Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The social construction of race is illustrated by which of the following?
a. An olive-skinned Puerto Rican who would be categorized as “white” in Puerto Rico
will be categorized as “black” when he immigrates to New York.
b. Blacks and whites in most large U.S. cities continue to live in strongly segregated
neighborhoods.
c. Many white Americans have unknown black ancestry.
d. Most Americans continue to think that there are real and easily discernible
differences among blacks and whites.
2. The author argues that, for Americans, a paradoxical result of studying race and ethnic
relations in other societies is:
a. they learn that in many ways Americans are no different from people in other parts
of the world.
b. they learn that in many ways Americans are fundamentally different from people in
other societies.
c. they begin to better understand their own society.
d. they begin to realize that the United States is superior to other societies.
3. Hughes and Hughes (1952) suggested that if it is easy to resign from the group:
a. it is a true ethnic group.
b. it is not a true ethnic group.
c. it is probably Eurocentric ethnicity.
d. it is probably Afrocentric ethnicity.
4. Groupings of people with one or a number of similar characteristics but with little sense
of membership and little interaction among them are called:
a. ethnic groups.
b. ethnic collectivities.
c. ethnic categories.
d. ethnic enclaves.
1
,Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
5. Consider this 1930s quotation from George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright and
author: “The haughty American nation … makes the Negro clean its boots, and then
proves the … inferiority of the Negro by the fact that he is a bootblack.” Shaw’s
statement describes the concept of:
a. ethnocentrism.
b. race.
c. the self-fulfilling prophecy.
d. racism.
6. There is a consensus of thought among social scientists regarding:
a. the number of human racial types.
b. the physical characteristics used to differentiate racial types.
c. the relation of racial inheritance to social and personality traits.
d. the significance many people attach to the idea of race.
7. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. Today, the trend toward increasing etehnic diversity is limited mostly to the U.S.
b. There are many societies in the world today that remain ethnically homogeneous.
c. Few societies in the world today are multiethnic.
d. There is an increasing trend toward ethnic diversity in most societies of the world
today.
8. The works of Herrnstein, Murray, and Jensen have been _________ by mainstream social
scientists.
a. accepted
b. rejected
c. ignored
d. theoretically incorporated
9. The importance of race is its:
a. scientific validity.
b. verifiability.
c. social meaning.
d. academic definition.
10. Although fans of a particular athletic team may, like ethnic groups, have a sense of
community (for example, “Red Sox Nation”), they are not an ethnic group because:
a. they lack a common cultural heritage.
b. they are made up of people with different racial traits.
c. they are not territorially defined.
d. the origins of their ancestors are unknown.
2
,Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
11. In the U.S. Census of 1890, racial categories included “octoroon,” “quadroon,” and
“mulatto.” The fact that such racial categories no longer exist illustrates that:
a. Americans today have a low level of racial consciousness.
b. racial categories are socially defined.
c. people’s understanding of race has changed.
d. race is no longer a significant part of Americans’ social identity.
12. Which of the following is not among the characteristics of an ethnic group?
a. Unique cultural traits
b. A sense of community among members
c. Voluntary membership.
d. A presumed common ancestry among members
13. Racist thought is inherently:
a. fair minded.
b. European.
c. Southern hemisphere-oriented.
d. ethnocentric.
14. European racism was spread primarily via:
a. colonialism.
b. television.
c. voluntary migration.
d. air travel.
15. There are generally __________ differences between black people born in Haiti and the
United States.
a. cultural
b. racial
c. genetic
d. no
16. In which of the following countries is there a high degree of ethnic diversity?
a. United Kingdom
b. Egypt
c. Japan
d. Canada
17. Ethnic identities are often unchangeable because they are:
a. of great importance to society.
b. usually determined by genetics.
c. necessary for survival.
d. frequently ascribed at birth.
3
, Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
18. Many persons who are categorized as “black” in the United States would be considered
“white” in Brazil. This demonstrates that:
a. Brazilians and Americans use different conceptions of race.
b. Brazil is not as industrially developed as the United States.
c. Blacks are the dominant racial group in Brazil.
d. The study of race and ethnic relations in the United States is more advanced than in
Brazil.
19. Racism can be understood as an ideology insofar as it is:
a. used to legitimize the unequal distribution of resources.
b. believed by most people.
c. taught in schools.
d. shunned in public.
20. Where racial and ethnic consciousness is strong, people tend to see their own racial or
ethnic group as superior to others. This reflects:
a. cultural racism.
b. a sense of community.
c. the socially constructed nature of race and ethnicity.
d. ethnocentrism.
21. Which of the following is not a fundamental idea of the ideology of racism?
a. Humans are divided naturally into different physical types.
b. Group differences are innate, not subject to change.
c. Peoples’ intelligence is unrelated to their physical characteristics.
d. Some groups are superior to others.
22. Which of the following best illustrates cultural racism?
a. “Black people are inherently less intelligent than white people.”
b. “The average income of black families is lower than that of white families because
blacks do not subscribe to the American work ethic as strongly as whites.”
c. “The origins of most white Americans are European, whereas the origins of most
black Americans are African.”
d. “The average IQ of black Americans will rise as they intermarry with whites.”
23. Concerning the idea of race, which of the following is correct?
a. Scientific studies have shown that members of similar racial categories share similar
psychological traits.
b. Races are statistical abstractions, based on observed physical similarities among
populations.
c. While scientists are in disagreement regarding the number of criteria that should be
used to sort people into racial categories, they have reached agreement on the kind
of criteria to be used.
d. “Race” is no longer a concept given much credence by either scientists or the general
public.
4
Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION: SOME BASIC CONCEPTS
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The social construction of race is illustrated by which of the following?
a. An olive-skinned Puerto Rican who would be categorized as “white” in Puerto Rico
will be categorized as “black” when he immigrates to New York.
b. Blacks and whites in most large U.S. cities continue to live in strongly segregated
neighborhoods.
c. Many white Americans have unknown black ancestry.
d. Most Americans continue to think that there are real and easily discernible
differences among blacks and whites.
2. The author argues that, for Americans, a paradoxical result of studying race and ethnic
relations in other societies is:
a. they learn that in many ways Americans are no different from people in other parts
of the world.
b. they learn that in many ways Americans are fundamentally different from people in
other societies.
c. they begin to better understand their own society.
d. they begin to realize that the United States is superior to other societies.
3. Hughes and Hughes (1952) suggested that if it is easy to resign from the group:
a. it is a true ethnic group.
b. it is not a true ethnic group.
c. it is probably Eurocentric ethnicity.
d. it is probably Afrocentric ethnicity.
4. Groupings of people with one or a number of similar characteristics but with little sense
of membership and little interaction among them are called:
a. ethnic groups.
b. ethnic collectivities.
c. ethnic categories.
d. ethnic enclaves.
1
,Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
5. Consider this 1930s quotation from George Bernard Shaw, the British playwright and
author: “The haughty American nation … makes the Negro clean its boots, and then
proves the … inferiority of the Negro by the fact that he is a bootblack.” Shaw’s
statement describes the concept of:
a. ethnocentrism.
b. race.
c. the self-fulfilling prophecy.
d. racism.
6. There is a consensus of thought among social scientists regarding:
a. the number of human racial types.
b. the physical characteristics used to differentiate racial types.
c. the relation of racial inheritance to social and personality traits.
d. the significance many people attach to the idea of race.
7. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. Today, the trend toward increasing etehnic diversity is limited mostly to the U.S.
b. There are many societies in the world today that remain ethnically homogeneous.
c. Few societies in the world today are multiethnic.
d. There is an increasing trend toward ethnic diversity in most societies of the world
today.
8. The works of Herrnstein, Murray, and Jensen have been _________ by mainstream social
scientists.
a. accepted
b. rejected
c. ignored
d. theoretically incorporated
9. The importance of race is its:
a. scientific validity.
b. verifiability.
c. social meaning.
d. academic definition.
10. Although fans of a particular athletic team may, like ethnic groups, have a sense of
community (for example, “Red Sox Nation”), they are not an ethnic group because:
a. they lack a common cultural heritage.
b. they are made up of people with different racial traits.
c. they are not territorially defined.
d. the origins of their ancestors are unknown.
2
,Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
11. In the U.S. Census of 1890, racial categories included “octoroon,” “quadroon,” and
“mulatto.” The fact that such racial categories no longer exist illustrates that:
a. Americans today have a low level of racial consciousness.
b. racial categories are socially defined.
c. people’s understanding of race has changed.
d. race is no longer a significant part of Americans’ social identity.
12. Which of the following is not among the characteristics of an ethnic group?
a. Unique cultural traits
b. A sense of community among members
c. Voluntary membership.
d. A presumed common ancestry among members
13. Racist thought is inherently:
a. fair minded.
b. European.
c. Southern hemisphere-oriented.
d. ethnocentric.
14. European racism was spread primarily via:
a. colonialism.
b. television.
c. voluntary migration.
d. air travel.
15. There are generally __________ differences between black people born in Haiti and the
United States.
a. cultural
b. racial
c. genetic
d. no
16. In which of the following countries is there a high degree of ethnic diversity?
a. United Kingdom
b. Egypt
c. Japan
d. Canada
17. Ethnic identities are often unchangeable because they are:
a. of great importance to society.
b. usually determined by genetics.
c. necessary for survival.
d. frequently ascribed at birth.
3
, Test Bank For Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives
Chapter 1
18. Many persons who are categorized as “black” in the United States would be considered
“white” in Brazil. This demonstrates that:
a. Brazilians and Americans use different conceptions of race.
b. Brazil is not as industrially developed as the United States.
c. Blacks are the dominant racial group in Brazil.
d. The study of race and ethnic relations in the United States is more advanced than in
Brazil.
19. Racism can be understood as an ideology insofar as it is:
a. used to legitimize the unequal distribution of resources.
b. believed by most people.
c. taught in schools.
d. shunned in public.
20. Where racial and ethnic consciousness is strong, people tend to see their own racial or
ethnic group as superior to others. This reflects:
a. cultural racism.
b. a sense of community.
c. the socially constructed nature of race and ethnicity.
d. ethnocentrism.
21. Which of the following is not a fundamental idea of the ideology of racism?
a. Humans are divided naturally into different physical types.
b. Group differences are innate, not subject to change.
c. Peoples’ intelligence is unrelated to their physical characteristics.
d. Some groups are superior to others.
22. Which of the following best illustrates cultural racism?
a. “Black people are inherently less intelligent than white people.”
b. “The average income of black families is lower than that of white families because
blacks do not subscribe to the American work ethic as strongly as whites.”
c. “The origins of most white Americans are European, whereas the origins of most
black Americans are African.”
d. “The average IQ of black Americans will rise as they intermarry with whites.”
23. Concerning the idea of race, which of the following is correct?
a. Scientific studies have shown that members of similar racial categories share similar
psychological traits.
b. Races are statistical abstractions, based on observed physical similarities among
populations.
c. While scientists are in disagreement regarding the number of criteria that should be
used to sort people into racial categories, they have reached agreement on the kind
of criteria to be used.
d. “Race” is no longer a concept given much credence by either scientists or the general
public.
4
