EXAM 3 BOOK QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
x11.1 Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups - While many students first entering a sociology classroom are
accustomed to conflating the terms "race," "ethnicity," and "minority group," these three terms have
distinct meanings for sociologists. The idea of race refers to superficial physical differences that a
particular society considers significant, while ethnicity describes shared culture. And the term "minority
groups" describe groups that are subordinate, or that lack power in society regardless of skin color or
country of origin. For example, in modern U.S. history, the elderly might be considered a minority group
due to a diminished status that results from popular prejudice and discrimination against them. Ten
percent of nursing home staff admitted to physically abusing an elderly person in the past year, and 40
percent admitted to committing psychological abuse (World Health Organization 2011). In this chapter
we focus on racial and ethnic minorities.
What Is Race?
Historically, the concept of race has changed across cultures and eras, and has eventually become less
connected with ancestral and familial ties, and more concerned with superficial physical characteristics.
In the past, theorists have posited categories of race based on various geographic regions, ethnicities,
skin colors, and more. Their labels for racial groups have connoted regions (Mongolia and the Caucus
Mountains, for instance) or skin tones (black, white, yellow, and red, for example).
Social science organizations including the American Association of Anthropologists, the American
Sociological Association, and the American Psychological Association have all taken an official position
rejecting the biological explanations of race. Over time, the typology of race that developed during early
racial science has fallen into disuse, and the social construction of race is a more sociological w
Sterotypes,
Prejudice and
Discrimination - The terms stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, and racism are often used
interchangeably in everyday conversation. Let us explore the differences between these concepts.
Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about groups of people. Stereotypes can be based on
race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation—almost any characteristic. They may be positive (usually
about one's own group, such as when women suggest they are less likely to complain about physical
pain) but are often negative (usually toward other groups, such as when members of a dominant racial
group suggest that a subordinate racial group is stupid or lazy). In either case, the stereotype is a
generalization that doesn't take individual differences into account.
Where do stereotypes come from? In fact new stereotypes are rarely created; rather, they are recycled
from subordinate groups that have assimilated into society and are reused to describe newly
subordinate groups. For example, many stereotypes that are currently used to characterize black people
were used earlier in American history to characterize Irish and Eastern European immigrants.
Prejudice and Racism
, Prejudice refers to the beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes someone holds about a group. A
prejudice is not based on experience; instead, it is a prejudgment, originating outside actual experience.
A 1970 documentary called Eye of the Storm illustrates the way in which prejudice develops, by showing
how defining one category of people as superior (children with blue eyes) results in prejudice against
people who are not part of the favored category.
While prejudice is not necessarily specific to race, racism is a stronger type of prejudice used to justify
the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to others; it is also a set of practices
used by a raci
Theories of Race and Ethnicity - Theoretical Perspectives
We can examine issues of race and ethnicity through three major sociological perspectives:
functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. As you read through these theories, ask
yourself which one makes the most sense and why. Do we need more than one theory to explain racism,
prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination?
Functionalism
In the view of functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in
order to exist as long as they have. This concept, of course, is problematic. How can racism and
discrimination contribute positively to society? A functionalist might look at "functions" and
"dysfunctions" caused by racial inequality. Nash (1964) focused his argument on the way racism is
functional for the dominant group, for example, suggesting that racism morally justifies a racially
unequal society. Consider the way slave owners justified slavery in the antebellum South, by suggesting
black people were fundamentally inferior to white and preferred slavery to freedom.
Another way to apply the functionalist perspective to racism is to discuss the way racism can contribute
positively to the functioning of society by strengthening bonds between in-group members through the
ostracism of out-group members. Consider how a community might increase solidarity by refusing to
allow outsiders access. On the other hand, Rose (1951) suggested that dysfunctions associated with
racism include the failure to take advantage of talent in the subjugated group, and that society must
divert from other purposes the time and effort needed to maintain artificially constructed racial
boundaries. Consider how much money, time, and effort went toward maintaining separate and unequal
educational systems prior to the civil rights movement.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theories ar
intergroup relations - Intergroup relations (relationships between different groups of people) range along
a spectrum between tolerance and intolerance. The most tolerant form of intergroup relations is
pluralism, in which no distinction is made between minority and majority groups, but instead there's
equal standing. At the other end of the continuum are amalgamation, expulsion, and even genocide—
stark examples of intolerant intergroup relations.
Genocide
ANSWERS
x11.1 Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups - While many students first entering a sociology classroom are
accustomed to conflating the terms "race," "ethnicity," and "minority group," these three terms have
distinct meanings for sociologists. The idea of race refers to superficial physical differences that a
particular society considers significant, while ethnicity describes shared culture. And the term "minority
groups" describe groups that are subordinate, or that lack power in society regardless of skin color or
country of origin. For example, in modern U.S. history, the elderly might be considered a minority group
due to a diminished status that results from popular prejudice and discrimination against them. Ten
percent of nursing home staff admitted to physically abusing an elderly person in the past year, and 40
percent admitted to committing psychological abuse (World Health Organization 2011). In this chapter
we focus on racial and ethnic minorities.
What Is Race?
Historically, the concept of race has changed across cultures and eras, and has eventually become less
connected with ancestral and familial ties, and more concerned with superficial physical characteristics.
In the past, theorists have posited categories of race based on various geographic regions, ethnicities,
skin colors, and more. Their labels for racial groups have connoted regions (Mongolia and the Caucus
Mountains, for instance) or skin tones (black, white, yellow, and red, for example).
Social science organizations including the American Association of Anthropologists, the American
Sociological Association, and the American Psychological Association have all taken an official position
rejecting the biological explanations of race. Over time, the typology of race that developed during early
racial science has fallen into disuse, and the social construction of race is a more sociological w
Sterotypes,
Prejudice and
Discrimination - The terms stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, and racism are often used
interchangeably in everyday conversation. Let us explore the differences between these concepts.
Stereotypes are oversimplified generalizations about groups of people. Stereotypes can be based on
race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation—almost any characteristic. They may be positive (usually
about one's own group, such as when women suggest they are less likely to complain about physical
pain) but are often negative (usually toward other groups, such as when members of a dominant racial
group suggest that a subordinate racial group is stupid or lazy). In either case, the stereotype is a
generalization that doesn't take individual differences into account.
Where do stereotypes come from? In fact new stereotypes are rarely created; rather, they are recycled
from subordinate groups that have assimilated into society and are reused to describe newly
subordinate groups. For example, many stereotypes that are currently used to characterize black people
were used earlier in American history to characterize Irish and Eastern European immigrants.
Prejudice and Racism
, Prejudice refers to the beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes someone holds about a group. A
prejudice is not based on experience; instead, it is a prejudgment, originating outside actual experience.
A 1970 documentary called Eye of the Storm illustrates the way in which prejudice develops, by showing
how defining one category of people as superior (children with blue eyes) results in prejudice against
people who are not part of the favored category.
While prejudice is not necessarily specific to race, racism is a stronger type of prejudice used to justify
the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to others; it is also a set of practices
used by a raci
Theories of Race and Ethnicity - Theoretical Perspectives
We can examine issues of race and ethnicity through three major sociological perspectives:
functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. As you read through these theories, ask
yourself which one makes the most sense and why. Do we need more than one theory to explain racism,
prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination?
Functionalism
In the view of functionalism, racial and ethnic inequalities must have served an important function in
order to exist as long as they have. This concept, of course, is problematic. How can racism and
discrimination contribute positively to society? A functionalist might look at "functions" and
"dysfunctions" caused by racial inequality. Nash (1964) focused his argument on the way racism is
functional for the dominant group, for example, suggesting that racism morally justifies a racially
unequal society. Consider the way slave owners justified slavery in the antebellum South, by suggesting
black people were fundamentally inferior to white and preferred slavery to freedom.
Another way to apply the functionalist perspective to racism is to discuss the way racism can contribute
positively to the functioning of society by strengthening bonds between in-group members through the
ostracism of out-group members. Consider how a community might increase solidarity by refusing to
allow outsiders access. On the other hand, Rose (1951) suggested that dysfunctions associated with
racism include the failure to take advantage of talent in the subjugated group, and that society must
divert from other purposes the time and effort needed to maintain artificially constructed racial
boundaries. Consider how much money, time, and effort went toward maintaining separate and unequal
educational systems prior to the civil rights movement.
Conflict Theory
Conflict theories ar
intergroup relations - Intergroup relations (relationships between different groups of people) range along
a spectrum between tolerance and intolerance. The most tolerant form of intergroup relations is
pluralism, in which no distinction is made between minority and majority groups, but instead there's
equal standing. At the other end of the continuum are amalgamation, expulsion, and even genocide—
stark examples of intolerant intergroup relations.
Genocide
