Why Is It Hard to Know Whether Exposure to Messages

question 32

Multiple Choice

Why is it hard to know whether exposure to messages about drinking and smoking actually change adolescents' behaviors?

• A) Adolescents are not exposed to the mass media as blank slates.
• B) When adolescents are exposed to the mass media, they bring preexisting values, beliefs, and expectations to the experience of watching or listening to mass media.
• C) Preexisting values, beliefs, and expectations influence what adolescents perceive, what they pay attention to, and what they remember.
• D) All of these statements are true.

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Definitions:

Endorphins

Natural, pain-relieving chemicals produced by the body during exercise, excitement, pain, and sexual activity, contributing to a sense of well-being.

Morphine

A powerful opiate analgesic drug derived from the opium poppy, used to relieve severe pain.

Neurotransmitter Molecules

Chemical substances in the nervous system that transmit signals across a chemical synapse from one neuron to another neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.

Agonists

Agonists are chemicals or drugs that activate receptors in the body to produce a physiological response similar to that of a natural substance.