Deck 1: Introduction: Some Basic Concepts

Question 1

Ethnic identities are often unchangeable because they are:

A)of great importance to society.
B)usually determined by genetics.
C)necessary for survival.
D)frequently ascribed at birth.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The social construction of race is illustrated by which of the following?

A)An olive-skinned Puerto Rican who would be categorized as "white" in Puerto Rico will be categorized as "black" when he immigrates to New York.
B)Blacks and whites in most large U.S.cities continue to live in strongly segregated neighborhoods.
C)Many white Americans have unknown black ancestry.
D)Most Americans continue to think that there are real and easily discernible differences among blacks and whites.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The works of Herrnstein, Murray, and Jensen have been _________ by mainstream social scientists.

A)accepted
B)rejected
C)ignored
D)theoretically incorporated

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Consider this 1930s quotation from George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright and author: "The haughty American nation … makes the Negro clean its boots, and then proves the … inferiority of the Negro by the fact that he is a bootblack." Shaw's statement describes the concept of:

A)ethnocentrism.
B)race.
C)the self-fulfilling prophecy.
D)racism.

Question 5

The author argues that, for Americans, a paradoxical result of studying race and ethnic relations in other societies is:

A)they learn that in many ways Americans are no different from people in other parts of the world.
B)they learn that in many ways Americans are fundamentally different from people in other societies.
C)they begin to better understand their own society.
D)they begin to realize that the United States is superior to other societies.

Question 6

Which of the following is not among the characteristics of an ethnic group?

A)Unique cultural traits
B)A sense of community among members
C)Voluntary membership.
D)A presumed common ancestry among members

Question 7

There are generally __________ differences between black people born in Haiti and the United States.

A)cultural
B)racial
C)genetic
D)no

Question 8

Racism can be understood as an ideology insofar as it is:

A)used to legitimize the unequal distribution of resources.
B)believed by most people.
C)taught in schools.
D)shunned in public.

Question 9

There is a consensus of thought among social scientists regarding:

A)the number of human racial types.
B)the physical characteristics used to differentiate racial types.
C)the relation of racial inheritance to social and personality traits.
D)the significance many people attach to the idea of race.

Question 10

Many persons who are categorized as "black" in the United States would be considered "white" in Brazil.This demonstrates that:

A)Brazilians and Americans use different conceptions of race.
B)Brazil is not as industrially developed as the United States.
C)Blacks are the dominant racial group in Brazil.
D)The study of race and ethnic relations in the United States is more advanced than in Brazil.

Question 11

European racism was spread primarily via:

A)colonialism.
B)television.
C)voluntary migration.
D)air travel.

Question 12

Although fans of a particular athletic team may, like ethnic groups, have a sense of community (for example, "Red Sox Nation"), they are not an ethnic group because:

A)they lack a common cultural heritage.
B)they are made up of people with different racial traits.
C)they are not territorially defined.
D)the origins of their ancestors are unknown.

Question 13

Hughes and Hughes (1952) suggested that if it is easy to resign from the group:

A)it is a true ethnic group.
B)it is not a true ethnic group.
C)it is probably Eurocentric ethnicity.
D)it is probably Afrocentric ethnicity.

Question 14

Racist thought is inherently:

A)fair minded.
B)European.
C)Southern hemisphere-oriented.
D)ethnocentric.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is correct?

A)Today, the trend toward increasing etehnic diversity is limited mostly to the U.S.
B)There are many societies in the world today that remain ethnically homogeneous.
C)Few societies in the world today are multiethnic.
D)There is an increasing trend toward ethnic diversity in most societies of the world today.

Question 16

Groupings of people with one or a number of similar characteristics but with little sense of membership and little interaction among them are called:

A)ethnic groups.
B)ethnic collectivities.
C)ethnic categories.
D)ethnic enclaves.

Question 17

The importance of race is its:

A)scientific validity.
B)verifiability.
C)social meaning.
D)academic definition.

Question 18

In the U.S.Census of 1890, racial categories included "octoroon," "quadroon," and "mulatto." The fact that such racial categories no longer exist illustrates that:

A)Americans today have a low level of racial consciousness.
B)racial categories are socially defined.
C)people's understanding of race has changed.
D)race is no longer a significant part of Americans' social identity.

Question 19

In which of the following countries is there a high degree of ethnic diversity?

A)United Kingdom
B)Egypt
C)Japan
D)Canada

Question 20

Where racial and ethnic consciousness is strong, people tend to see their own racial or ethnic group as superior to others.This reflects:

A)cultural racism.
B)a sense of community.
C)the socially constructed nature of race and ethnicity.
D)ethnocentrism.

Question 21

Which of the following is not a fundamental idea of the ideology of racism?

A)Humans are divided naturally into different physical types.
B)Group differences are innate, not subject to change.
C)Peoples' intelligence is unrelated to their physical characteristics.
D)Some groups are superior to others.

Question 22

Which of the following best illustrates cultural racism?

A)"Black people are inherently less intelligent than white people."
B)"The average income of black families is lower than that of white families because blacks do not subscribe to the American work ethic as strongly as whites."
C)"The origins of most white Americans are European, whereas the origins of most black Americans are African."
D)"The average IQ of black Americans will rise as they intermarry with whites."

Question 23

It is difficult to establish that race and IQ are linked because:

A)we have not developed instruments to test IQ.
B)the genome project is not yet completed.
C)blacks' IQ is consistently lower than whites' IQ.
D)both race and IQ are socially defined and thus highly subjective.

Question 24

According to the author, the election of Barack Obama indicates that:

A)most Americans are not racist.
B)black Americans are a majority in the United States.
C)white Americans are a minority in the United States.
D)racial inequality can persist, even with the election of a black leader.

Question 25

Ethnic groups such as the Basques in Spain are distinct from ethnic groups in the U.S.insofar as the Basques:

A)are confined to a particular region of the country.
B)are scattered across Spain.
C)have a lot of ethnic pride.
D)have ethnically oriented schools.

Question 26

Since the 1970s, the United States has:

A)become an increasingly diverse country.
B)completely eliminated racial and ethnic inequalities.
C)had a majority of immigrants come from European countries.
D)seen very little immigration.

Question 27

Sociology is scientific insofar as:

A)it involves the application of rigorous theory and methods.
B)it uses statistics as a tool of analysis.
C)there are a variety of data collection devices.
D)it is practiced by people who are well-educated.

Question 28

The increasing salience of ethnicity around the globe:

A)is restricted to developing nations.
B)is restricted to the developed world.
C)ended after 9/11.
D)is happening despite industrialization and modernization.

Question 29

Italian and Polish Americans belong to two distinct:

A)ethnic groups.
B)races.
C)waves of immigration to the U.S.
D)genetic populations.

Question 30

Concerning the idea of race, which of the following is correct?

A)Scientific studies have shown that members of similar racial categories share similar psychological traits.
B)Races are statistical abstractions, based on observed physical similarities among populations.
C)While scientists are in disagreement regarding the number of criteria that should be used to sort people into racial categories, they have reached agreement on the kind of criteria to be used.
D)"Race" is no longer a concept given much credence by either scientists or the general public.