ComS 100A: Survey of Communication Studies
Test 3: Study Guide
Harris-Jenkinson
The test is worth 50 points and consists of a combination of multiple choice and true/false
questions.
The test covers the following textbook readings and lectures:
 Chapters 7 (Ethics), 11 (Interviewing), 13 (Public Communication), 14 (Organizational
Communication), 15 (Mass Communication) from Human Communication: Principles and
Contexts (Tubbs & Moss)
 Lectures: Ethics, Interviewing, Public Comm, Org Comm, Mass Comm
NOTE: Information from the lecture on Subliminal Messages will be included in the Final (not
on this test).
Please note: Some questions are very straight forward and involve rote memory (e.g., definitions,
lists), while others are application-based (you may be given an example and asked to identify a
concept). Other questions are based upon synthesis (you may not be able to find the exact
answer from lecture or in the textbook, but you should be able to figure out the answer if you
understand the material). Occasionally I use comic strips as the basis for questions
Materials needed:
 One scantron (green, #882, half sheet)
 One piece of binder paper (if you come across a question on the multiple choice or true/false
questions where you believe you need to justify your answer)
 One or two sharpened #2 pencils
 Your bright, cheerful, awake and READY smiling face
You should know (be able to identify based upon examples, give an example/definition for a
concept, etc.):
 Ethical perspectives (Golden Mean, Utilitarianism, Egoism, Nialism, Relativism, etc.); you will
need to also know the theorist associated with each perspective (if there is one)
 Common principles used by people in making ethical decisions
 Types of interviews (performance review, reprimand, etc.; board interviews, panel interviews,
etc.)
 Types of questions (open, closed, leading, illegal, etc.)
 How to appropriately respond to illegal job interview questions
 STAR interviewing approach, standardized format, funnel technique, etc.
 The functions/purposes of the stages in the interview process
 Aristotle’s forms of rhetorical proof
 Cicero’s five canons of rhetoric (invention/inventio, style/elecutio, etc.)
 What credibility affects (exposure, cognitive learning, etc.)
 Differences between public speaking and other forms of communication
 Differences between informative and persuasive presentations
 What is appropriate for speaking notes
 Delivery styles
 Presentation aids (guidelines for using, why use aids, etc.)
 Essential characteristics of organizations
 Communication message flow (downward, upward, horizontal, formal, informal)
 Communication and classical management theories
 Hawthorne Studies
Harris-Jenkinson
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Test 3 Study Guide: ComS 100A
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Theories/models of mass media (functions, uses and gratification, technological determinism,
hypodermic needle/magic bullet, 2-step flow model, push vs. pull technologies, agendasetting)
Definitions or descriptions of:
 Interviewing
 Rhetoric (as per Aristotle)
 Ethos (as per Aristotle)
 Credibility
 The sleeper effect
 Whistleblowing
 Organizations
 Organizational culture
 Law of diminishing returns
 Mass media
 Digital divide
Harris-Jenkinson
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Test 3 Study Guide: ComS 100A