Deck 3: Racial and Ethnic Inequality

Question 1

Discrimination deals with one's actions, while prejudice deals with one's attitude.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Race is biological, while ethnicity is cultural.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

According to the text, government racial and ethnic classifications have been used exclusively for the purpose of gathering data for the U.S. census.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

All people have prejudices whether or not they acknowledge them.

Question 5

Mortgage lenders who are more likely to grant bank loans to whites than to people of color are engaging in institutional discrimination.

Question 6

Contemporary class perspectives suggest that the split-labor market benefits workers because it encourages unionization and solidarity among workers from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Question 7

Stereotypes are generalizations about groups in society that are based in social facts and scientifically established.

Question 8

Racial separation and inequality enforced by custom is de jure segregation.

Question 9

Subordinate groups need not necessarily be a numerical minority.

Question 10

The U.S.'s earliest policies to maintain racial and ethnic order and stability were functionalist in nature.

Question 11

Actions or practices of dominant group members that have a harmful impact on members of subordinate groups are referred to as

A) discrimination.
B) prejudice.
C) racial intolerance.
D) hate crimes.

Question 12

Which of the following groups is an example of an ethnic group?

A) Asian Americans
B) Native Americans
C) African Americans
D) Italian Americans

Question 13

According to the text, official racial and ethnic categories

A) were used in the past to rationalize the enslavement of Africans.
B) were based primarily on social traits.
C) are government definitions based on languages spoken.
D) are based strictly on skin color.

Question 14

Teaching school children that their own school and country are the best is an example of

A) racism.
B) institutional discrimination.
C) stereotyping.
D) ethnocentrism.

Question 15

Racism in the United States is sometimes referred to as

A) white racism.
B) white death.
C) black racism.
D) black death.

Question 16

Prejudice and discriminatory behavior directed at Jews is called

A) anti-Jewism.
B) anti-Judaism.
C) anti-Semitism.
D) anti-Socialism.

Question 17

A mindset characterized by excessive conformity, submissiveness to authority, intolerance, insecurity, a high level of superstition, and rigid, stereotypic thinking is called a(n)

A) dominant personality.
B) submissive personality.
C) authoritarian personality.
D) scapegoat personality.

Question 18

The process whereby the cultural attributes of diverse racial-ethnic groups are blended together to form a new society incorporating the unique contributions of each group is referred to as

A) ethnic pluralism.
B) discrimination.
C) racial socialization.
D) amalgamation.

Question 19

Which theorists explain racial and ethnic inequality in terms of economic stratification and access to power?

A) functionalist theorists
B) conflict theorists
C) symbolic interactionist theorists
D) segregation theorists

Question 20

According to the gendered racism perspective,

A) all workers are exploited equally by capitalists.
B) women of color have been uniquely affected by the interactive effect of racism and sexism.
C) historically, most jobs in the primary sector were held by women of color.
D) gender plays more of a role than race in capitalist exploitation of workers.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is correct regarding the theory of racial formation?

A) This theory assumes that the distinctive physical characteristics of each racial group resulted from adaptation to that group's original habitat.
B) This theory is based on the assumption that racism is a two-way street: people of any racial or ethnic category can discriminate against people of any other racial or ethnic category.
C) U.S. immigration policies have been applied neutrally and fairly to people of all racial and ethnic categories; the primary problem has been that the number of new immigrants has to be limited somehow.
D) Racial bias and discrimination are rooted in government actions such as the passage of welfare reform measures that have resulted in the unequal treatment of people of color.

Question 22

In regard to migration to the United States,

A) all Latino/a categories have been treated the same way by immigration laws and authorities during the twentieth century.
B) Mexicans have been allowed unrestricted migration between the United States and their native country because of oppression under Fidel Castro.
C) Mexicans have been allowed to migrate to the United States whenever there has been a need for agricultural workers.
D) Puerto Ricans are more likely than other Latino/a groups to be detained by immigration authorities because of questions about their citizenship.

Question 23

The first Asians to arrive in the United States in sizable numbers were from

A) China.
B) Japan.
C) Indonesia.
D) Korea.

Question 24

The "Jim Crow" laws designed to enforce the physical and social separation of African Americans from whites in all areas of public life after 1863 were examples of

A) de jure segregation.
B) de facto segregation.
C) job ceilings.
D) civil disobedience.

Question 25

The largest subordinate racial-ethnic group in the U.S. is

A) Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders.
B) Asian Americans.
C) African Americans.
D) Hispanic Americans.

Question 26

Which of the following groups suffered internment in U.S. concentration camps during World War II?

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

Question 27

Which of the following groups has suffered the most discrimination as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986?

A) Hispanic Americans
B) Asian Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Alaska Natives

Question 28

Which of the following would assert that discriminated-against individuals and groups are at least partly responsible for their own subordination because of decisions they make along the way?

A) conflict theorists
B) functionalist theorists
C) symbolic interactionist theorists
D) liberal theorists

Question 29

Which of the following would view families, schools, and churches as being key institutions that should encourage minority acceptance of dominant U.S. cultural patterns?

A) symbolic interactionist theorists
B) functionalist theorists
C) conflict theorists
D) liberal theorists

Question 30

Which of the following emphasize that solutions to the problem of inequality will be found only through government programs that specifically attack racial inequality and actively reduce patterns of discrimination?

A) conservative theorists
B) symbolic interactionist theorists
C) conflict theorists
D) functionalist theorists

Question 31

Which of the following purport that prejudice and discrimination are learned and can be unlearned?

A) liberal theorists
B) conflict theorists
C) functionalist theorists
D) symbolic interactionist theorists

Question 32

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the functionalist perspective on racial and ethnic problems?

A) Prejudice and discrimination are caused by faulty racial socialization.
B) Racial and ethnic discord must be eliminated or contained because they destabilize the society.
C) Racial and ethnic inequality is rooted in economic stratification and unequal access to power in society.
D) Racial and ethnic relations in this country are substantially defined by the government.

Question 33

Conflict perspectives on racial and ethnic inequality are based on the assumption that

A) social solidarity is a primary cause of racial inequality in the United States.
B) racial and ethnic strife must be calmed quickly so that the society will not be further disrupted by urban unrest or riots.
C) economic stratification and unequal access to power place minority group members at a distinct disadvantage as compared to dominant group members.
D) early childhood learning of respect for minority group members would solve most problems in contemporary racial and ethnic relations in this country.

Question 34

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups?

A) All members of a certain ethnic group are also members of the same racial group.
B) All members of a certain racial group are also members of the same ethnic group.
C) Members of the same ethnic group may be made up of members of many different racial groups.
D) Members of the same ethnic group cannot be made up of members of the same racial group.

Question 35

State-sanctioned patriotic acts and rituals are examples of

A) ethnocentrism.
B) racism.
C) individual discrimination.
D) institutionalized discrimination.

Question 36

The U.S. has been compared to a salad bowl, one dish made up of individual ingredients, in order to explain a contemporary society where different cultures blend yet still retain their essential uniqueness. Which of the following processes does this comparison define?

A) ethnic socialization
B) assimilation
C) ethnic pluralism
D) racial socialization

Question 37

Functionalists, conflict theorists, and symbolic interactionists would all agree that

A) The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse at a rapid rate.
B) Only individuals and groups at the grass-roots level, not government and political leaders or academic elites, can bring about greater racial equality.
C) Political intervention is necessary to bring about great change.
D) Programs such as affirmative action or others that are designed to specifically benefit minority-group members are divisive and harmful.

Question 38

U.S. Census data predicts that by 2050, Hispanics will make up which percentage of the population?

A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 60%

Question 39

Which of the following quotes is an example of ethnocentrism?

A) "Blacks are less intelligent than Asians."
B) "I tried Chinese food, but I don't really like it."
C) "I'm most comfortable in my own culture, but I don't have a problem with anyone else's."
D) "A lot of Indians work in engineering or with computers."

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of institutional discrimination?

A) A taxi driver refuses to pick up African American male passengers.
B) A landlord informs a Latino couple that there are no vacancies in her apartment building, but later rents two units to white Americans.
C) A real estate agency has an unwritten policy that its agents are to show African Americans, Latinos/Latinas, and other people of color only those houses that are for sale in predominantly minority neighborhoods, so the agency will not lose repeat business from its affluent white clientele.
D) A college athlete refers to another player by a derogatory name because he or she does not like something the other player did.

Question 41

Discuss functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives on racial and ethnic inequality and explain how each would propose that this problem be reduced or eliminated.

Question 42

Compare the experiences of the four U.S. minority groups discussed in Chapter 3.

Question 43

What is the difference between racial inequality and ethnic inequality? What steps can you take to end racial and ethnic inequality? Include support from functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist solutions.

Question 44

Which of the perspectives-functionalist, conflict, or symbolic interactionist-is best concerning achieving equality for all races and ethnicities? Why?

Question 45

How are discrimination and self-segregation related? Provide at least two examples from the text or from your own experience.