RACE AND ETHNICITY TEST 1 STUDY GUIDE | COMPLETE SOCIOLOGY EXAM
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
minority group - correct answer ✔✔a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control
or power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group
racial group - correct answer ✔✔a group that is socially set apart because of obvious physical differences
ethnic group - correct answer ✔✔a group set apart from others because of its national origin or
distinctive cultural patterns
biological race - correct answer ✔✔the mistaken notion of a genetically isolated human group
intelligence quotient - correct answer ✔✔the ratio of a person's mental age (as computed by an IQ test)
to his or her chronological age, multiplied by 100
racism - correct answer ✔✔a doctrine that one race is superior
racial formation - correct answer ✔✔a sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created,
inhibited, transformed, and destroyed
sociology - correct answer ✔✔the systematic study of social behavior and human groups
stratification - correct answer ✔✔a structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates
unequal rewards and power in a society
class - correct answer ✔✔as defined by Max Weber, people who share similar levels of wealth
functionalist perspective - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach emphasizing how parts of a society
are structured to maintain its stability
dysfunction - correct answer ✔✔an element of society that may disrupt a social system or decrease its
stability
conflict perspective - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach that assumes that the social structure is
best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups
blaming the victim - correct answer ✔✔portraying the problems of racial and ethnic minorities as their
fault rather than recognizing society's responsibilities
labeling theory - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach introduced by Howard Becker that attempts
to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants and others engaging int eh same behavior are not
stereotypes - correct answer ✔✔unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group
that do not take individual differences into account
REVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2026/2027
minority group - correct answer ✔✔a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control
or power over their own lives than do the members of a dominant or majority group
racial group - correct answer ✔✔a group that is socially set apart because of obvious physical differences
ethnic group - correct answer ✔✔a group set apart from others because of its national origin or
distinctive cultural patterns
biological race - correct answer ✔✔the mistaken notion of a genetically isolated human group
intelligence quotient - correct answer ✔✔the ratio of a person's mental age (as computed by an IQ test)
to his or her chronological age, multiplied by 100
racism - correct answer ✔✔a doctrine that one race is superior
racial formation - correct answer ✔✔a sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created,
inhibited, transformed, and destroyed
sociology - correct answer ✔✔the systematic study of social behavior and human groups
stratification - correct answer ✔✔a structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates
unequal rewards and power in a society
class - correct answer ✔✔as defined by Max Weber, people who share similar levels of wealth
functionalist perspective - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach emphasizing how parts of a society
are structured to maintain its stability
dysfunction - correct answer ✔✔an element of society that may disrupt a social system or decrease its
stability
conflict perspective - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach that assumes that the social structure is
best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups
blaming the victim - correct answer ✔✔portraying the problems of racial and ethnic minorities as their
fault rather than recognizing society's responsibilities
labeling theory - correct answer ✔✔a sociological approach introduced by Howard Becker that attempts
to explain why certain people are viewed as deviants and others engaging int eh same behavior are not
stereotypes - correct answer ✔✔unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group
that do not take individual differences into account
