Yolanda is writing an informative speech about media violence. To remain objective and balanced, she must consider two factors: fairly representing both sides of the debate, and ensuring the believability of her ideas. To this end, she has included an equal number of statements from both perspectives in her speech. Now, she must determine the believability of each idea by vetting the source of information, and distinguishing facts from opinions. Read both statements as well as the information in parentheses, and decide which, if either, is more believable. A. The first statement is more believable.
B. The second statement is more believable.
C. Neither statement is more believable than the other.
1) Read both statements below, and decide which, if either, is more believable.
a) "There are appropriate steps that legislative bodies as well as media industries could take to make it easier for parents to control their children’s media diet." (Dr. Anderson, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Iowa.)
b) "Research results have shown that a single brief exposure to violent media can increase aggression in the immediate situation. Repeated exposure leads to general increases in aggressiveness over time." (Dr. Anderson, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Iowa.)
c) Neither statement is more believable.
2) Read both statements below, and decide which, if either, is more believable.
a) "Immediately after consuming some media violence, aggressive thoughts and emotions increase in the subjects." (Dr. Anderson, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Iowa.)
b) "Immediately after consuming some media violence, general arousal increases. For instance, subjects showed an increased heart rate." (Dr. Anderson, Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Iowa.)
c) Neither statement is more believable.
3) Read both statements below, and decide which, if either, is more believable.
a) "The strongest risk factors for school shootings were mental instability and troubled home life, not media exposure." (U. S. Surgeon General Report on Media Violence).
b) "The rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low." (From an evening news report in which the journalist cited federal crime statistics).
c) Neither statement is more believable.
4) Read both statements below, and decide which, if either, is more believable.
a) "62 percent of the console market is age 18 or older." (from an article in GameSpot, an industry publication that receives advertising revenue from video game manufacturers).
b) "66 percent of the PC market is age 18 or older." (from an article in Time magazine, a general news publication).
c) Neither statement is more believable.