Deck 7: Race and Ethnicity

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of discrimination?

A)It can be intentional or unintentional.
B)It does not benefit any group.
C)It denies groups access to valued resources.
D)It can be individual or institutionalized.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following would NOT be considered an indicator of ethnicity?

A)skin color
B)language spoken at home
C)holidays celebrated
D)traditional meals prepared

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following would be considered the most tolerant policy used toward a minority group?

A)assimilation
B)segregation
C)cultural pluralism
D)expulsion

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A group's national origin,language,and cultural or religious practices are referred to as ______.

A)culture
B)race
C)ethnicity
D)nationality

Question 5

From a conflict perspective,which of the following would be an explanation for why racism persists?

A)Discrimination ensures that those with the most perseverance and hardest work ethic fill the most important roles.
B)Relying on stereotypes helps people navigate the world more efficiently.
C)Policies that encourage integration or diversity are ineffective and ill advised.
D)Whether consciously or unconsciously,Whites benefit from a system that puts people of color at a disadvantage.

Question 6

Which of the following is associated with living in a segregated minority neighborhood?

A)higher-quality schools
B)lower proximity to hazardous-waste facilities
C)fewer instances of food deserts
D)higher rates of poverty

Question 7

Various state laws that prohibit incarcerated inmates,parolees,people on probation,and ex-felons from voting are referred to as ______.

A)disenfranchisement
B)political marginalization
C)ex-offender treatises
D)conditions of parole

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT an example of institutional discrimination?

A)Federal Housing Administration manuals that redlined non-White neighborhoods as too "high risk" for lending
B)underwriting practices that result in Black families being offered subprime loans at a higher rate than similarly situated White families
C)a landlord who does not return phone calls to people with last names that "sound" Latino
D)check-cashing and payday loan establishments outnumbering accredited banking institutions in poor,urban neighborhoods

Question 9

Which of the following most closely resembles cultural pluralism?

A)melting pot
B)segregation
C)salad bowl
D)expulsion

Question 10

Which of the following would describe a city where some neighborhoods are over 90% White,and others are more than 90% Black or Hispanic?

A)expulsion
B)assimilation
C)cultural pluralism
D)segregation

Question 11

Interactions between those who are stigmatized and those who are members of the dominant,nonstigmatized group are referred to as ______.

A)stigma-dominant interactions
B)mixed contacts
C)mixed interactions
D)diversified contacts

Question 12

The process of forcibly removing people from one part of the country to another is referred to as ______.

A)genocide
B)expulsion
C)push factors
D)cultural pluralism

Question 13

Which of the following best describes race?

A)a socially defined category
B)a scientific concept
C)closely connected to intelligence,artistic talent,athletic talent,and social skills
D)unrelated to physical characteristics

Question 14

Which of the following is always true of minorities?

A)They are fewer in number than the dominant population.
B)They have lower numbers of births than the majority.
C)They have less access to power and resources valued by society.
D)They experience discomfort when they interact with the majority but not discrimination.

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT considered a reason that segregation persists in the United States?

A)It is still legal and commonplace to segregate housing markets by income.
B)Laws are not always followed by realtors and lenders.
C)White residents tend to move out after a certain number of minorities move in.
D)Ethnic and racial minorities do not wish to live in integrated communities.

Question 16

Which of the following best represents a conflict perspective on laws that disenfranchise ex-felons?

A)They exist to ensure that upper- and middle-class White men retain their majority political power.
B)They exist to make sure that the most competent people are making the political decisions.
C)They exist because when someone is labeled a criminal,it makes others feel they cannot trust their political decisions.
D)They exist because Americans believe ex-felons need to "pay their debt to society."

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of minority groups,as outlined by Louis Wirth?

A)Membership in the minority group is essentially involuntary.
B)Minority status is defined not by numbers but by control of valued resources.
C)If they work hard enough,minorities can access the same privileges of mobility or opportunity enjoyed by the dominant group.
D)Membership in the minority group conditions the treatment of group members by others in society.

Question 18

Which of the following is true of stereotypes?

A)They do not serve a function for any group.
B)They are usually correct.
C)They are applied to just a few members of any group.
D)They offer a way for human beings to organize and categorize the social world.

Question 19

Institutionalized relationships between dominant and minority groups that create a structure of economic,social,and political inequality based on socially constructed racial or ethnic categories are referred to as ______.

A)stereotyping
B)racism
C)stigma
D)prejudice

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of prejudices?

A)They are inflexible attitudes toward others.
B)They are linked to stereotypes.
C)Facts make them easy to overcome.
D)They are beliefs about individuals or groups.

Question 21

Although not a scientific concept,race is a socially significant category.

Question 22

Because race is defined as real,it is real in its consequences.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the impact of Jim Crow laws?

A)White Southern legislators became a majority in the political system.
B)African Americans were excluded from voting.
C)African Americans were effectively denied even basic education.
D)African Americans were trapped in the rural South.

Question 24

Forces that draw migrants to a given country are referred to as ______.

A)expulsions
B)cultural pluralism
C)push factors
D)pull factors

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT included in the definition of genocide that the United Nations General Assembly adopted as a crime under international law?

A)killing members of the group
B)imposing measures intended to increase births within the group
C)deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
D)forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of Asian Americans as a minority group?

A)Recent immigrants come from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and bring greater financial resources.
B)Many form informal community-based lending organizations that move capital between family and kinship networks.
C)They experience the lowest rates of divorce,teenage pregnancy,and unemployment.
D)All Asian American immigrant groups achieve similar levels of success,regardless of country of origin.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT one of Chalk and Jonassohn's findings about those who pursue genocide?

A)They pursue genocide to eliminate a real or perceived threat.
B)They want to spread fear among their enemies.
C)They hope to eliminate a real or potential threat to another group.
D)They want to take over the territory of their enemies.

Question 28

According to Arline Geronimus,what factor explains the low birth weight of children of Black women?

A)negative health behaviors
B)social stressors
C)biological abnormalities
D)not waiting until their 20s or early 30s to give birth

Question 29

Most members of today's Arab American population in the U.S.were born in which country?

A)Lebanon
B)Syria
C)Palestine
D)the United States

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT characteristic of Latinos/as a minority group?

A)They are a diverse group,with roots in Central America,South America,and the Caribbean.
B)The Spanish language is a major part of their ethnic heritage.
C)Because of immigration barriers,they are the slowest growing minority group in the United States.
D)Immigrant success and acceptance by dominant U.S.culture is significantly influenced by country of origin.

Question 31

What percentage of Americans self-identified as multiracial in the 2010 Census?

A)nearly 1%
B)nearly 3%
C)nearly 10%
D)nearly 15%

Question 32

In the United States during World War II,the property of Japanese Americans was confiscated,and they were forcibly placed in ______.

A)prison
B)internment camps
C)detention centers
D)concentration camps

Question 33

Genetic variation contributes to racial differences in intelligence,artistic talent,athletic talent,and social skills.

Question 34

Which of the following is considered the largest minority group in the United States?

A)Native Americans
B)African Americans
C)Latinos/as
D)Whites

Question 35

Certain social or economic benefits or advantages that come with being White that often go unrecognized are referred to as ______.

A)manifest destiny
B)White opportunity
C)reverse racism
D)White privilege

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT considered a reason that the genocidal efforts of White settlers were effective?

A)The U.S.government used environmental policies to hurt indigenous livelihoods,such as their access to food sources.
B)White settlers utilized superior weaponry.
C)Most Native American tribes did not fight back against White invasion.
D)Europeans brought germs and disease that indigenous people were not immune to or could not treat.

Question 37

A recent study that analyzed responses to potential housing providers on Craigslist found that "White-sounding" names were more likely to get multiple responses than those with "ethnic" names.The author calls this a new form of ______.

A)digitally enabled discrimination
B)institutional discrimination
C)racial profiling
D)White flight

Question 38

Social forces that encourage migrants to leave their home countries are referred to as ______.

A)push factors
B)cultural pluralism
C)expulsions
D)pull factors

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a health outcome associated with prejudice and discrimination?

A)low birth weight
B)higher rates of infant mortality
C)higher rates of disability
D)lower rates of obesity

Question 40

The greatest gains in the African American community have been in ______.

A)economic power
B)political power
C)social power
D)educational power

Question 41

White people are more likely to live in majority White neighborhoods than Black people are to live in majority Black neighborhoods.

Question 42

______ refers to the absorption of minority groups into dominant culture,whereas cultural pluralism reflects when minority groups retain their distinct cultural identity.

Question 43

Newly freed African Americans were unable to exercise political power immediately after the Civil War.

Question 44

According to sociologists,racist or discriminatory acts are predated by prejudicial beliefs.

Question 45

A ______ is an attribute that discredits individuals because it overshadows other attributes and merits the individual may possess.

Question 46

______ can be considered functional in the sense that dominant groups can use them as justification to exploit a minority group.

Question 47

Although the Southern states clearly benefitted economically from slave labor,industrialization in the North would have been just as successful without slavery.

Question 48

Explain how a functionalist theorist,such as Émile Durkheim,would analyze the existence and persistence of ethnic enclaves or pockets in the United States (Chinatown,Koreatown,Little Ethiopia,etc. ).

Question 49

According to symbolic interactionists,an interaction between Javier,a Latino immigrant,and Jamie,a White person born in the United States,will be influenced by the stigmatized minority status of Javier.

Question 50

Stereotypes are often used to justify the exploitation of a minority group.

Question 51

Discuss the difference between assimilation and cultural pluralism and the metaphors of the "melting pot" versus the "salad bowl." Which do you think best reflects culture in the United States? Why?

Question 52

Describe what decision was made by the Three-Fifths Compromise.Explain how this Constitutional decision was influenced by racism on the part of both Southern and Northern delegates.

Question 53

______ discrimination refers to overt and intentional unequal treatment,often based on prejudicial beliefs,whereas institutional discrimination is enshrined in law,public policy,or common practice.

Question 54

Anthropologists estimate that European ______ decimated the American Indian population from roughly 20 million to 600,000 people.

Question 55

Demographers predict that non-Whites will constitute a numeric majority nationwide by the year ______.

Question 56

If not for ______,population growth in the United States would stagnate.

Question 57

Discuss the difference between a person's race and her or his ethnicity.

Question 58

Arab Americans,on average,have attained higher levels of education and income than the general population.For this reason,some have labeled the ethnic group a ______ minority.

Question 59

______ American families were disproportionately harmed during the housing crisis of the Great Recession because of subprime lending.

Question 60

Racism cannot be positively functional for a society because by definition,it marginalizes some members of the group.

Question 61

"The Irish became White." Explain what is meant by this statement.Provide a few reasons why you think this mobility wasn't possible for immigrants of other ethnicities.Consider the rising Latino immigrant population in the United States,and hypothesize about the possibilities of assimilation and/or cultural pluralism in relation to this population change.

Question 62

According to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide,adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948,when genocide was declared a crime under international law,genocide means committing any of the following acts with intent to destroy,in whole or in part,a national,ethnic,racial,or religious group,as such killing members of the group;causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction,in whole or in part;imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.Discuss the history of genocide against indigenous Americans/American Indians using this definition.

Question 63

Provide a definition of White privilege.Identify two or three examples of White privilege that you have witnessed in your own life.

Question 64

Discuss the historical legacy of segregation in the United States.Use your sociological imagination and evidence from the text to demonstrate why segregation persists today.Include discussion of the negative consequences associated with segregation for minority groups.

Question 65

Explain the difference between individual and institutional discrimination,and provide an example of each.

Question 66

Explain the relationship between race and health outcomes.Illustrate it with four examples.

Question 67

Explain how positive stereotypes and the model minority myth can be harmful for a racial group.

Question 68

Some theorists believe that prejudice could be alleviated by exposing different racial groups to one another to create meaningful interactions and relationships.Use the theories and concepts you have learned so far to argue whether you agree or disagree.Introduce Erving Goffman's concepts of stigma and mixed contacts into the discussion.

Question 69

A common definition of racism is the belief that one group is inherently superior to another group.Contrast this definition with the sociological definition.Discuss which you think is more accurate and why.

Question 70

In the text,the legacy and status of several racial groups in the United States were discussed.Discuss a few reasons why it can be useful to lump several categories of people into one racial group and why it can be problematic.Use specific examples.

Question 71

Discuss the relationships between mass incarceration,disenfranchisement of ex-felons,and race.

Question 72

Provide a definition for genocide,and discuss a few of the ways it can be facilitated by racism,institutional discrimination,and the state.

Question 73

Choose two of the following racial or ethnic groups,and describe their historical legacy in the United States,as well as their present status: American Indians,African Americans,Latinos,Asian Americans,or Arab Americans.Provide a specific example for each that demonstrates how Whites may benefit from a privilege that people in these groups may not benefit from.

Question 74

Explore the difference between race and ethnicity,and provide a few reasons for why people might confuse the two concepts.Use the Thomas theorem to discuss how race and ethnicity are socially constructed but real in their consequences.

Question 75

Compare and contrast the conflict and symbolic interactionist approach to race and racism.Provide a brief explanation for why the functionalist approach is difficult to apply to racism.

Question 76

Provide examples of how advances in technology can be a factor in housing discrimination.

Question 77

Discuss the relationships between prejudice,stereotyping,individual discrimination,institutional discrimination,and racism.Illustrate how they can influence or intersect with one another over time.

Question 78

Compare and contrast expulsion,segregation,and assimilation,and provide an example of each.

Question 79

In 2000,respondents were able to select more than one race for the first time on the U.S.Census.In 2010,the number of respondents who selected more than one race grew by 32%,compared with only 9% for the single-race population.Why do you think this happened? Provide a few reasons for the change.

Question 80

Discuss what you think are the differences between the terms people of color,minorities,and non-Whites.Reflect on how these terms can be used to empower or disempower.Use the conflict approach to think critically about who has the "power to name."