Question 1

Sociologists use the term __________ for a group that is advantaged by greater power and access to resources in a society

Accepted Answer

A dominant group is a group that holds the advantage of power and access to resources in a society. This group is often the majority and holds more authority and privilege than other groups. This term is widely used by sociologists to describe the group that has greater influence and control over social institutions and patterns of culture in a society.

Question 2

Although the United States has claimed Puerto Rico as a territory since 1917, Puerto Ricans are not considered citizens of the United States.

Accepted Answer

Puerto Ricans are considered U.S. citizens, but they have limited rights and representation compared to citizens living in a U.S. state.

Question 3

The term __________ refers to blatant behavior and may take the form of public statements about the "inferiority" of members of a racial or ethnic group.

Accepted Answer

Overt racism refers to explicit and blatant discriminatory behavior or statements that openly express racist views, such as public declarations of the "inferiority" of certain racial or ethnic groups.

Question 4

Sociologists use the term __________ for a group whose members are disadvantaged by physical or cultural characteristics, are subjected to unequal treatment by the controlling group, and who regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination.

Accepted Answer

A subordinate group is a group that experiences social disadvantage due to physical or cultural characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexuality. They are often subject to unequal treatment by the dominant group and may feel a sense of collective discrimination. The other answer choices do not accurately describe this concept.

Question 5

The sociological term for a group of people distinguished by others or by themselves, primarily on the basis of cultural characteristics or national origin, is __________.

Accepted Answer

An ethnic group is a group of individuals who are distinguished from others or themselves by cultural characteristics or national origin, which can include language, beliefs, customs, and traditions. The other choices, such as race, tribal group, and folk group, do not encompass the variety of cultural and national distinctions that make up ethnic groups.

Question 6

The term ethnicity refers to __________.

Accepted Answer

Ethnicity refers to a person's cultural background or national origin, which can include shared customs, traditions, and beliefs. It often goes beyond just race or physical characteristics, and can encompass various aspects of identity and culture.

Question 7

Sociologists emphasize that race____________________________.

Accepted Answer

Sociologists emphasize that race is a socially constructed reality, meaning that it is not based on biology but rather on social and cultural factors such as political power, historical events, and social attitudes. This perspective challenges the idea that race is a fixed characteristic and recognizes the fluidity and variability of race across time and place.

Question 8

__________ is the term for a category of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, often on the basis of real or alleged physical characteristics such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, or other subjectively selected attributes.

Accepted Answer

Race is the term for a category of people who have been singled out as inferior or superior, often based on physical characteristics. Culture refers to the shared values, beliefs, and practices of a group, while tribal and ethnic groups refer to social and cultural groups based on ancestry, geographic location, or culture.

Question 9

The definition of races as distinct biological categories first emerged in __________.

Accepted Answer

The concept of races as distinct biological categories emerged in the 19th century as a way to justify slavery and colonialism. The idea was used to promote the notion that certain races were inherently superior or inferior to others. This thinking was used to justify the exploitation and oppression of non-white peoples, and it became the basis of many discriminatory policies and practices.

Question 10

Ethnocentrism is maintained and perpetuated by __________, which is/are overgeneralization(s) about the appearance, behavior, or other characteristics of members of particular categories.

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes are overgeneralizations made about members of particular categories. They can be based on a person's membership to a specific race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other group. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they are always inaccurate and can lead to harmful attitudes and behaviors towards individuals and groups. Stereotypes contribute to the maintenance and perpetuation of ethnocentrism, as they reinforce the belief that one's own culture, values, and beliefs are superior to others.

Question 11

Within sports, team mascots that depict Native Americans in beads and paint, wearing headdresses, and doing the "tomahawk" chop are examples of __________.

Accepted Answer

The use of Native American mascots in sports perpetuates stereotypical and inaccurate representations of an entire group of people. It reduces them to a caricature and reinforces harmful stereotypes.

Question 12

__________ is a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices used to justify the superior treatment of one racial or ethnic group and the inferior treatment of another racial or ethnic group.

Accepted Answer

Racism is a systemic and societal issue that is caused by a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that are used to justify the superior treatment of one racial or ethnic group over another. Racism can manifest in various forms, including institutional, structural, and interpersonal. Discrimination, stereotyping, and profiling can all be forms of racism, but none of these terms capture the full range and complexity of racism as a social phenomenon.

Question 13

Sociologists would term whites in the United States with Northern European ancestry (often referred to as Euro-Americans, white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, or WASPs) the __________.

Accepted Answer

Whites in the United States with Northern European ancestry are considered the dominant group because they hold greater power, privilege, and status in society compared to subordinate or minority groups.

Question 14

__________ refers to the tendency to regard one's own culture and group as the standard, and thus superior, whereas all other groups are seen as inferior.

Accepted Answer

Ethnocentrism refers to the perception that one's own cultural beliefs and behaviors are superior to those of other cultures. It involves using one's own cultural standards as the basis for evaluating the behaviors and beliefs of people from other cultures, and often results in the belief that one's own culture is superior to all others.

Question 15

Used sociologically, __________ most commonly refers to a negative attitude based on faulty generalizations about members of specific racial, ethnic, or other groups.

Accepted Answer

Prejudice refers to a negative attitude or belief about a particular group of people. It is often based on stereotypes and can lead to discriminatory behavior towards members of that group. Stereotyping refers to the act of making generalizations about a group of people without regard for individual differences, while discrimination refers to the unequal treatment of individuals based on their membership in a particular group. Profiling is a specific type of discrimination that involves targeting individuals based on characteristics such as their race, ethnicity, or religion.

Question 16

In the United States, in __________, for the first time individuals were able to identify themselves on the Census as being of more than one race.

Accepted Answer

The option that best fits the description in the question is C) 2000. In that year, the U.S. Census Bureau allowed individuals to identify with more than one race, acknowledging the diversity of the country's population. Before that year, individuals had to choose one race or ethnicity to identify themselves.

Question 17

The identifiers Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, and Italian Americans refer to a person's __________.

Accepted Answer

The identifiers Jewish Americans, Irish Americans, and Italian Americans refer to a person's ethnic group, which is a social category based on a shared culture, history, and traditions. While neighborhood and folkways may be associated with ethnic groups, they are not the defining characteristics of an ethnic group. Additionally, racial identity refers to a person's physical characteristics and is not necessarily connected to their culture or traditions.

Question 18

Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of Americans identifying as more than one race on the Census increased by __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Between 2000 and 2010, the percentage of...

Question 19

In 1947, __________ broke the "color line" to become the first African American in Major League Baseball.

Accepted Answer

Jackie Robinson broke the "color line" when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first African American in Major League Baseball. Henry Aaron and Willie Mays were both African American players who joined the Major Leagues several years later, in 1954 and 1951, respectively. Satchel Paige was a famous African American pitcher who played in the Negro Leagues before integrating into the Major Leagues in 1948, one year after Robinson.

Question 20

Sociologists sometimes put the term "race" in quotation marks because_________________.

Accepted Answer

Sociologists recognize that the term "race" has little meaning in a biological sense and is instead a socially constructed concept. Placing it in quotation marks emphasizes this point.

Quiz 9: Race and Ethnicity