Deck 3: Tools of Dominance: Prejudice and Discrimination

Question 1

The chief content of ethnic prejudice is:

A)hate.
B)violence.
C)stereotyping.
D)ignorance.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Before the American Civil War, Irish Americans, most of them working-class, opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and the freeing of slaves because they feared blacks would compete with them for unskilled jobs.Hence, much violence by Irish against blacks was evident during this period.Which theory best explains this occurrence?

A)Marxian
B)Aplit labor market
C)Normative (Merton)
D)Frustration-aggression

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The main problem with psychological theories of prejudice is:

A)they disregard the situations in which people think and act.
B)they lack popularity among the masses.
C)they lack scientific rigor.
D)they are mostly market driven.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In recent years, Tea Party and other right-wing activists have frequently voiced anti-immigrant sentiments and resentment toward President Obama and non-whites, generally in response to what they interpret as threats to their social and economic status.These attitudes and actions illustrate which theory of prejudice and discrimination?

A)frustration-aggression
B)Marxian
C)group position
D)authoritarian personality

Question 5

As he was growing up, Billy Bob's peers and family regularly expressed prejudice toward blacks, Jews, and Latinos.Billy Bob now also expresses prejudice toward members of those groups.Which theory would best explain Billy Bob's ethnic prejudice?

A)Marxian
B)Split labor market
C)Frustration-aggression
D)Normative

Question 6

Mr.Smith, an African American man, says he would accept a white man as a neighbor, but would not invite him to dinner.This situation represents:

A)differences in social class.
B)stereotyping on the part of Mr.Smith.
C)institutional discrimination.
D)an expression of social distance.

Question 7

Most sociologists and psychologists agree that prejudice is not a(n) ____________ human characteristic.

A)learned
B)changeable
C)cultural
D)innate

Question 8

Presuming you know how someone will behave on the basis of the group they belong to is called:

A)prejudice.
B)discrimination.
C)always irrational.
D)unique to the dominant group.

Question 9

Who studied affective and cognitive dimensions of prejudice called "social distance?"

A)Lippman
B)Merton
C)Bogardus
D)Weber

Question 10

Which of the following illustrates indirect institutional discrimination?

A)As past company policy, the Ajax Axe Company had refused to hire African Americans.Ajax no longer refuses to hire African Americans but maintains a seniority system.Thus, because they have been employed by the company only recently (with the end of the racial bar) it will be many years before African Americans can move beyond entry level positions in the company.
B)Mr.Wong, an Asian American man, goes to the employment office of the Hughes Widget Company to apply for a position for which he seems to qualify.The employment officer tells him she's sorry, but company policy does not permit her to interview him because of his race.
C)Executives of the He-Man Barbell Company assume that women can type and take dictation more competently than men.On that basis, Samuel Smith is refused employment as a secretary at the company.
D)Bill Bilson, a white man, applies for a job as a parole officer with the State Corrections Department.The state requires all applicants to score a minnimum of 100 on an intelligence test.Bill well exceeds the minimum score, but is passed over in favor of a Latino applicant who scores lower on the test.

Question 11

A white resident of a college dormitory paints a racial slur on the door of a black resident.This is a case of:

A)micro-discrimination.
B)direct institutional discrimination.
C)indirect institutional discrimination.
D)prejudice.

Question 12

Normative theories explain prejudice and discrimination as products of:

A)deviant individuals.
B)conformity to social norms.
C)group conflict.
D)biological tendencies.

Question 13

Dominant groups tend to use negative stereotypes of minorities when the minorities appear to be:

A)similar.
B)dissimilar.
C)violent.
D)threatening.

Question 14

Which of the following characterizes ethnic prejudice?

A)It involves thought that is subject to rational argument and therefore to change.
B)It is based on selective evidence or a lack of evidence.
C)It is a feeling or thought that, when directed toward an individual, is based on his/her individual behavior rather than his/her group membership.
D)It involves thought regarding ethnic group members that is usually positive in content.

Question 15

Discrimination includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)effects.
B)mechanisms.
C)attitudes.
D)behaviors.

Question 16

Authoritarian personalities were found to be associated with _______________ by Adorno.

A)pride
B)acceptance
C)jealousy
D)intolerance

Question 17

All of the following are examples of institutionalized discrimination EXCEPT:

A)United States laws pre-1960s.
B)South African apartheid.
C)the burning of a cross in front of a black family's home.
D)bankers refusing to lend money to minority entrepreneurs because they may be a credit risk.

Question 18

Which of the following characterizes ethnic prejudice?

A)It involves thought that is subject to rational argument and therefore to change.
B)It is a generalized belief that is usually unfavorable.
C)It is a feeling or thought that, when directed toward an individual, is based on his/her individual behavior rather than his/her group membership.
D)It involves positive thoughts regarding ethnic group members.

Question 19

Which of the following illustrates structural discrimination?

A)Blacks in American cities are commonly confined to inner city ghettos where they receive poor educations, which in turn lead to poor jobs and high rates of unemployment.
B)A white manager refuses to hire a qualified black applicant on the basis of his race.
C)A man is selected over a woman for the same job on the assumption that women are less capable than men.
D)Those who are lowest in educational attainment exhibit the highest levels of prejudice against ethnic groups other than their own.

Question 20

When we are socialized to believe exaggerated depictions of groups to be true, we have bought into:

A)everything the mass media tells us.
B)stereotypes.
C)consumer culture.
D)selective perception.

Question 21

Mr.Jones owns an apartment house.Although he holds no strong anti-black feelings, he believes that if he rents to blacks, his tenants - all white - will move.Hence, Mr.Jones maintains a "whites only" rental policy.In Merton's terms, Mr.Jones is:

A)an "all-weather liberal."
B)an "active bigot."
C)a "timid bigot."
D)a "fair-weather liberal."

Question 22

Regarding the effect of the mass media (especially television) in the formation of ethnic stereotypes, research seems to indicate that:

A)the media teach people negative ethnic stereotypes they would not otherwise be exposed to.
B)the media reinforce ethnic stereotypes already acquired in other social settings.
C)the media are the major sources of ethnic stereotypes for dominant group members.
D)the media have no effect on the formation of ethnic stereotypes.

Question 23

Surveys today may find that few people are prejudiced because respondents are likely to:

A)provide what they see as a socially acceptable response.
B)hold very different opinions than people did just a decade ago.
C)have very low levels of prejudice given the lack of stereotypes on television.
D)believe that people of color are lazy and delinquent.

Question 24

Theories which suggest that prejudice and discrimination arise from personality traits are criticized by sociologists because:

A)they do not take into account the social conditions that create the prejudice and discrimination.
B)they are not scientific.
C)they have not been rigorously tested.
D)they do not take into account genetic disparities between people.

Question 25

Mr.Jones thinks Italian Americans are involved in some way or another in organized crime.Upon reading in the newspaper about the indictment of several Italian Americans for alleged Mafia activities, he comments to his wife, "You see, they're all involved in organized crime." This is a case of:

A)individual discrimination.
B)the self-fulfilling prophecy.
C)selective perception.
D)direct institutional discrimination.

Question 26

In the split labor market theory, the group that gains the most from discriminatory institutions is:

A)the capitalist class.
B)minority workers.
C)dominant group workers.
D)employers.

Question 27

Racial profiling is an example of what van den Berghe (1997) has described as:

A)categorical discrimination.
B)statistical discrimination.
C)rational discrimination.
D)frustration-aggression.

Question 28

The theory that explains prejudice and discrimination as a means of keeping workers divided, thus easier to control by the capitalist class, is the ________________ theory.

A)split-labor market
B)Marxian
C)normative
D)frustration-aggression

Question 29

Mrs.Clancey, a white woman, observes the growing political influence of African Americans and Latinos and declares, "I want my country back." This illustrates:

A)Mrs.Clancey's perceived threat to her group position.
B)a case of statistical discrimination on the part of Mrs.Clancey.
C)that Mrs.Clancey is, in Merton's terms, an active bigot.
D)an aggressive response by Mrs.Clancey to her frustration.

Question 30

Mr.Smith intensely dislikes blacks, Asians, Jews, and Hispanics.He joins the Ku Klux Klan.Mr.Smith, in Merton's terms, is:

A)an "all-weather liberal."
B)an "active bigot."
C)a "timid bigot."
D)a "fair-weather liberal."

Question 31

Structural racism played a role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina insofar as:

A)the media focused most of their attention on the plight of blacks.
B)the Asian population in New Orleans was not seen as worthy of sympathy.
C)the construction jobs mostly went to Latinos because they are seen as more hard-working.
D)African-Americans had a harder time getting out of the city because fewer had access to private vehicles.

Question 32

Believing Jews are avaricious is:

A)an ethnic prejudice.
B)racially discriminatory.
C)a phenomenon unique to the United States.
D)an act of discrimination.

Question 33

A private school seeks an all-white student body.However, administrators of the school know that they will lose federal funding if they are shown to discriminate on the basis of race.They reluctantly agree, therefore, to accept a few blacks.The administrators, in Merton's terms, are:

A)"all-weather liberals."
B)"active bigots."
C)"timid bigots."
D)"fair-weather liberals."

Question 34

Normative theories of prejudice and discrimination basically posit that:

A)prejudice and discrimination are acquired through the process of socialization.
B)prejudice and discrimination are strongest in societies at a low level of economic development.
C)prejudice and discrimination are normal human psychological functions.
D)prejudice and discrimination are functions of psychologically-flawed individuals.