Deck 10: Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Question 1

Sociologists have identified five basic properties-unequal treatment, physical or cultural traits, ascribed status, solidarity, and in-group marriage-to describe

A) minority groups.
B) racial groups.
C) ethnic groups.
D) polarization.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

William I. Thomas observed that people respond not only to the objective features of a situation or person, but also to the social meaning that situation or person has for them. This observation reflects which sociological perspective?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which sociologist observed that people respond not only to the objective features of a situation or person but also to the social meaning that situation or person has for them?

A) William I. Thomas
B) William Graham Sumner
C) Karl Marx
D) Robert Merton

Answer 3

A

Question 4

African Americans are identified in the textbook as an example of a(n)

A) ethnic group.
B) racial group.
C) reference group.
D) status group.

Question 5

Which of the following is a minority group in the United States?

A) women
B) Protestants
C) Whites
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 6

Characteristics of national origin or distinctive cultural patterns are used primarily by a society to set apart

A) minority groups.
B) ethnic groups.
C) racial groups.
D) polarization groups.

Question 7

Which of the following terms refers to a negative attitude toward an entire category of people?

A) exploitation
B) prejudice
C) discrimination
D) pluralism

Question 8

Minority group members have a strong sense of group solidarity. Which sociologist noted that individuals make distinctions between members of their own group, or the in-group, and everyone else, or the out-group?

A) Erving Goffman
B) William Graham Sumner
C) Manning Nash
D) Karl Marx

Question 9

An ethnic group is a group

A) that is set apart from others because of physical differences.
B) that is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns.
C) whose members have significantly less control over their own lives than the members of a dominant group.
D) that has reached very moral decisions about a way of life.

Question 10

Asian Americans are identified in the textbook as an example of a(n)

A) ethnic group.
B) racial group.
C) reference group.
D) status group.

Question 11

In 1940, White non-Hispanics made up 87 percent of the U.S. population. What percentage do projections show them representing as of 2015?

A) 18 percent
B) 37 percent
C) 62 percent
D) 86 percent

Question 12

A person proclaims loudly that "all Black people are lazy and shiftless and collect welfare." This is an example of

A) discrimination.
B) a stereotype.
C) pluralism.
D) exploitation theory.

Question 13

An unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group is referred to as

A) differential association.
B) exploitation.
C) a stereotype.
D) institutional discrimination.

Question 14

German Americans, Italian Americans, and Norwegian Americans are all examples of

A) racial groups.
B) ethnic groups.
C) stereotypes.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 15

What term is used by sociologists to describe a group that is set apart from others because of physical differences that have taken on social significance?

A) ethnic group
B) racial group
C) social group
D) reference group

Question 16

A minority group is a group

A) that is set apart from others because of physical differences.
B) that is set apart from others because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns.
C) whose members have significantly less control over their own lives than the members of a dominant group.
D) that has reached very moral decisions about a way of life.

Question 17

In sociological terms, members of a minority group

A) experience unequal treatment.
B) are outnumbered by the dominant group.
C) speak a different language than the dominant group.
D) are members of a different religious group than the dominant group.

Question 18

Prejudice is a(n) ________; discrimination is a(n) ________.

A) belief; action
B) action; belief
C) action; action
D) belief; belief

Question 19

Ethnocentrism refers to

A) a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, such as a racial or ethnic minority.
B) the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice.
C) the process by which a person forsakes his or her own cultural tradition to become part of a different culture.
D) the tendency to assume that one's own culture and way of life are superior to all others.

Question 20

A stereotype is a(n)

A) factually induced belief about another person.
B) unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual differences within the group.
C) person or group that one blames irrationally for one's own problems or difficulties.
D) belief that one race is superior and that all others are innately inferior.

Question 21

A sociologist argues that the capitalist ruling class is willing to tolerate high rates of illegal immigration because these immigrants serve as a cheap labor pool. This sociologist is most likely to draw upon

A) the contact hypothesis.
B) the anomie theory of deviance.
C) exploitation theory.
D) labeling theory.

Question 22

Which sociological perspective views the economic structure as a central factor in the exploitation of minority groups?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 23

Which of the following groups has the highest median income level?

A) White, non-Hispanic men
B) Asian men
C) Hispanic men
D) African American men

Question 24

Racism is defined as

A) a belief that one race is supreme and that all others are innately inferior.
B) the tendency of people to respond to and act on the basis of stereotypes.
C) the systematic killing of an entire people or nation.
D) the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice.

Question 25

The practice of assuming that people who fit certain descriptions are likely to be engaged in illegal activities is referred to as

A) explanative prejudice.
B) racial profiling.
C) institutionalized stereotyping.
D) the contact hypothesis.

Question 26

Exploitation theory is a

A) Weberian theory that views racial subordination as benefiting society, because it creates a supply of cheap labor.
B) Parsonian theory that views ethnic subordination as a means of regulating social interactions between dominant and subordinate groups.
C) Spencerian theory that views ethnic subordination as a valuable means of social control.
D) Marxist theory that views racial subordination in the U.S. as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism.

Question 27

The use of the principle of race neutrality to defend a racially unequal status quo is referred to as

A) color-blind racism.
B) prejudice.
C) discriminatory racism.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 28

An approach to racism that emphasizes how racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs, thereby supplying the capitalist ruling class with a pool of cheap labor, is based on the work of which classical theorist?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Talcott Parsons
C) Karl Marx
D) Auguste Comte

Question 29

Which of the following would NOT be considered discrimination?

A) Sue believes poor people are criminals.
B) Sue refuses to give Jane a ride to work because Jane is poor.
C) A bank loan officer refuses a loan to Jane because of her shabby, poor appearance.
D) Sue refuses to hire Jane because she is poor.

Question 30

In 1995, the federal Glass Ceiling Commission found that glass ceilings

A) leak.
B) continue to block women and minority men from top management positions in the nation's industries.
C) continue to block White men from top management positions in the nation's industries.
D) continue to block women, minority men, and White men from top management positions in the nation's industries.

Question 31

Joe grew up in an Italian household in an Italian community in New Jersey. He believes that the traditional Italian celebration of Easter, which includes a large number of family members and mountains of food consumed during a long dinner, is the best way to celebrate this holiday. Joe is illustrating

A) prejudice.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) discrimination.
D) pluralism.

Question 32

At one time, many Puerto Ricans were effectively barred from serving in the Chicago Police Department because they failed to meet the height requirement. This was an example of

A) prejudice.
B) scapegoating.
C) institutional discrimination.
D) a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 33

Prejudice is to discrimination as

A) norm is to value.
B) attitude is to behavior.
C) behavior is to attitude.
D) good is to bad.

Question 34

Which of the following has identified three functions that racially prejudiced beliefs have for the dominant group-one being that they provide a moral justification for maintaining an unequal society that routinely deprives a minority group of its rights and privileges?

A) Arnold Rose
B) Harry Edwards
C) Thomas Pettigrew
D) Manning Nash

Question 35

Institutional discrimination is the

A) denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals or groups that results from the normal operations of society.
B) belief that individuals or groups should be denied equal rights and opportunities.
C) stereotyping of people who work in public or private institutions.
D) establishment of laws that intentionally deny opportunities and equal rights to members of minority groups.

Question 36

Which of the following illustrates institutional discrimination?

A) A country club has a rule specifying that no Italians or Jews may be members.
B) A mental institution in New York will not allow residents of Connecticut to receive services in the facility.
C) To save money, a city fires all employees hired during the last three years. During the last three years, the city has had an aggressive minority-hiring program, and the majority of those fired are therefore members of various minority groups.
D) A prejudiced personnel officer secretly refuses to hire women.

Question 37

Which of the following aspects of discrimination is the focus of feminist scholar Peggy McIntosh's research?

A) glass ceilings
B) White privilege
C) Asian minorities
D) African American dominance

Question 38

An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual's gender, race, or ethnicity is known as

A) pluralism.
B) a glass ceiling.
C) institutional discrimination.
D) exploitation theory.

Question 39

Which of the following groups has the lowest income level?

A) White non-Hispanic women
B) Asian women
C) Hispanic women
D) African American women

Question 40

The process of denying opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons is known as

A) stereotyping.
B) ethnocentrism.
C) discrimination.
D) segregation.

Question 41

Expulsion is illustrated by

A) France pushing out over 10,000 ethnic Roma.
B) the killing of large numbers of Native Americans by the U.S. government.
C) marriages between Whites and Native Americans, producing multiracial children.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 42

Which one of the following would NOT be an example of assimilation?

A) refusing to acknowledge darker-skinned grandparents on a public street.
B) citizens of India who adopt British traditions and customs.
C) a Muslim woman wearing her traditional headscarf while out shopping in her U.S. suburb.
D) an Italian American family changing its name to one more easily found among White, Protestant families.

Question 43

The contact hypothesis

A) is a Marxist theory that views racial subordination in the U.S. as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism.
B) states that interracial contact between people of equal status will cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon previous stereotypes.
C) was a theory that gave moral support to the continued existence of apartheid in South Africa.
D) is a Parsonian theory that views ethnic subordination as a means of regulating social interactions between dominant and subordinate groups.

Question 44

Vladimir, a Russian immigrant to the U.S., insists that everyone call him "Joe," and he refuses to speak Russian even when in casual conversation with Russian-speaking neighbors. This is an example of

A) amalgamation.
B) pluralism.
C) the contact hypothesis.
D) assimilation.

Question 45

Segregation refers to the act of

A) deliberately and systematically killing the members of an ethnic, racial, or nationality group.
B) physically separating two groups, an action often imposed on a minority group by a dominant group.
C) combining a majority and a minority group through intermarriage.
D) denying opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups because of prejudice or for other arbitrary reasons.

Question 46

Amalgamation refers to the process of

A) combining a majority group and a minority group through intermarriage to form a new group.
B) expelling a group of people from a territory.
C) deliberately and systematically killing an entire people or the members of a nation.
D) forsaking a cultural identity in order to become part of a different culture.

Question 47

A White male lawyer mentors a young female Latina lawyer. According to the contact hypothesis, this situation would

A) be likely to increase stereotypes rather than reduce them.
B) be likely to cause them to become less prejudiced.
C) encourage the White lawyer to engage in color-blind racism.
D) involve the operation of sexism as well as racism.

Question 48

The Mexican people of today are the result of a gradual merging of generations of Spaniards and Indians. This is an example of

A) amalgamation.
B) pluralism.
C) segregation.
D) assimilation.

Question 49

Expulsion refers to the process of

A) combining a majority group and a minority group through intermarriage to form a new group.
B) expelling a group of people from a territory.
C) deliberately and systematically killing an entire people or the members of a nation.
D) forsaking a cultural identity in order to become part of a different culture.

Question 50

Acts of racial profiling are

A) always illegal.
B) often initiated by law enforcement officers.
C) generally opposed by the American public.
D) generally opposed by law enforcement officials.

Question 51

In Australia, when Aborigines become part of the dominant society but then refuse to acknowledge their darker-skinned grandparents on the street, they are practicing the process of

A) amalgamation.
B) labeling.
C) assimilation.
D) exploitation.

Question 52

Genocide refers to the process of

A) combining a majority group and a minority group through intermarriage to form a new group.
B) expelling a group of people from a territory.
C) deliberately and systematically killing an entire people or the members of a nation.
D) forsaking a cultural identity in order to become part of a different culture.

Question 53

In 1979, Vietnam expelled nearly one million ethnic ________, partly as a result of centuries of hostilities between the two countries.

A) Japanese
B) Chinese
C) Laotians
D) Koreans

Question 54

The belief that the U.S. was a "melting pot," which became very compelling in the first part of the twentieth century, suggested that the nation had an almost divine mission to produce

A) pluralism.
B) amalgamation.
C) segregation.
D) assimilation.

Question 55

A farmer is called to help sandbag a levy that is about to flood his town. The farmer is stationed between two correctional center inmates who are required to assist in the flood-control efforts. As a result of this experience, the farmer has developed a newfound respect for inmates. This example would be consistent with which perspective?

A) functionalist perspective
B) conflict perspective
C) interactionist perspective
D) global perspective

Question 56

A Colombian woman and an Italian man, working together as members of a construction crew, overcome their initial prejudices and come to appreciate each other's talents and strengths. This is an example of

A) the self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) the contact hypothesis.
C) exploitation theory.
D) amalgamation.

Question 57

Which of the following equations represents assimilation?

A) A + B + C $\rightarrow$ A
B) A + B + C = A + B + C
C) A + B + C = D
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 58

Which sociologist suggested that interracial coalitions would most likely reduce racial and ethnic stereotyping and prejudice?

A) Karl Marx
B) William Julius Wilson
C) Robert Blauner
D) Roscoe Cox

Question 59

Which of the following is an example of segregation?

A) Jews and Catholics marrying one another and producing children
B) interracial marriage
C) confining Japanese Americans to relocation camps during World War II
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 60

Recent Chinese immigrants to the U.S. often find jobs working in sweatshops in New York City's Chinatown, where they work 16 or more hours a day in the garment industry, earning less than minimum wage. The big businesses that hire these illegal and often uninformed immigrants illustrate

A) the contact hypothesis.
B) exploitation theory.
C) labeling theory.
D) a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 61

The median household income of Blacks today is still only ________ percent that of Whites.

A) 35
B) 50
C) 60
D) 85

Question 62

Which of the following terms refers to first-generation Japanese immigrants?

A) Issei
B) Sansei
C) Nisei
D) Cantonese

Question 63

Jim Crow laws were passed in the Southern states in order to

A) enforce official segregation.
B) force legal integration.
C) allow enslavement of Blacks.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 64

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed unprecedented legislation called the Civil Liberties Act, requiring the federal government to apologize for the forced relocation of ________ to "evacuation camps" during World War II.

A) Japanese Americans
B) Jewish Americans
C) African Americans
D) Vietnamese Americans

Question 65

The former policy of the South African government that was designed to maintain the separation of Blacks and other non-Whites from the dominant Whites was known as

A) institutional discrimination.
B) apartheid.
C) afrocentricity.
D) White power.

Question 66

How many of the recognized Indian tribes are involved in gambling ventures since Congress passed the Indian Gambling Regulatory Act in 1988?

A) about one-third
B) about one-half
C) about three-fourths
D) All tribes are involved.

Question 67

Which racial or ethnic group has the highest rate of welfare dependency in the United States?

A) African Americans
B) Hispanics
C) Southeast Asians
D) Puerto Ricans

Question 68

Which of the following group makes up the largest percentage of Asian Americans?

A) Japanese
B) Chinese
C) Korean
D) Asian Indians

Question 69

Arab Americans are descendents of people from the ________ nations of the Arab world.

A) 5
B) 17
C) 22
D) 48

Question 70

Which of the following equations represents pluralism?

A) A + B + C $\rightarrow$ A
B) A + B + C $\rightarrow$ A + B + C
C) A + B + C $\rightarrow$ D
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 71

Which of the following terms refers to a political philosophy, promoted by many younger Blacks in the 1960s, that supported the creation of Black-controlled political and economic institutions?

A) Rainbow Coalition
B) Black power
C) civil rights
D) manifest destiny

Question 72

In resisting segregation, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is well known for its

A) commitment to nonviolent civil disobedience.
B) use of lawsuits in the courts.
C) strategy of running candidates for public office.
D) adherence to the philosophy of Black power.

Question 73

Relative to other Latin American immigrants, Cuban immigrants during the Castro regime

A) had higher rates of poverty.
B) had higher rates of illiteracy.
C) had higher rates of education.
D) were more likely to be White.

Question 74

Pluralism in the U.S. is considered a(n)

A) social norm.
B) ideal more than a reality.
C) reality more than an ideal.
D) common socialized practice.

Question 75

Which Black author wrote the following? "I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids-and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me."

A) Nathan McCall
B) Claude Brown
C) Ralph Ellison
D) James Baldwin

Question 76

The single most unifying force among Arabs is

A) the Arabic language.
B) the Muslim religion.
C) racial heritage.
D) common political views.

Question 77

Which of the following countries exemplifies the modern pluralistic state?

A) United States
B) Japan
C) Switzerland
D) Egypt

Question 78

Suicide rates for Native American teenagers is four times higher than the rate for other teenagers; one in ________ Native American teenagers has attempted suicide.

A) two
B) four
C) six
D) eight

Question 79

The largest influx of Vietnamese immigration occurred

A) during and after the Spanish-American War.
B) during and after World War I.
C) during and after World War II.
D) during and after the Vietnam War.

Question 80

Who among the following was is a prominent Black activist in South Africa who became that country's first Black president in 1994, in the first election in which Blacks in that country were permitted to vote?

A) J. Louw-Potgieter
B) Nelson Mandela
C) Martin Luther King Jr.
D) Desmond Tutu