Chapter 12 Race And Ethnicity Key Terms

Ethnic groups A social category of people who share a common culture. Racialization A process whereby some social category such as social class or nationality takes on what are perceived in the society to be race characteristics.

Race A group treated as distinct in society on the basis of certain characteristics that have been assigned social importance in society. Racial formation The process by which groups come to be defined as a race.

Dominant group Group that assigns a racial or ethnic group to subordinate status in society is called the dominant group. Minority group Any distinct group in society that shares common group characteristics and is forced to occupy low status because of prejudice and discrimination.

Stereotypes Oversimplified set of beliefs about members of a social group or social stratum that is used to categorize individuals of that group. Salience principle States that we categorize people on the basis of what appears initially prominent and obvious about them.

Stereotype interchangeability Holds that racial, gender, cultural, and class stereotypes, especially negative ones, are often interchangeable among groups. Prejudice The evaluation of a social group, and individuals within that group, based on conceptions about the social group that are held despite facts that contradict it, and that involve prejudgment and misjudgment.

Ethnocentrism The belief that one's group is superior to all other groups. Discrimination Overt negative and unequal treatment of the members of some social group or stratum solely because of their membership in that group or stratum.

Residential segregation Spatial separation of racial and ethnic groups into different residential areas. Racism The perception and treatment of a racial or ethnic group or member of that group as intellectually, socially and culturally inferior to that group.

Aversive racism Racism that can be subtle, covert, and nonobvious. Dominative racism International, overt racism, involves verbal racial slurs or physical assaults.

Institutional racism Negative treatment and oppression of one racial or ethnic group by society’s existing institutions based on the presumed inferiority of the oppressed group. Scapegoat theory Argues that, historically, members of the dominant group in the United States have harbored various frustrations in their desire to achieve social and economic success.

Authoritarian personality Characterized by a tendency to rigidly categorize other people, as well as tendencies to submit to authority, rigidly conform, be intolerant of ambiguity, and inclined to superstition. Racial-ethnic discrimination Unequal treatment of a person based on race or ethnicity. May be combined with other forms of discrimination, producing the double jeopardy effect.

Assimilate Process by which a minority becomes socially, economically and culturally absorbed within the dominant society. Gendered racism theory Refers to the interactive or combined effects of racism and sexism in the oppression of women of color.

Anti-Semitism Extreme anti-Jewish prejudice. Cultural pluralism Defined as different groups in society keeping their distinctive cultures while coexisting peacefully with the dominant group.

Segregation The spatial and social separation of racial and ethnic groups. Urban underclass A grouping of people, largely minority and poor, who live at the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in urban areas.

Affirmative action Race specific policy for reducing job and education inequality.