Chapter 2

Question 1

theory

Answer 1

offers account of what something is, how it works, what it produces or causes to happen, and what can change how it operates

Question 2

despcription

Answer 2

process of using symbols to represent phenomena

Question 3

explanation

Answer 3

an effort to clarify how and why something works

Question 4

prediction

Answer 4

projecting what will happen to a phenomena under specified conditions

Question 5

control

Answer 5

use of explanations and predictions to govern what a phenomenon actually does

Question 6

understanding

Answer 6

the values of a theory and its ability to provide insight into why something is as it is or why certain things happen

Question 7

reform

Answer 7

active pursuit of positive social

Question 8

scope

Answer 8

the range of the phenomena a theory describes and explains

Question 9

law-based explanations

Answer 9

anytime X happens Y will follow

-any relation between X and Y

Question 10

Casual law

Answer 10

-states that X causes Y or Y happens because of X

Question 11

Correlational claim

Answer 11

says that X and Y go together but does not assert that one causes the other

Question 12

Rules-based explanations

Answer 12

explain what happens in a specific type of communication situation or relationship

Question 13

testability

Answer 13

whether or not a claim can be investigated to determine its accuracy

Question 14

parsimony

Answer 14

refers to simplicity of a theory
-the simplest theory that is capable of describing, explaining, understanding and perhaps predicting the future is the besy

Question 15

utility

Answer 15

practical value that a theory has

Question 16

heurism

Answer 16

the degree to which a theory provokes new ideas, insights, thinking and research