Deck 1: Diversity in the United States: Questions and Concepts

Question 1

By definition, a minority group is always ______.

A) smaller in number than the dominant group
B) residentially segregated from the dominant group
C) singled out for differential and unequal treatment
D) distinguishable from the dominant group by its racial characteristics
E) distinguished from the dominant group by its ethnic origins

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The social or physical characteristics that mark the boundaries between groups are usually ______.

A) selected for their visibility and convenience
B) selected by the minority groups themselves
C) scientifically significant
D) selected for their biological importance
E) indicators of biological difference

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Miscegenation laws prevented ______.

A) people from passing as members of another race
B) people of different races from eating together in public restaurants
C) members of different races from intermarrying
D) members of different races from going to the same schools
E) members of the same gender from marrying

Answer 3

C

Question 4

"The most important source of inequality arises from a person's relationship to the means of production." This statement is most likely to be heard from a ______.

A) capitalist
B) Weberian
C) libertarian
D) Marxist
E) Republican

Question 5

According to Marx, the means of production in an agricultural society would include ______.

A) factories
B) social class
C) wealth
D) land
E) banks

Question 6

Which of the following is a defining characteristic of a minority group?

A) a smaller population than the dominant group
B) a pattern of disadvantage or inequality
C) cultural practices that do not lead to success in the new country
D) a tendency to form intimate relationships with different groups
E) a recent immigrant to the new country

Question 7

Which theorist expands the interpretation of inequality by identifying three separate stratification systems: prestige, property, and power?

A) Max Weber
B) Patricia Hill Collins
C) Karl Marx
D) Milton Gordon
E) Gerhard Lenski

Question 8

Max Weber thought that Marx's ideas about inequality were too ______.

A) narrow
B) optimistic
C) complex
D) abstract
E) pessimistic

Question 9

Gerhard Lenski is important because he linked the nature of inequality to the ______ of a society.

A) group structure
B) amount of prestige
C) wealth disparity
D) level of development
E) caste system

Question 10

According to Lenski, inequality in an agricultural society centers on control of ______.

A) educational opportunities
B) factories and mines
C) colleges and universities
D) land and labor
E) status and prestige

Question 11

According to Lenski, inequality in a postindustrial society centers on control of ______.

A) educational opportunities
B) factories and mines
C) colleges and universities
D) land and labor
E) status and prestige

Question 12

Women can be viewed as a minority group because ______.

A) there are fewer women than men in the United States
B) they have different job opportunities than men
C) they are conscious of being "inferior" to men
D) they have less property, prestige, and power in our society
E) they have less property in our society

Question 13

The thinking aspect of prejudice is called ______.

A) affective prejudice
B) emotional prejudice
C) behavioral prejudice
D) cognitive prejudice
E) racist prejudice

Question 14

A person refuses to rent an apartment to a person of a different racial or ethnic group. This is an example of ______.

A) prejudice
B) institutional discrimination
C) individual discrimination
D) legal discrimination
E) prejudice leading to institutional discrimination

Question 15

When entire groups are treated unfairly and unequally in the institutions of the larger society, this is called ______.

A) institutional discrimination
B) institutional prejudice
C) racism
D) societal prejudice
E) personal discrimination

Question 16

Which of the following social theorists argued that the most important source of inequality in society was the system of economic production?

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Patricia Hill Collins
C) Karl Marx
D) Max Weber
E) Talcott Parsons

Question 17

Research indicates that we generally become aware of group differences at what age?

A) as early as 6 months old
B) when we enter elementary school
C) as preadolescents
D) when we enter high school
E) as we enter adulthood

Question 18

The new form of prejudice that is often expressed in seemingly neutral language is known as ______.

A) new racism
B) blatant racism
C) modern racism
D) status quo racism
E) overt racism

Question 19

Prejudice and racism persist through ______ as a package of stereotypes, emotions, and ideas.

A) cultural heritage
B) racial heritage
C) genetic inheritance
D) biological imperative
E) historical underpinnings

Question 20

Michelle is a poor African American woman. Her race, class, and gender may combine to produce a unique kind of inequality. The concept that describes this phenomenon is known as ______.

A) intersectionality
B) Marx's class oppression
C) the matrix of discrimination
D) triple discrimination
E) the triple melting pot

Question 21

The concept of ______ best reflects the degree of intimacy we are willing to accept in our relations with members of other groups.

A) segregation
B) prejudice
C) stratification
D) proximity
E) social distance

Question 22

Stratification refers to ______.

A) the extent to which different racial groups live in the same area
B) the changing meanings of social labels
C) the unequal distribution of valued goods and services
D) the level of development in a society
E) the degree of intimacy we are willing to accept in our relations with members of other groups

Question 23

Recent advances in biological research show that ______.

A) there is less variation within gender categories than between groups
B) there is an equal amount of variation between and within gender categories
C) biology matters much more in thinking about gender than previously known
D) there are only two discrete gender categories: male and female
E) there is more variation within traditional gender categories than between groups

Question 24

Which statement is an example of the seventh degree of social distance?

A) Black Americans have historically been denied access to citizenship.
B) The Muslim Ban prevents immigrants from certain countries from coming to the United States.
C) Housing discrimination has created inequality in access to wealth.
D) Institutional discrimination prevents Black Americans from accessing certain jobs.
E) In recent years, Americans have become more accepting of interracial marriage.

Question 25

The Robber's Cave experiment supports the idea that prejudice can be caused by ______.

A) inherent dislike for different groups
B) perceptions of a group's inferiority
C) conflict situations between groups
D) competition between groups
E) conflict between individuals

Question 26

What is the social function of prejudice?

A) It creates solidarity within the minority group.
B) It is used to justify competition.
C) It rationalizes structures of domination.
D) It is used to create structures of domination.
E) It informs how conflict is created.

Question 27

Subsistence technology refers to ______.

A) the means by which a society satisfies basic needs
B) how a stratification system is organized
C) the systems that create social mobility in a society
D) the means by which a society produces information
E) how capital is shared in a society

Question 28

Which statement represents the use of modern racism?

A) White Americans intentionally live separately from other races.
B) African Americans are biologically inferior to Whites.
C) Institutional racism presents a barrier to success.
D) African Americans do not invest enough in education to get ahead.
E) White Americans fear they are losing their country to immigrants.

Question 29

The intersectionality perspective analyzes how multiple statuses link together and form ______.

A) systems of oppression
B) gender inequality
C) institutional racism
D) stratification
E) a matrix of domination

Question 30

______ refers to a social system organized around the dominance of men and subordination of women.

A) Patriarchy
B) Sexism
C) Gender inequality
D) The social construction of gender
E) The gender binary

Question 31

Modern racism is also often called ______.

A) polite racism
B) color-blind racism
C) institutional racism
D) subtle racism
E) indirect racism

Question 32

What is the third component of Myrdal's vicious cycle?

A) The perception of inferiority establishes competition.
B) Prejudice becomes part of the nation's cultural heritage.
C) The marginalized status of the minority group is used to validate prejudice.
D) The dominant group creates ways of thinking that justify the racial hierarchy.
E) The dominant group forces the minority group into an inferior position.

Question 33

What makes social constructions significant?

A) They are often created by the minority group.
B) They represent different cultural backgrounds.
C) They are linked to biological differences.
D) They are used to create differences in power.
E) They are used to place people into categories.

Question 34

Marx theorized that society progressed through conflict between the ______.

A) dominant and minority groups
B) landowners and servants
C) bourgeoisie and proletariat
D) owners of prestige and powerless
E) subordinate group and oppressors

Question 35

______ is a society-wide belief system that asserts that a particular group is inferior.

A) Status quo racism
B) Individual prejudice
C) Ideological racism
D) Modern racism
E) Individual racism

Question 36

Which statement refers to how a racial minority group is primarily defined?

A) Irish immigrants faced early barriers to assimilation.
B) African Americans have distinguishing physical characteristics.
C) Hispanic Americans speak a different language than the dominant group.
D) Native Americans have different conceptions of gender than the dominant group.
E) African Americans have developed cultural practices in response to discrimination.

Question 37

Which of the following is a component of modern racism?

A) the use of overt racism to maintain inequality
B) using selective perception to ignore processes that sustain inequality
C) acknowledging the impact of continuing discrimination
D) identifying institutional racism but not responding to it
E) attributing racial inequality to innate biological differences

Question 38

Which of the following statements supports the idea that gender is socially constructed?

A) Men and women tend to prefer different roles within the family.
B) There are standard traits associated with masculinity and femininity.
C) Women have a tendency toward caretaking positions.
D) Men are less likely to display emotions.
E) Gender expectations vary over time and from society to society.

Question 39

Minority groups are usually disadvantaged as a result of the actions of another group or groups who benefit from the arrangement.

Question 40

The awareness of a minority group's members of their differentiation from the dominant group provides a basis for strong bonds and a sense of group solidarity.

Question 41

The descendants of European immigrants can be identified as an ethnic minority group in the contemporary United States.

Question 42

Marxism, as a theory, has been completely disproven and is no longer important as a source of insight into group relations.

Question 43

Marx believed that the ultimate result of class struggle would be the victory of the working class and a classless society.

Question 44

According to the chapter text, Max Weber thought it was important to analyze stratification within the level of development of a society, such as whether it is an agricultural or postindustrial society.

Question 45

Max Weber distinguished three different sources of stratification in society.

Question 46

The major limitation of racial typologies is that they cannot provide clear dividing lines between racial groups.

Question 47

Prejudice has at least two dimensions: an affective, or emotional, dimension and a cognitive, or thinking, dimension.

Question 48

Discrimination and prejudice do not necessarily occur together.

Question 49

Ideological racism is the societal equivalent of individual discrimination.

Question 50

Institutional discrimination is always obvious, overt, and consciously intended.

Question 51

Gender roles and relationships vary across time and from one society to another.

Question 52

The skin color of any group can be traced to adaptations from human migration to different environments.

Question 53

There are no internal divisions, such as those based on class, power, race, or ethnicity, among members of the same minority group.

Question 54

Gender equality is generally highest in the more developed, industrialized nations of North America and Western Europe.

Question 55

Group names are social constructions, created in particular historical situations and reflective of particular power relationships.

Question 56

Group relations in the United States are shaped by economic, social, and political forces beyond our borders.

Question 57

Ideological racism is a belief system that asserts that a particular group is inferior.

Question 58

State laws prevented miscegenation until they were declared unconstitutional in the late 1960s.

Question 59

Stereotypes are central to the affective dimension of prejudice.

Question 60

Recent trends in immigration can be attributed to global processes, such as globalization.

Question 61

When using the intersectionality perspective, we can make the conclusion that White women are marginalized by their gender in similar ways as Black women.

Question 62

Unlike race, some social differences between genders can be explained by examining differences in biological tendencies.

Question 63

Because race and gender are social constructions, they do not have any real significance.

Question 64

The term vicious cycle refers to the perpetuation of inequality due to cultural adaptations of minority groups.

Question 65

A decline in willingness to express overt prejudice is an indication that racial inequality will decrease.

Question 66

A recent study found that African Americans are disproportionately stopped and searched by the police. This is an example of ideological racism.

Question 67

In the United States, ideals of femininity apply only to White women.

Question 68

What is a minority group? Cite and explain the defining characteristics, paying special attention to "patterns of inequality and disadvantage" and "visible characteristics." By this definition, are women a minority group? Why or why not? How about left-handed people? Americans with disabilities? LGBTQ Americans? Could these groups be defined as minority groups? Justify your answer.

Question 69

Explain what is meant by stratification. Summarize some of the important theories regarding the nature of stratification. Why is stratification an important concept in the study of minority groups? What are the significant connections between stratification and a minority group's status?

Question 70

Explain the differences in contributions to the study of stratification offered by Marx, Weber, Lenski, and Hill Collins. Use specific examples from the chapter to support your answer.

Question 71

Using concepts from the chapter, explain why differences in skin color appear among human populations and how these differences have come to be associated with racial inequality.

Question 72

Describe the factors that create internal differences within a minority group. Use specific examples from the chapter text to support your answer.

Question 73

What is meant by the concept of modern racism? How does that concept differ from traditional or old-fashioned racism? What makes modern racism racist?

Question 74

What is the competition approach to prejudice? What theoretical explanations of prejudice are included? What significant research has been conducted in this tradition, and what evidence has been established in support of these theories? What are the strengths and limitations of these theories?

Question 75

Using concepts from the chapter text, explain how developments in technology shape social inequality. Identify resources at different stages of development that can enhance opportunities for minority groups.

Question 76

What is a social construction? How does a social construction become "real," and what implications does this bring? Use discussions in the chapter text on race and gender to inform your answer.

Question 77

Max Weber identified three systems that produce stratification in a society. Describe these systems and how they operate to produce inequality in the United States.