Chapter 11
Race and Ethnicity
Race and Ethnicity
• Race – socially constructed category comprised
of people who share biologically transmitted
traits that members of a society consider
important
• Ethnicity – a shared cultural heritage
• Minority – category of people, distinguished by
physical or cultural traits, who are socially
disadvantaged
Prejudice and Discrimination
• Prejudice – rigid and irrational generalization
about an entire category of people
• 3 levels of prejudice
– Cognitive level- beliefs and perceptions
– Emotional level- feelings a group arouses in
the individual
– Action-oriented- predisposition to engage in
discriminatory behavior
Prejudice and Discrimination
• Racism – an ideology, belief that one
racial category is innately superior or
inferior to another
• Discrimination – unequal treatment
Prejudice and Discrimination
• Theories
– Psychological- P&D are the result of
individuals who have authoritarian
personalities (fulfills a psychic need)
– Sociological- people will act in a way to
maximize rewards to themselves and
minimize costs
– Enculturation- people are socialized to
believe and behave and can be taught to
participate or resist
Merton’s Chart
D
No
D
Yes
Fair Weather
Liberal
Active Bigot
P
No
All Weather
Liberal
P
Yes
Timid Bigot
Prejudice and Discrimination
• Institutional Prejudice and Discrimination –
bias inherent in the operation of society’s
institutions
• Scapegoating – blaming a person or
category of people for something that is
not their fault
Reproduction of Prejudice and
Discrimination
•
•
•
•
Family
Education
Media
Peer Groups
Patterns of Interaction
• Assimilation – A+B+C = A (everything
becomes what already is)
• Amalgamation – A+B+C = D (melting into
something new)
• Accommodation – A+B+C = A+B+C
(maintaining identity while interacting with
social parity)
Patterns of Interaction
• Segregation – physical and social
separation of categories of people
• Genocide – systematic killing of one
category of people by another