CSS Journalism and Mass Communication chapter 1: Communication theory MCQs with answers
By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026
51 exam-style questions on Communication theory, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.
Mass communication theories and effects17 questions
Normative theories of the press17 questions
Ten Communication theory questions with answers
Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.
1. George Gerbner's cultivation research grew out of a long-running programme of television content analysis known as the
A
Cultural Indicators Project
B
Chapel Hill study
C
Payne Fund Studies
D
Hutchins Commission
Show answer
Answer: A. Gerbner began the Cultural Indicators Project in the 1960s to track what television showed over time. The Payne Fund Studies of the 1930s were about films and children.
2. According to Noelle-Neumann, the main reason people stay silent about a minority opinion is
A
fear of social isolation
B
lack of information
C
respect for the media
D
shortage of time
Show answer
Answer: A. The spiral of silence rests on the human fear of being isolated from the group. The media's reports of what seems to be the majority view feed that fear.
3. A reader writes to the editor in reply to a news report. In the communication process this reply is
A
noise
B
feedback
C
encoding
D
the channel
Show answer
Answer: B. Feedback is the receiver's response, which returns to the sender and shows how the message was understood.
4. The idea of a free marketplace of ideas, in which truth emerges from open competition between views, belongs to
A
authoritarian theory
B
libertarian theory
C
Soviet communist theory
D
development media theory
Show answer
Answer: B. Libertarian theory trusts people to choose between competing ideas and holds that the press should be free of government control.
5. The Hutchins Commission on Freedom of the Press (1947) is linked to which theory?
A
Libertarian theory
B
Social responsibility theory
C
Authoritarian theory
D
Soviet communist theory
Show answer
Answer: B. The Commission feared that a completely free press might fail society and argued that press freedom carries duties of accuracy, fairness and service to public discussion.
6. 'Four Theories of the Press' was first published in
A
1936
B
1956
C
1976
D
1996
Show answer
Answer: B. The book appeared in 1956, in the Cold War period, which explains its treatment of the Soviet system as a separate theory.
7. The term 'gatekeeper' was first used in a study of food habits by
A
George Gerbner
B
Paul Lazarsfeld
C
Kurt Lewin
D
Walter Lippmann
Show answer
Answer: C. Lewin used the idea of a gatekeeper who decides what food enters a household. David Manning White later applied it to a newspaper wire editor in 1950.
8. A country's newspapers are privately owned, but a press council hears public complaints about accuracy and fairness and the press accepts a duty to report responsibly. Which theory best describes this?
A
Social responsibility
B
Authoritarian
C
Soviet communist
D
Development media
Show answer
Answer: A. Private ownership with self-regulation and public duties is the model of social responsibility theory.
9. A doctor uses technical medical terms with a group of villagers who cannot follow them. The main barrier to communication is
A
semantic noise
B
physical noise
C
a faulty transmitter
D
delayed feedback
Show answer
Answer: A. Semantic noise arises when the words or symbols used are not understood by the receiver. Physical noise would be a sound or signal fault, which is not the problem described.
10. Which theory assumes a passive audience on which a media message acts directly and immediately, like a drug injected with a syringe?
A
The two-step flow theory
B
The hypodermic needle theory
C
Agenda-setting theory
D
Uses and gratifications theory
Show answer
Answer: B. The hypodermic needle (or magic bullet) model assumed powerful, uniform, direct effects. The later theories listed all give the audience or other people a more active part.
51, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 3 topics: Communication process and models, Mass communication theories and effects, Normative theories of the press. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.
Is the CSS Journalism and Mass Communication chapter 1 test free?
Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.
How is the chapter test marked?
The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.
