LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 12, you should be able to: CHAPTER 12 RACE AND ETHNICITY CHAPTER SUMMARY

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1 CHAPTER 12 RACE AND ETHNICITY CHAPTER SUMMARY Race is a complex and often misunderstood concept. Race is a reality in the sense that inherited physical characteristics distinguish one group from another. However, race is a myth in the sense of one race being superior to another and of there being pure races. Race is so arbitrary that scientists cannot agree upon how many races there are. The idea of race is powerful reality in our everyday lives. Race refers to inherited biological characteristics, while ethnicity refers to cultural ones. Ethnicity includes foods, clothing, language, music etc. A minority group is defined as one singled out for unequal treatment by members of the dominant group. Both race and ethnicity can be a basis for unequal treatment. The extent of ethnic identification depends on the relative size of the group, its power, broad physical characteristics, and the amount of discrimination. Ethnic work is the process of constructing an ethnic identity. Prejudice refers to an attitude and discrimination to unfair treatment. Individual discrimination is the negative treatment of one person by another, while institutional discrimination is discrimination built into society s social institutions. Prejudice can be learned based on the association with certain groups. Psychological theories explain the origin of prejudice in terms of stress frustration that gets directed toward scapegoats and in terms of the development of authoritarian personalities. Functionalists emphasize how different social environments affect levels of prejudice. Conflict theorists look at the exploitation of racial-ethnic divisions by those in power, and symbolic interactionists stress how labels create selective perception and the self-fulfilling prophecies. Dominant groups typically practice one of five policies toward minority groups: genocide, population transfer, internal colonialism, segregation, assimilation, or pluralism. We can see many examples throughout history both in the U.S. and globally that demonstrate these patterns of intergroup relations. The major ethnic groups in the United States, ranked from largest to smallest, are European Americans, Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Each minority group faces different issues. African Americans are increasingly divided into middle and lower classes, with very different experiences. Latinos are divided by country of origin. The well-being of Asian Americans varies by country of origin. For Native Americans, the issues are poverty, nationhood, and settling treaty obligations. The primary issues that dominate race-ethnic relations today are immigration, affirmative action, and how to develop a truly multicultural society. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 12, you should be able to: 1. Explain how the concept of race is both a reality and a myth. ( )

2 Chapter 12: Race and Ethnicity 2. Distinguish between race and ethnicity. ( ) 3. Describe the characteristics of minority groups and dominant groups. ( ) 4. Know what is meant by ethnic identity and the four factors that heighten or reduce it. (331) 5. Differentiate between prejudice and discrimination. ( ) 6. Describe how prejudice can be learned through association with different groups and through the internalizing of dominant norms ( ) 7. Distinguish between individual discrimination and institutional discrimination. ( ) 8. Understand the psychological and sociological theories of prejudice. ( ) 9. List the six patterns of intergroup relations that develop between minority and dominant groups and provide examples for each. ( ) 10. Understand the racial breakdown of racial-ethnic groups in the United States (341) 11. Compare and contrast the experiences of White Europeans, Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in the United States. ( ) 12. Talk about the major issues and debates currently dominating race and ethnic relations in the United States including immigration and affirmative action. ( ) 13. State how the United States can move toward a multicultural society. (358) KEY TERMS After studying the chapter, review the definition for each of the following terms. assimilation: the process of being absorbed into the mainstream culture (339) authoritarian personality: Theodor Adorno's term for people who are prejudiced and rank high on scales of conformity, intolerance, insecurity, respect for authority, and submissiveness to superiors (336) compartmentalize: to separate acts from feelings or attitudes (339) discrimination: an act of unfair treatment directed against an individual or a group (331) dominant group: the group with the most power, greatest privileges, and highest social status (330) ethnic cleansing: a policy of population elimination, including forcible expulsion and genocide (339) ethnicity (and ethnic): having distinctive cultural characteristics (328) ethnic work: activities designed to discover, enhance, or maintain ethnic and racial identification (331) genocide: the systematic annihilation or attempted annihilation of people because of their presumed race or ethnic group (326) individual discrimination: the negative treatment of one person by another on the basis of that person's perceived characteristics (334) institutional discrimination: negative treatment of a minority group that is built into a society's institutions; also called systemic discrimination (334) internal colonialism: the policy of economically exploiting a minority group (339) melting pot: the view that Americans of various backgrounds would blend into a sort of ethnic stew (331) minority group: people who are singled out for unequal treatment, and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination (327) multiculturalism (also called pluralism): a philosophy or political policy that permits or encourages ethnic difference (340) population transfer: forcing a minority group to move (339) prejudice: an attitude or prejudging, usually in a negative way (332) race: inherited physical characteristics that distinguish one group from another (326) racism: prejudice and discrimination on the basis of race (331)

3 Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach reserve labor force: the unemployed; unemployed workers who are thought of as being in reserve capitalists take them out of reserve (put them back to work) during times of high production and lay them off (put them back in reserve) when they are no longer needed (337) scapegoat: an individual or group unfairly blamed for someone else's troubles (335) segregation: the policy of keeping racial or ethnic groups apart (339) selective perception: seeing certain features of an object or situation, but remaining blind to others (337) split-labor market: workers are split along racial, ethnic, gender, age or any other lines; this split is exploited by owners to weaken the bargaining power of workers (337) WASP: a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant; narrowly, an American of English descent; broadly, an American of western European ancestry (342) white ethnics: white immigrants to the United States whose culture differs from that of WASPs (342) KEY PEOPLE Review the major theoretical contributions or findings of these people. Theodor Adorno: Adorno identified the authoritarian personality type. (336) Kathleen Blee: She interviewed women who were members of the KKK and Aryan Nation. She found that their racism was not the cause of their joining, but the result of their membership in those groups. (332) Ashley Doane: Doane identified four factors that affect an individual s sense of ethnic identity. (331) John Dollard: This psychologist first suggested that prejudice is the result of frustration and scapegoats become the targets for their frustration. ( ) Rapheal Ezekiel: This sociologist did participant observation of neo-nazis and the Ku Klux Klan in order to examine racism from inside racist organizations. ( ) William Gray: The leader of the United Negro College Fund who believes that self-segregation among races helps minority groups to feel more accepted and welcome on college and university colleges. (334) Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji: These psychologists created the Implicit Association Test. They found that we learn the ethnic maps of our culture and a route to biased perception. (333) Eugene Hartley: His study found that prejudice does not depend on negative experiences with others. Those who are prejudice against racial-ethnic groups are likely prejudice against others. (332) Douglas Massey: This sociologists conducted research with students on race and the real estate industry. He found that white students experiences were significantly different from those of African-American students, with the latter less likely to get a call back from an agent, less likely to be told an apartment was available, and more likely to pay an application fee. (350) Peggy McIntosh: Being white is a taken-for-granted background assumption of U.S. society. (343) Ashley Montagu: This physical anthropologist pointed out that some scientists have classified humans into only two races while others have identified as many as two thousand. ( ) Alejandro Portes and Rueben Rumbaut: These sociologists looked at the impact that immigration has had on our country, pointing out that there has always been an antiimmigrant sentiment present. (356)

4 Chapter 12: Race and Ethnicity Muzafer and Carolyn Sherif: The Sherifs researched the functions of prejudice and found that it builds in-group solidarity. (33) W. I. and Dorothy Thomas: The Thomases observed that once people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences. (328) William Wilson: Wilson is known for his work on racial discrimination, in which he argues that class is a more important factor than race in explaining patterns of inequality. (349) Louis Wirth: Wirth offered a sociological definition of minority group. (322)

5 Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach PRACTICE TEST 1. From a sociological perspective, which of the following statements concerning race is correct? (326) a. some races are, in fact, intellectually superior to others. b. pure race actually does exist. c. no race is destined to establish a higher cultural and higher social order than any other race. d. genocide is often due to a sense of racial superiority. 2. Ethnic and ethnicity refer to: (328) a. visible characteristics. b. cultural characteristics. c. racial characteristics. d. geographically-based identifications of groups of people. 3. What is a minority group? (329) a. a group with a low population relative to other groups in an area b. a group that has migrated to an area c. a group that has been singled out for unequal treatment and regards itself as an object of collective discrimination d. a group with a low population worldwide 4. All of the following are true about minority groups EXCEPT that: ( ) a. minority group status is ascribed rather than achieved. b. their physical and cultural traits are held in low esteem by the dominant group. c. members of a minority group feel little group solidarity. a. minorities tend to marry within their own group. 5. What is discrimination? (331) a. preconceived attitudes toward a group b. negative attitudes based on race c. unfair actions directed toward an individual or group d. preconceived attitudes about how others will act 6. Which of the following factors affects a group's sense of ethnic identity? (331) a. the amount of power the group has b. the size of the group c. the degree to which the group's physical appearance differs from the mainstream 7. Many people today are tracing their family lines. This is an example of: (331) a. ethnic identity. b. ethnic enclaves. c. ethnic work. d. ethnic pride.

6 Chapter 12: Race and Ethnicity 8. From her interviews with women in the KKK and Aryan Nation, what did, Kathleen Blee conclude: (332) a. these women are basically ignorant people who want to stir up problems. b. these women did extensive research on the group prior to membership c. these women joined because it matched their racist beliefs d. racism was a result of membership in the group not the cause of joining the group 9. Negative treatment on the basis of personal characteristics is: (334) a. individual discrimination. b. individual prejudice. c. institutional discrimination. d. institutional prejudice 10. What is institutional discrimination? (334) a. discrimination by one group against another b. discrimination against a group that is built into a society s social structure c. discrimination against all other groups by members of a particular social institution d. the perception by some that societal institutions are discriminatory 11. The Federal Reserve Board study on the relationship between race and obtaining a mortgage loan found that: (334) a. even if income levels were equal, African Americans were more likely than whites to be turned down for a loan. b. there was no pattern of any institutionalized discrimination. c. a significant decrease in African Americans receiving loans since d. income was the only factor used as a basis for receiving a loan. 12. The best example of a country that practices multiculturalism is: (340) a. America. b. Switzerland. c. Germany. d. South Africa. 13. According to John Dollard, what is the source of prejudice? ( ) a. the authoritarian personality b. frustration c. a split-labor market d. selective perception 14. Why do functionalists consider prejudice functional for some groups? ( ) a. it is a useful weapon in maintaining social divisions. b. it contributes to the creation of scapegoats. c. it helps to create solidarity within the group by fostering antagonisms directed against other groups. d. it affects how members of one group perceive members of other groups.

7 Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach 15. According to conflict theorists, prejudice: (337) a. benefits capitalists by splitting workers along racial or ethnic lines. b. contributes to the exploitation of workers, thus producing a split-labor market. c. keeps workers from demanding higher wages and better working conditions. 16. Symbolic interactionists stress that prejudiced people: ( ) a. are born that way. b. have certain types of personalities. c. learn their prejudices in interaction with others. d. none of the above. 17. Genocide: (338) a. occurred when Hitler attempted to destroy all Jews. b. is the systematic annihilation of a race or ethnic group. c. often requires the cooperation of ordinary citizens. 18. The process of being absorbed into the mainstream culture is called: (339) a. pluralism. b. colonialism. c. assimilation. d. segregation. 19. According to your text, Latinos are distinguished from other ethnic minorities in the United States by: ( ) a. the Spanish language. b. the fact that virtually all Latinos entered the United States illegally. c. the short length of time Latinos have been in the United States. 20. Following the abolishment of slavery, Jim Crow laws were passed in many southern states to: (347) a. segregate African Americans. b. integrate the South by force. c. establish separate but equal accommodations. d. give African Americans the right to vote. 21. In what year was the Civil Rights Act passed that made it illegal to discriminate in restaurants, theatres, and other public places? (347) a b c d William Julius Wilson s central argument in his various books is that: (349) a. racism is no longer a dominant factor in American society. b. social class is more central to the African American experience than is race. c. race is more of a factor for Asian Americans than it is for African Americans. d. white Americans are experiencing a type of reverse racism from African Americans and Asian Americans.

8 Chapter 12: Race and Ethnicity 23. Massey s study of those making phone calls to rental agents shows that: (350) a. callers were discriminated against on the basis of race, but not gender. b. stealth racism was a viable factor of discrimination. c. African Americans experienced less discrimination than did Asian Americans. d. social class was not a significant factor. 24. The country with the largest percentage of origin for Asian Americans is: (351) a. India. b. Vietnam. c. Korea. d. China. 25. What is a difference between the earlier wave of immigration at the turn of the last century and the current wave? (356) a. the current wave is much smaller. b. the current wave is more global in content. c. the current wave is experiencing a more welcoming environment.

9 Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach Answer Key 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. C 6. D 7. C 8. D 9. A 10. B 11. A 12. B 13. B 14. C 15. D 16. C 17. D 18. C 19. A 20. A 21. D 22. B 23. B 24. D 25. B