Deck 9: Racial Inequality

Question 1

Races are real insofar as they are socially defined, meaning

A) people of different races socialize differently.
B) people of different races are socialized differently.
C) racial categories operate as if they are real.
D) racial categories are no longer recognized.

Answer 1

racial categories operate as if they are real.

Question 2

Omi and Winant used the term racial formation to describe how

A) society is continually creating and transforming racial categories.
B) people are tracked into different races depending on their skin color.
C) race is genetically determined at conception.
D) individuals can choose the race to which they wish to belong.

Answer 2

society is continually creating and transforming racial categories.

Question 3

Before 1990, virtually all _____ Americans were descended from people brought involuntarily to the United States before the end of the slave trade.

A) European
B) African
C) Asian
D) Hispanic

Answer 3

African

Question 4

While sociologists now agree that the idea of race is _____, many people still believe that humans can be divided into groups based on physically distinguishable characteristics.

A) overly complicated
B) socially constructed
C) increasingly simplistic
D) genetically based

Question 5

_____ is the social construction that sets people of color apart from European immigrant groups.

A) Ethnicity
B) National origin
C) Race
D) Income

Question 6

Sociologists call _____ the cost of being Black.

A) the ethnic income gap
B) affirmative action
C) the racial wealth gap
D) racially based tax incentives

Question 7

As of 2012, which ethnic group had the highest high school graduation rate in the United States?

A) African Americans
B) Latinos
C) Whites
D) Asian Americans

Question 8

The term _____ encompasses immigrants to the United States from Asian and Pacific Island countries as well as those born in the United States whose ancestors come from those countries.

A) Pan-Asian
B) Oriental
C) Asian American
D) Multi-Asian

Question 9

While _____ are not officially defined as a race, they are socially defined in racial terms.

A) Whites
B) Blacks
C) Asians
D) Hispanics

Question 10

_____ has historically been available for the descendants of European immigrants, but less so for others.

A) Racial discrimination
B) Optional ethnicity
C) Ethnic identity
D) Globalization

Question 11

The term _____ refers to groups that are socially subordinated and remain culturally distinct within U.S. society.

A) racial-ethnic group
B) racialist groups
C) ethnicities
D) common heritage societies

Question 12

Between the 2000 census and the 2010 census, the number of interracial couples

A) went down 10%.
B) went down 26%.
C) rose by 28%.
D) rose by 34%.

Question 13

The increase in immigration from _____ in recent years is changing what it means to be Black.

A) Australia
B) the Southern states
C) Africa and the Caribbean
D) Papua New Guinea

Question 14

Which ethnic group is at the bottom of most U.S. socioeconomic indicators, with low levels of life expectancy per capita income, employment, and education?

A) African Americans
B) Native Americans
C) Latinos
D) Recent immigrants

Question 15

According to a 2014 Pew Research poll, people in the Middle East see _____ as the top threat facing the world today.

A) decadence
B) capitalism
C) divisions between social classes
D) religious and ethnic hatred

Question 16

From the Latin for "to crush," the word _____ means the mistreatment or exploitation of a group.

A) oppression
B) racism
C) prejudice
D) subjugation

Question 17

Which group is now considered the largest minority in the United States?

A) Asian Americans
B) Whites
C) African Americans
D) Latinos

Question 18

Racial classification in the United States has long been based on a Black/White_____, or two opposing categories into which all people fit.

A) social structuring
B) spectrum
C) spectroscopy
D) dichotomy

Question 19

_____ are distinctive on the basis of national origin, language, religion, and culture.

A) Ethnic groups
B) Races
C) Traditional societies
D) Countries

Question 20

What important change regarding race took place in the 2000 U.S. census?

A) Americans could choose between five races instead of four.
B) Americans could indicate more than one race on the census form.
C) The U.S. Census Bureau ceased collecting data on race.
D) The U.S. Census Bureau indicated that race was an optional category.

Question 21

Research finds that health disparities are affected by social conditions. For example, racial minorities are more likely than other groups to live near

A) hospitals.
B) urban renewal sites.
C) hazardous waste facilities.
D) ambulatory care centers.

Question 22

_____ generally work in the lowest rungs of the low-wage workforce.

A) Descendants of immigrants
B) Immigrants
C) Descendants of slaves
D) Poor White people

Question 23

The chapter notes that even if "racism in the head" disappeared, "racism in the world" would not, because it is the system that disadvantages. This is because discrimination _____ occur without _____ bigotry.

A) can; unconscious
B) cannot; unconscious
C) can; conscious
D) cannot; conscious

Question 24

_____ theories attribute the plight of certain minorities to prejudiced attitudes held by members of the society's dominant group.

A) Insufficiency
B) Deficiency
C) Bias
D) Structural discrimination

Question 25

The exclusion of minorities from the upper levels of education is likely to affect their opportunities, such as access to high-paying jobs and advancement. This is an example of how institutional discrimination is reinforced because institutions are

A) prejudiced.
B) closed systems.
C) socially conscious.
D) interrelated.

Question 26

Maxine is a proponent of the order perspective on race and culture. She says that her ancestors came to the United States as immigrants and because they _____, they were able to rise to the middle class and fit in with other Americans.

A) assimilated
B) were White
C) became better than other immigrants
D) were wealthy

Question 27

According to _____, racial stratification exists because certain segments of society benefit from it.

A) social Darwinists
B) order theorists
C) conflict theorists
D) assimilationists

Question 28

Proponents of the theory known as the _____ poverty claim that people in poverty are to blame for their own condition.

A) structure of
B) structural
C) cultural
D) culture of

Question 29

The Bell Curve was a book published in 1994 that supported the theory of _____ deficiency, a form of deficiency theory, by claiming that Blacks are innately inferior to Whites.

A) biological
B) cultural
C) personal
D) intellectual

Question 30

Which theory is based on the sociological belief that problems relating to racism are more "in the world" than "in the head," meaning more about society and less about individuals.

A) Utilitarian
B) Deficiency
C) Bias
D) Structural discrimination

Question 31

The idea that some groups of people are disadvantaged because they are actually inferior is represented in _____ theories.

A) insufficiency
B) deficiency
C) bias
D) structural discrimination

Question 32

Individual racism is distiguished by

A) prejudice and behavior that harms particular people and their property.
B) a system of power and privilege that advantages some groups over others.
C) a complex pattern of racial advantage built into the structure of society.
D) inferiority resulting from flawed genetic hereditary.

Question 33

According to cultural deficiency theory, one reason certain minority groups remain at the bottom is because they

A) have cultural beliefs and practices.
B) prefer a lower social status.
C) fail to take advantage of the opportunities in society.
D) are seeking a higher social position.

Question 34

All structural theories of racial inequality agree that _____ is important in determining present conditions and resistance to change.

A) politics
B) genetic heritage
C) history
D) prejudice

Question 35

The terms dominant group and minority group describe _____, regardless of the size of the groups.

A) social systems
B) power differences
C) numbers of people
D) ethnicities

Question 36

What is defined as a complex pattern of racial advantage built into the structure of society?

A) Individual racism
B) Institutional racism
C) Structural race systems
D) Racist structuralism

Question 37

Which term refers to the disproportionate exposure of some racial groups to environmental toxic substances?

A) Ethnic cleansing
B) Ethnic hazards
C) Environmental racism
D) Environmental oppression

Question 38

Lawrence Bobo's research shows that prejudice has declined in the United States. It also shows that most White Americans

A) are willing to give up part of their own privilege to ensure racial equality.
B) understand that social practices and policies must address racial inequalities.
C) favor affirmative action as a way to compensate minorities for previous inequalities.
D) are still unwilling to support social practices and policies to address racial inequalities.

Question 39

Between 1990 and 2010, the percentage of African Americans in management positions in the United States

A) increased from 17% to 29%.
B) decreased from 29% to 17%.
C) increased from 13% to 18%.
D) decreased from 18% to 13%.

Question 40

Researchers at the Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C., claim that _____ is more important than genetic code in determining a person's health.

A) occupation
B) gender roles
C) diet
D) zip code

Question 41

Every day at least one _____ occurs on a college campus, and every minute a college student somewhere sees or hears racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise biased words or images.

A) arrest
B) hate crime
C) protest
D) petition

Question 42

_____ is often associated with uncertain economic conditions.

A) Government intervention
B) Affirmative action
C) Assimilation
D) Racial conflict

Question 43

In large cities across the nation, African Americans are _____ Whites to live in communities that are geographically and economically isolated from the economic opportunities, services, and institutions that people need to succeed.

A) much less likely than
B) about as likely as
C) much more likely than
D) less inclined than

Question 44

Which groups are disproportionately targeted by police officers, as has been seen on video more and more in recent years?

A) Asians and Latinos
B) Arab Americans
C) Blacks and dark-skinned Latinos
D) Blacks and Whites

Question 45

Using race and ethnicity as clues to criminality and potential terrorism is called

A) cultural inferiority.
B) biological determinism.
C) differential association.
D) racial profiling.

Question 46

Which term refers to the belief that race no longer matters in people's experiences?

A) Color-blind racism
B) Institutional racism
C) Affirmative action
D) Social utility

Question 47

Democrats such as former President Carter have publicly speculated that _____ is behind some of the partisan attacks against President Obama at venues ranging from town hall meetings to the floor of Congress as well as the birther movement's rumors about the president's birthplace.

A) racism
B) anti-immigrant prejudice
C) affirmative action
D) a Republican conspiracy

Question 48

Racial profiling on the nation's highways has become so prevalent that a term has emerged to explain it. That term is

A) driving while Black.
B) preventive policing.
C) pullover policing.
D) racist road rage.

Question 49

Although there is no research evidence for White _____, a powerful conservative movement is producing new debates about the fairness of racial policies, such as affirmative action.

A) acquiescence
B) objection
C) advantage
D) disadvantage