had negative effects on those who consumed it.
c. It was careful to interpret correlational data properly and to recognize that such
data could not be used to make inferences about causality.
d. It did not commission any new scientific research and concluded that there were
no harmful effects of pornography.
e. It did not commission any new scientific research and concluded that
pornography had negative effects on those who consumed it.
9. According to the text, how did the researchers who published the Annenberg Sex and
Media Study explain the fact that compared to comedy TV shows, viewers who watched
dramatic shows reported a lower frequency of engaging in sexual behavior?
a. Comedy viewers are less educated about sexual risks than drama viewers. The
finding has little to do with the effects of program genres and more to do with
who watches different genres.
b. Comedy shows have more sex than dramatic shows, so comedy viewers are more
likely to see sexual behavior modeled.
c. Comedy shows are far less likely than dramatic shows to carry messages about
sexual risk and responsibility.
d. Comedy viewers tend to be sensation seekers and are more likely to engage in
sex.
e. None of the above explanations were given in the text.

© 2016 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in
part.
10. According to the text, a 2014 study by two economists who examined the effects of the
MTV show, 16 and Pregnant, concluded that:
a. The program has caused an increase in the rate of teen pregnancy and should be
banned from the airwaves.
b. The program has caused an increase in the rate of teen pregnancy but should be
controlled through education efforts to discourage teens from watching the show.
c. The program has caused an increase in the rate of teen pregnancy and has cost
taxpayers over $1 billion in medical infrastructure costs.
d. The program is responsible for a decrease in the rate of teen pregnancy.
e. The program should be declared to be legally “obscene” because it
meets the three-pronged test for legal obscenity