Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of individuals based on certain characteristics, which is an action. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion or feeling, which is an attitude.

Question 2

Race is biological, while ethnicity is cultural.

Accepted Answer

Race is often associated with physical characteristics, while ethnicity relates to cultural factors such as nationality, culture, ancestry, language, and beliefs.

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.

Accepted Answer

Government racial and ethnic classifications have been used for various purposes beyond the U.S. census, including policy-making, civil rights enforcement, and resource allocation.

Question 4

All people have prejudices whether or not they acknowledge them.

Accepted Answer

Prejudices are often unconscious biases that everyone has due to cultural, social, and personal influences, even if they are not aware of 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.

Accepted Answer

Institutional discrimination occurs when policies or practices within an institution result in unequal treatment of certain groups, such as racial disparities in mortgage lending.

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.

Accepted Answer

Contemporary class perspectives often argue that a split-labor market can create divisions among workers, as it pits different racial and ethnic groups against each other, potentially hindering unionization and solidarity.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes are often oversimplified and not necessarily based on scientific evidence or social facts. They can be based on assumptions, biases, and cultural narratives rather than objective truths.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

De jure segregation refers to racial separation enforced by law, not by custom. Segregation by custom is known as de facto segregation.

Question 9

Subordinate groups need not necessarily be a numerical minority.

Accepted Answer

Subordinate groups can be defined by their lack of power and access to resources, not just by their numerical size.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Functionalist theories in sociology suggest that social institutions and processes exist to serve some important function to keep society stable and orderly. Early U.S. policies, such as segregation and assimilation, were designed to maintain social order by managing racial and ethnic relations, reflecting a functionalist perspective.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

Discrimination refers to actions or practices that result in unequal treatment of people based on their group membership, often leading to harmful impacts on subordinate groups.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Italian Americans are considered an ethnic group because they share a common cultural heritage, language, and ancestry specific to Italy.

Question 13

According to the text, official racial and ethnic categories

Accepted Answer

Official racial and ethnic categories were historically used to justify the enslavement of Africans, as these categories were often constructed to support social hierarchies and discriminatory practices.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture, nation, or ethnic group is superior to others, which aligns with teaching children that their school and country are the best.

Question 15

Racism in the United States is sometimes referred to as

Accepted Answer

Racism in the United States is often referred to as "white racism" because it historically and predominantly involves systemic and institutional discrimination by white individuals or groups against people of other races.

Question 16

Prejudice and discriminatory behavior directed at Jews is called

Accepted Answer

Anti-Semitism is the term specifically used to describe prejudice and discrimination against Jews.

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)

Accepted Answer

An authoritarian personality is characterized by excessive conformity, submissiveness to authority, intolerance, insecurity, superstition, and rigid, stereotypic thinking.

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

Accepted Answer

Amalgamation refers to the process where different racial-ethnic groups blend together to form a new, unified society, incorporating the unique contributions of each group.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Conflict theorists explain racial and ethnic inequality in terms of economic stratification and access to power.

Question 20

According to the gendered racism perspective,

Accepted Answer

The gendered racism perspective highlights how women of color experience a unique form of discrimination that arises from the intersection of both racism and sexism.

Quiz 3: Racial and Ethnic Inequality