Deck 6: Inequality by Race and Ethnicity

Question 1

Which feminist scholar wrote about the privileges of being White?

A) Erving Goffman
B) William Graham Sumner
C) Peggy McIntosh
D) William I. Thomas

Answer 1

Peggy McIntosh

Question 2

The process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part, on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors, is called

A) definition of the situation.
B) discrimination.
C) scapegoating.
D) the social construction of race.

Answer 2

the social construction of race.

Question 3

In the 2010 Census, the number of people who claimed multiracial ancestry in two or more races was about

A) 1 million.
B) 9 million.
C) 15 million.
D) 25 million.

Answer 3

9 million.

Question 4

Which of the following statements about racial groups in the United States is true?

A) Throughout United States history, many southern states defined a person as black, regardless of how she looked, even if s/he had only a single drop of "black blood".
B) Nearly 7 million people in the U.S. are multiracial.
C) The largest group of multiracial residents identify themselves as coming from white and Native American ancestry.
D) All of these

Question 5

In the 2010 Census, among the people who claimed multiracial ancestry in two or more races, the largest group was

A) Blacks and Whites.
B) Whites and Native Americans.
C) Whites and Asian Americans.
D) Blacks and Native Americans.

Question 6

With respect to a mixed racial identity, which of the following statements is not correct?

A) Figures estimate that the racial and ethnic composition of the U.S. population will change as much In the next 50 years as it has in the last 100.
B) Social construction is exclusive to industrialized societies.
C) White and American Indians comprise the largest multiracial group in the U.S.
D) All of these

Question 7

One of the most crucial aspects of the relationship between dominant and subordinate groups is the ability of the dominant or majority group to

A) define a society's images of a group-"the definition of the situation"-which leads to stereotyping.
B) limit the access of the minority group to quality housing and jobs.
C) limit the access of the minority group to quality educational facilities.
D) all of these

Question 8

A television show that portrays women as being subservient to men and that generally talks down the role of women would be considered to be bolstering

A) pluralism.
B) racial profiles.
C) stereotypes.
D) all of these

Question 9

Which sociological perspective would be most likely to emphasize that stereotypes contribute to prejudice and thereby assist the subordination of disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups?

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

Question 10

A racial group is a group that is set apart from others because of

A) obvious physical differences.
B) its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns.
C) its language differences.
D) its religious differences.

Question 11

Which of the following are considered an ethnic group?

A) African Americans
B) Native Americans
C) Lithuanian Americans
D) None of these

Question 12

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

A) racial groups.
B) ethnic groups.
C) stereotypes.
D) none of these

Question 13

Which statement regarding ethnicity is correct?

A) The distinction between ethnic and racial minorities is not always clear-cut.
B) Ethnic minorities, such as Latinos, may have obvious physical differences that set them apart from other residents of the U.S.
C) Despite categorization problems, sociologists continue to feel that the distinction between race and ethnicity is socially significant.
D) All of these

Question 14

Which of the following would be an example of symbolic ethnicity?

A) a trip to an ethnic bakery
B) a Black person trying to act White
C) a Latino intentionally misrepresenting his heritage
D) all of these

Question 15

During World War II

A) the United States opened its doors to European Jews who were fleeing the oppression of Nazism.
B) the United States refused to lift or loosen restrictive immigration quotas in order to allow Jewish refugees to escape the terror of the Nazi regime.
C) the S.S. St. Louis, with more than 900 Jewish refugees on board, was denied permission to dock in the United States in 1939 because of restrictive immigration quotas.
D) two of these statements are correct

Question 16

The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act

A) outlawed the hiring of illegal aliens in the United States.
B) subjected employers to fines and imprisonment for hiring illegal aliens.
C) extended amnesty and legal status to many illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
D) all of these

Question 17

Since the ______________, immigration laws in the United States have undergone a major revision that has lead to an increase in the proportion of immigrants from Asia and Latin America.

A) 1940s
B) 1950s
C) 1960s
D) 1970s

Question 18

Which of the following amounts represent the number of illegal immigrants present within the United States at any given time?

A) 1-2 million
B) 5-6 million
C) 11 million
D) 19 million

Question 19

Which sociological perspective would likely suggest that immigration relieves labor shortages in the receiving nation and it relieves economies unable to support large numbers of people in the sending nations?

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

Question 20

Which sociological perspective notes that much of the debate over immigration is phrased in economic terms, and that this debate is intensified when the arrivals are of different racial and ethnic backgrounds than the host population?

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

Question 21

The functionalist perspective would most likely

A) view the economic structure as a central factor in the exploitation of minority groups.
B) suggest that racist beliefs discourage the subordinate minority from attempting to question its lowly status, and thus question the very foundations of society.
C) focus on the relationship between two members of different ethnic groups who work together in an office.
D) all of these

Question 22

Which sociologist(s) has (have) used the exploitation theory to explain the basis of racial subordination in the United States?

A) Oliver Cox
B) Robert Blauner
C) Harry Edwards
D) Both Oliver Cox and Robert Blauner

Question 23

Oliver Cox, Robert Blauner, and Herbert M. Hunter

A) used the exploitation theory to explain the basis of racial subordination in the United States.
B) used the contact hypothesis to explain how to diminish the degree of racial prejudice in the United States.
C) examined the persistence of the glass ceiling in the corporate United States.
D) none of these

Question 24

Which of the following is a Marxist theory that views racial subordination in the United States as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism?

A) contact theory
B) self-fulfilling theory
C) authoritarian personality theory
D) exploitation theory

Question 25

Karl Marx's theory provides a theoretical basis for which of the following views of minority and majority group relations?

A) the contact hypothesis
B) the position that racism is often a financial burden for the majority group, which must pay for police to control crime and delinquency
C) the position that racism keeps minorities in low-paying jobs and thereby provides the ruling class with a cheap pool of desperate labor
D) none of these

Question 26

Recent Chinese immigrants to the United States often find jobs working in "sweatshops" in Chinatown in New York City, where they work 16 or more hours per day in the textile industry, and earn below minimum wage. The big businesses that hire these illegal and often uninformed immigrants are an illustration of which idea?

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

Question 27

Japanese Americans were the object of little prejudice until they began to enter jobs that brought them into competition with Whites. This example supports the

A) contact hypothesis.
B) self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) conflict view of race relations.
D) anomie theory of deviance.

Question 28

Exploitation theory is useful for discussing the experiences of which minority group in the United States?

A) Japanese Americans
B) Chinese Americans
C) Mormons
D) Both Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans

Question 29

Law enforcement officers, customs officials, and airport security personnel who develop a practice of stopping and checking people they assume are likely to be engaged in illegal activities-simply based on the notion they "fit" certain descriptions-is considered

A) the contact hypothesis.
B) the self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) racial profiling.
D) anomie deviance.

Question 30

The phrase or term __________ supports the idea that interracial dealings among people with equal statuses, in cooperative circumstances, cause them to become less prejudiced and to abandon previously held stereotypes.

A) self-fulfilling prophecy
B) contact hypothesis
C) exploitation theory
D) pluralism

Question 31

The "contact hypothesis" occurs only if which one of the following conditions is met:

A) interracial people who work together must have equal job status.
B) members of different racial groups who work together must have infrequent contact with one another.
C) different racial groups who work together must work at competitive jobs.
D) members of different racial groups who work together must live near one another.

Question 32

A white male lawyer mentors a young Latino female lawyer. According to the contact hypothesis, this situation would be unlikely to reduce prejudice because

A) the Latino lawyer is too young to appreciate the mentoring.
B) the two people do not have equal status.
C) people with that much education are rarely prejudiced.
D) sexism is operating as well as racism.

Question 33

During the summer before your freshman year of college, you receive a letter from the school telling you that your new roommate is from a small town in Arkansas. You respond by telling a high school friend, "I can't believe it. I'm stuck in a room with a hillbilly"! This is an example of

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

Question 34

A belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior is called

A) discrimination.
B) racism.
C) sexism.
D) Issei.

Question 35

When racism prevails in a society, members of subordinate groups generally experience:

A) ethnocentrism.
B) prejudice.
C) discrimination.
D) all of these

Question 36

Which of the following would be a form of institutional discrimination?

A) rules requiring that only English be spoken at a place of work, even though it is not a business necessity
B) rules requiring that a college professor has a graduate degree from an accredited university
C) rules requiring that a bus driver has a valid driver's license
D) All of these

Question 37

Which of the following represents a new area of institutionalized discrimination in the United States?

A) electronic pager ownership
B) cell phone registration
C) states requiring voters to show a photo ID.
D) digital media sales

Question 38

State laws requiring voters to show photo IDs before they can vote is a form of

A) prejudice.
B) White privilege.
C) institutionalized discrimination.
D) affirmative action.

Question 39

The landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public accommodations and publicly owned facilities on the basis of

A) race.
B) gender.
C) national origin.
D) all of these

Question 40

Research suggesting that White ex-convicts are more employable than Blacks without criminal records was done by sociologist

A) Ann Grossman.
B) Christopher Hurn.
C) Devah Pager.
D) Claude Fischer.

Question 41

Patterns of income across race and gender groups suggest that __________ bear an especially heavy burden of discrimination.

A) Black men
B) Black women
C) White women
D) White men

Question 42

Which of the following contributes to income differences across racial and ethnic groups?

A) employment discrimination
B) gender differences
C) educational disparities
D) both employment discrimination and educational disparities

Question 43

Color-blind racism is the use of the principle of race neutrality to defend a racially unequal status quo.

Question 44

The "one-drop rule" stipulated that if a person had even a single drop of "Indian blood", that person was viewed as an Indian.

Question 45

The most recent census figures suggest that almost 20 percent of the American population claims to be biracial.

Question 46

In 2012, Latinos represented 66% of the U.S. population while Whites (non-Hispanic) represented only 14%.

Question 47

Proponents of color-blind racist policies often favor affirmative action and programs offering public assistance.

Question 48

Sociologists continue to feel that the distinction between racial and ethnic groups is socially significant.

Question 49

Symbolic ethnicity refers to a person's tie to ethnicity through concerns such as ethnic food, rather than deeper ties to one's ethnic heritage.

Question 50

Racial profiling is illegal in the United States.

Question 51

African Americans are still more likely than Whites to be frisked and handled with force when they are stopped by police.

Question 52

The contact hypothesis suggests that if an African American boss and her Italian employee work together for several years in the same office, they will become less prejudiced toward one another.

Question 53

Discrimination is defined as the denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals and groups.

Question 54

The "glass ceiling" is a term used to describe a discriminatory practice applicable to women only.

Question 55

Describe what sociologists mean by the social construction of race and ethnicity.

Question 56

Define the differences and similarities between racial groups and ethnic groups. Give some examples to illustrate your answer.

Question 57

Briefly differentiate the views on racial discrimination from the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives.

Question 58

Define the terms prejudice and discrimination and give examples to illustrate your definitions.