Chapter 11 Flashcards
What surprising trend did Anne Case and Angus Deaton discover in 2015?
Rising mortality rates among middle-aged, less-educated white Americans due to “deaths of despair” such as suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related diseases.
What makes the rise in white American mortality rates unique?
It runs counter to trends in other ethnic groups and Western nations, where mortality rates have continued to decline.
What term do political scientists use to describe the fear of losing dominant status?
Dominant Group Status Threat — the perception that outgroups are rising too quickly, threatening the dominant group’s place.
How does dominant group status threat relate to caste?
Members of the dominant caste may fear equality as a personal demotion, clinging to inherited superiority as their social safety net.
According to W.E.B. Du Bois, what was the “psychological wage” of whiteness?
A sense of public deference and social status given to white Americans, especially poor whites, in exchange for accepting economic inequality.
What historical government programs helped build white wealth while excluding African-Americans?
The Social Security Act, the Wagner Act, and FHA-backed mortgages—all of which excluded or discriminated against Black Americans.
What is unconscious bias and how does it differ from overt racism?
It is automatic, subconscious prejudice that affects behavior without people realizing it—even among those who believe in equality.
What shocking finding came from Devah Pager’s hiring study?
White felons were more likely to be hired than Black applicants with no criminal record.
How does unconscious bias show up in healthcare?
Black patients receive fewer procedures and are under-treated for pain due to stereotypes about their pain tolerance.
How did caste assumptions impact the opioid crisis?
Doctors were more willing to prescribe opioids to white patients, contributing to addiction and rising white mortality—while dismissing addiction in Black communities as criminal.
What was the unintended consequence of excluding Black Americans from substance abuse policy responses in the 1990s?
It left America unprepared for the opioid crisis, reinforcing unequal treatment and weakening societal resilience.
What example did Jonathan Metzl give of caste-related health policy backfiring?
A white man in Tennessee refused Obamacare on principle and died from a treatable liver condition—highlighting how policies meant to exclude others harmed the dominant caste too.
