1. Define cognitive dissonance and illustrate with an example how dissonance is created and how it affects us.
2. If you are a Republican, does cognitive dissonance theory predict that you will pay more attention to Republican campaign ads or to Democratic ads? Why? Are there any conditions under which dissonance theory would predict the opposite result?
3. You have been accepted by several excellent graduate schools and you have a hard time choosing among them. Finally, you decide you will go to School X. What does cognitive dissonance theory predict will happen shortly after you make your decision? Why? What are the practical implications of this prediction?
4. In Festinger's famous $1 - $20 experiment, people who had been paid only $1 to tell another person that a boring task was interesting actually liked the task better than people who had been paid $20 to do the same thing. How does cognitive dissonance theory explain this result? Illustrate how you might apply this finding in order to influence another person in a real life situation.
5. Using an example, explain the principle of identification in Kenneth Burke's theory of dramatism. (Your answer should include explanations of the following concepts: substance, consubstantiality, identification/division, and god/devil terms.)
6. What is Kenneth Burke's "dramatistic pentad?" Using an example, apply the pentad to show how a persuasive message can create a rhetorical drama that identifies the audience with the motives of one side in a controversy.
7. Explain the guilt-redemption cycle according to Kenneth Burke. Illustrate by discussing an example of mortification or victimage in a rhetorical message such as a public speech, advertisement, or news report.
8. Festinger's theory is usually said to be a "scientific" theory of communication while Burke's theory is usually described as "humanistic." Explain the likely basis for these judgments, and whether you agree or disagree.
9. Explain, according to Marshall McLuhan, how changes in the dominant media of communication have produced four different cultures in different periods of history.
10. According to McLuhan, print is declining as the dominant medium and we are entering a new, electronic culture. What does this mean and what implications might it have for education? Use specific examples and be sure to explain clearly how your answer is based on McLuhan's ideas. Feel free to be critical of McLuhan's ideas if you feel that they don't have any real implications for education.
11. Using examples, explain the idea of the future and discuss three ways in which this idea has functioned in American society according to James Carey. Why is Carey critical of these ritual ways we have of talking about the future? Do you agree or disagree with his criticism? Why?
12. According to James Carey, the introduction of the telegraph beginning in the 1840s had profound effects on society. Discuss those effects.
13. With the rapid development of new communication technologies, we have recently been hearing a lot about "the future." In light of James Carey's writings, what are some effects that you think the new communication technologies are likely to have on our society? Be sure to explain the reasoning behind your answer.
14. What is the "TV world" and how does it differ from the "real" world according to George Gerbner's research? Be specific!
15. Research on cultivation theory has found three types of effects: across-the-board cultivation effects (the cultivation differential), mainstreaming, and resonance. Explain and illustrate with an example each type of effect.
16. Gerbner has argued that the content of TV should be regulated to reduce "cultural pollution." In light of his research, do you agree with Gerbner or not? Be sure to explain the research on which Gerbner's opinion is based and explain your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with him.
17. Explain the role that the mass media play in society according to Stuart Hall's critical theory. (Your answer should include explanations of the concepts ideology and hegemony.)
18. Explain the three decoding options that Stuart Hall claims each audience member has. Illustrate with your own example, showing how the "same" media message might be interpreted in three different ways depending on the code applied.
19. Using Japanese and American cultures as examples, explain the distinction between high-context and low-context cultures.
20. Diagram and explain, using an example of your own, Ting-Toomey's two-dimensional grid of facework, and explain how facework differs between high-context and low-context cultures.
21. What does Ting-Toomey's face-negotiation theory say about the conflict management styles of different cultural groups? Discuss the practical implications for intergroup relations (i.e., relations between people from different ethnic or cultural groups) within our society.

This page was last updated: December 30, 1998