Chapter 1

Question 1

Affective Prejudice

Answer 1

The emotional or feeling dimension of individual prejudice. The prejudiced individual attaches negative emotions to members of other groups.

Question 2

Apartheid

Answer 2

The policy of extreme racial segregation formerly followed in South Africa

Question 3

Ascribed status

Answer 3

A position in society that is assigned to the individual, usually at birth. Examples of ascribed status include positions based on ethnicity, race, and gender

Question 4

Bourgeoisie

Answer 4

The elite or ruling class in an industrial society that owns or controls the means of production

Question 5

Cognitive prejudice

Answer 5

The thinking dimension of individual prejudice. The prejudiced individual thinks about members of other groups in terms of stereotypes

Question 6

Discrimination

Answer 6

The unequal or unfair treatment of a person or persons based on their group membership

Question 7

Dominant Group

Answer 7

The group that benefits from and typically tries to sustain minority group subordination

Question 8

Ethnic Minority Groups

Answer 8

Minority groups identified primarily by cultural characteristics, such as language or religion

Question 9

Gender

Answer 9

Social characteristic typically associated with women or men. Gender is a social status or position in the social structure. People typically assume a gender identity that is normative and congruent with their biology

Question 10

Gender Norms

Answer 10

Societal expectations for behavior based on one’s gender status

Question 11

Genocide

Answer 11

The deliberate attempt to exterminate an entire group of people

Question 12

Ideological racism

Answer 12

A belief system asserting that a particular group is inferior. Although individuals may subscribe to racist beliefs, the ideology itself is incorporated into the culture of the society and passed on from generation to generation.

Question 13

Institutional Discrimination

Answer 13

A pattern of unequal treatment based on group membership that is built into the daily operations of society

Question 14

Intersectionality

Answer 14

A theoretical perspective in sociology that stresses the crosscutting, linked nature of inequality and the multiplicity of statuses that all people occupy

Question 15

Level of Development

Answer 15

The stage of societal evolution. The stages discussed in this book are agrarian, industrial, and postindustrial

Question 16

Life chances

Answer 16

Opportunities and access to resources such as nutritious food, health care, education, and a job that provides a good income

Question 17

Means of Production

Answer 17

The materials, resources, and social relations by which a society produces and distributes goods and services.

Question 18

Minority Group

Answer 18

A group that experiences a pattern of disadvantage or inequality, has a visible identifying trait, and is a self-conscious social unit. Membership is usually determined at birth, and group members tend to form intimate relations within the group

Question 19

Miscegenation

Answer 19

Marriage or sexual relations between members of different racial groups

Question 20

Modern Racism

Answer 20

A subtle and indirect form of prejudice that incorporates negative feelings about minority groups but not the traditional stereotypes. Also known as color-blind racism and symbolic racism.

Question 21

Patriarchy

Answer 21

Systems of dominance by men. in a patriarchal society, men tend to monopolize power and decision making.

Question 22

Postindustrial societies

Answer 22

A society dominated by service work, information processing, and high technology

Question 23

Power

Answer 23

The ability to affect the decision-making process of a social system

Question 24

Prejudice

Answer 24

The tendency of individuals to think and feel negatively toward others.

Question 25

Prestige

Answer 25

The amount of honor or respect accorded a particular person or group of people

Question 26

Proletariat

Answer 26

The workers in an industrial society

Question 27

Racial Minority Groups

Answer 27

Minority groups identified primarily by physical characteristics such as skin color

Question 28

Selective Perception

Answer 28

The tendency to see only what one expects to see; associated with stereotyping in individual prejudice

Question 29

Sexism

Answer 29

Belief systems that label women as inferior to men and rationalize their lower social status

Question 30

Social Classes

Answer 30

Groups of people who commanded similar amounts of valued goods and services, such as income, property, and education.

Question 31

Social Constructions

Answer 31

Perceptions and ideas shared by a group. These perceptions become real to the people who share them.

Question 32

Social Distance

Answer 32

The degree of intimacy a person is willing to accept with members of other groups

Question 33

Social Mobility

Answer 33

Movement up and down the stratification system

Question 34

Socialization

Answer 34

The process of physical psychological, and social development by which a person learns his or her culture

Question 35

Stereotypes

Answer 35

Overgeneralizations that are thought to apply to all members of a group

Question 36

Stratification

Answer 36

The unequal distribution of valued goods and services (income, job opportunities, etc.) in society; the social class system

Question 37

Subsistence Technology

Answer 37

The means by which a society satisfies basic needs. An agrarian society relies on labor-intensive agriculture, whereas an industrial society relies on machines and inanimate fuel supplies.

Question 38

Vicious Cycle

Answer 38

A process in which a condition (e.g., minority group inferiority) is assumed to be true, and forces are then set in motion to create and perpetuate that condition

Question 39

Agrarian Society

Answer 39

A society whose economy depends on the production of food crops and farmlands.