Q&A Hero

Q: Compared to the past, American prejudice today can best be described as more a. disparaging. b. harmful. c. subtle d. individual.

Q: Tamara comments to her partner that their neighbor, Sam, must be a "welfare cheat" because Sam receives food stamps but just purchased a new smartphone. Tamara's comment illustrates an example of a. ideological thinking. b. cognitive prejudice. c. affective discrimination. d. institutional racism.

Q: The level of analysis that considers individuals is called the __________ level of analysis, whereas the level that considers groups is called the __________ level of analysis. a. institutional; ideological b. ideological; prejudicial c. sociological; determinate d. psychological; sociological

Q: The primary goal of Samaritans on the Border is to: a. Reduce the number of migrants entering the United States b. Reduce the number of migrant deaths c. Improve the living conditions in Mexico d. Help migrants cross the border illegally

Q: Michelle is a poor African American woman. Her race, class, and gender may combine to produce a unique kind of inequality. The concept that describes this phenomenon is known as: a. Matrix of domination b. Marx's class oppression c. Minority group d. Triple discrimination e. Triple melting pot

Q: Researchers taking a "nurture" perspective argue that women and men are different because: a. God has made women and men differently b. Females and males have significantly different levels of the hormone testosterone c. Girls and boys are taught to act in different ways d. Females and males are "hardwired" differently in their biology

Q: Societies that have a tradition of male dominance where men have more control over the economy and leadership positions in religion, politics, and other institutions are: a. Paternalistic b. Patrilineal c. Patriarchal d. Patrifocal e. Patrimonial

Q: Which of the following is false regarding gender? a. In most societieswhether hunter gatherer or advanced industrialgirls and boys are socialized to do different societal tasks. b. When considering patriarchal societies, women can be considered a separate minority group. c. Women within each minority group have divergent experiences influenced by the ways in which race, ethnicity, gender, and class combine, overlap, and crosscut each other to form a "matrix of domination." d. The fact that "appropriate" behaviors for men and women vary from culture to culture suggests there is no biological basis for gender roles. e. Sociologists consider gender and race to be similar social constructs in that there is little debate about the role of biology in either case.

Q: Which of the following would Lawrence Hill (Developing a Racial Identity)disagree with based on his own experiences growing up in Canada? a. Whites don't have to consider race in the same way that minorities do since they are members of the dominant group. b. "Mixed race" people often experience limbo because others don't know what to make of their racial identity. c. Racial identity is fairly rigid since it is primarily determined through one's interactions with others. d. Racial identity is primarily about how you see yourself, about how you construct a sense of belonging, community, awareness, and allegiance. e. Lawrence Hill wouldn't disagree with any of the above. They are all true, according to his essay.

Q: According to your book, which of the following could not be considered minorities? a. Very obese Americans b. The aged c. Gay and lesbian Americans d. Women e. Whites

Q: Institutional discrimination is often difficult to identify and measure because: a. It usually is masked by overt racism b. The individuals who implement it may be non-prejudiced and unaware of what they are doing c. It ended decades ago, and we have to rely on historical accounts to conduct research d. It affects only the most outspoken and angry members of minority groups e. It is virtually nonexistent today

Q: The distinction between prejudice and discrimination is: a. Prejudice is a behavior; discrimination is an attitude b. Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is a behavior c. Prejudice is an ideology; discrimination is an attitude d. Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is an ideology e. Prejudice is a feeling; discrimination involves ways of thinking

Q: A social situation in which prejudice is strongly approved and supported might: a. Be the best place to counter general beliefs about minority groups b. Evoke discrimination in otherwise unprejudiced individuals c. Make people feel guilty so that they change their attitudes d. Make people less likely to act on their negative thoughts and feelings e. None of the above

Q: Minority group status affects access to different "life chances" including: a. Better health care b. Access to wealth and income c. Access to decent housing d. Access to higher education e. All of the above

Q: You work at the local bank as a loan processor. Although you believe that whites and African Americans should be treated equally, your boss demands that you turn down any loans requested by African Americans. According to your text, you are a(n): a. Unprejudiced nondiscriminatory b. Unprejudiced discriminator c. Prejudiced nondiscriminatory d. Prejudiced discriminator e. Authoritarian bigot

Q: The unequal treatment of a group or individual based on his or her group membership is: a. Institutional prejudice b. Discrimination c. Racist stereotyping d. Prejudicial racism e. Personal prejudice

Q: When entire groups are treated unfairly and unequally in the institutions of the larger society, this is called: a. Institutional discrimination b. Prejudice c. Racism d. Societal prejudice e. Personal discrimination

Q: A person sees a Mexican American male and assumes he is an illegal immigrant. This is an example of: a. Prejudice b. Stereotyping c. Individual discrimination d. Legal discrimination e. Prejudice leading to institutionalized discrimination

Q: The "feeling" aspect of prejudice is called the ______ dimension. a. affective b. emotional c. behavioral d. cognitive e. racist

Q: "History generally has been written from the standpoint of the winners." This statement can be reflected in which of the following? a. The history of slavery was written by slave owners, while slaves were kept illiterate by law. b. The history of poor workers establishing the labor movement has often been ignored or trivialized in history books. c. The experiences of minority group males are often treated as if they were the experiences of the entire group. d. Women's history is often completely invisible or treated as a joke. e. All of the above

Q: At the individual level, the "thinking/feeling" dimension of minority group mistreatment is called: a. Ideological racism b. Discrimination c. Institutional racism d. Prejudice e. Stereotyping

Q: Women can be viewed as a minority group because: a. There are fewer women than men in the United States b. They are physically identifiable as different from men c. They have a consciousness of being "different" from men d. They have less property, prestige, and power in our society e. Both B and D above

Q: The most visible marker of minority group membership is skin color, and it is: a. The most reliable marker b. Superficial and relatively unimportant c. Regarded as a matter of great significance d. A creation of historical and social processes e. B, C, and D above

Q: Variations in human skin color: a. Balance the dangers of exposure to sunlight with the need for vitamin D b. Have no relationship to climate or geography c. Are inversely related to the concentration of melanin: the greater the melanin, the lighter the skin d. Are related to the distance of the equators: the closer to the equator, the lighter the skin color e. Have clear and definite points of demarcation

Q: In Western Europe, scientific and philosophical interest in the concept of race began: a. In the 1920s when IQ tests first appeared b. During the age of European conquest and colonization of nonwhites c. Just after the American Civil War d. Thousands of years ago when the Vikings reached North America e. During slavery

Q: Stratification is an important concept in the study of minority groups because: a. Inequality and minority group status are synonymous b. Without minority groups, there would be no inequality c. Minority groups are often created by struggles over control of valued goods and services d. These days, minority groups have more prestige and power than dominant groups e. Minority groups control significantly more resources than dominant groups

Q: According to Lenski's theory, inequality in a postindustrial society would center on control of: a. Factories and mines b. Educational opportunities and technologies c. Colleges and universities d. Land and labor e. Status and prestige

Q: According to Weber, a princess who was rich but "fell on hard times" and lost all of her wealth would be: a. High on prestige, high on class b. High on class, low on prestige c. Low on class, low on power d. High on prestige, low on class e. High on power, low on class

Q: The United States is often referred to as a(n): a. Postindustrial society b. Industrial society c. Preindustrial agricultural society d. A and B above e. None of the above

Q: Gerhard Lenski is important because he linked the nature of inequality to the _____ of a society. a. group structure b. amount of prestige c. wealth d. level of development e. castes

Q: According to Weber, a person who became rich by cleaning septic tanks would be higher on_____ but lower on _____. a. power, class b. status, position c. class, prestige d. equality, inequality e. status, class

Q: In opposition to Marx, Weber argued that there are _____ dimensions of inequality. a. one b. two c. three d. four e. dozens of

Q: Max Weber thought that Marx's ideas about inequality were too: a. Narrow b. Optimistic c. Complex d. Abstract e. Pessimistic

Q: In examining inequality, Weber might argue that a famous and wealthy rapper might rank: a. High on class, high on prestige b. High on class, low on prestige c. Low on class, low on power d. Low on class, high on power e. High on power, low on class

Q: Which of the following people best illustrates the difference between prestige and class? a. Kim Park, the 24-year-old immigrant from Korea who works in his uncle's grocery store b. Shirley Umphlett, the African American whose parents moved to New York from Alabama in the 1920s c. Mary Ann O'Brien, the fourth-generation Irish Catholic d. George Snyder, the young Native American who was born on a reservation in upstate New York but whose family moved to improve their job chances e. Hector Gonzalez, whose parents cross the border annually to work as migrant laborers but who return to their village in Mexico at the end of the season

Q: Marx believed that conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat was inevitable and that the ultimate result of this class struggle would be: a. The victory of the working class b. The creation of a utopian society without exploitation, coercion, or inequality c. A classless society d. None of the above e. All of the above

Q: "The most important source of inequality arises from a person's relationship to the means of production." This statement might be heard from a: a. Capitalist b. Weberian c. Libertarian d. Marxist e. Republican

Q: Marxism is a theory of history and social change in which ____ is a central concept. a. inequality b. prejudice c. fame or respect d. international war e. consensus

Q: Societies are divided into horizontal layers (or strata) often called: a. Levels of importance b. Social classes c. Horizontal layers d. Social tiers e. None of the above

Q: Stratification is another term for: a. Prejudice b. Discrimination c. The unequal distribution of valued resources d. Status symbol e. All of the above

Q: Laws on miscegenation referred to laws that prevented: a. People from passing as members of another race b. People of different races from eating together in public restaurants c. Members of different races from intermarrying d. Members of different races from going to the same schools e. Members of the same sex from marrying

Q: Which of the following characteristics is not typical of ascribed status? a. It is usually acquired at birth. b. It typically cannot be changed easily. c. It is usually involuntary. d. It can be altered through hard work and motivation. e. It is usually for life.

Q: Skin color is an important marker of group membership in our society because it: a. Was selected during a complex and lengthy historical process b. Became important because we attributed significance to it c. Has scientific significance d. None of the above e. A and B above

Q: Which of the following is not an example of a cultural trait that may be associated with minority status? a. Language b. Facial features c. Religion d. Types of foods eaten e. Speech patterns

Q: The social or physical characteristics that mark the boundaries between groups are usually: a. Highly visible b. Selected by the minority groups themselves c. Scientifically significant d. Selected for their biological importance e. Subtle

Q: In the next 50 years, the total percentage of minority group Americans is projected to increase to: a. 50% b. 30% c. 65% d. 25% e. 40%

Q: People classified as "Asian and Pacific Islander": a. Represent many different national and linguistic backgrounds b. Should never be mistaken for unchanging or "natural" divisions between people c. Vary by social class, religion, gender, and in thousands of other ways d. None of the above e. A, B, and C

Q: Which of the following would be classified as primarily an ethnic minority group? a. African Americans b. Native Americans c. Jewish Americans d. Asian Americans e. Women

Q: The largest minority group in the United States is: a. Asian and Pacific Islanders b. African Americans c. Hispanics d. Native Americans e. Non-Hispanic whites

Q: Which of the following is not one of the defining characteristics of a minority group? a. Inequality b. A pattern of disadvantage or inequality c. Visible identifying traits or characteristics d. Small group size e. Usually determined by birth

Q: The population of the United States is currently: a. Affected by long-standing unresolved minority issues b. Affected by rising immigration rates c. Increasingly diverse d. Increasingly multilingual e. All of the above

Q: The two groups projected to increase dramatically in the United States over the next half century are: a. Asian and Pacific Islanders and Hispanic Americans b. Non-Hispanic white Americans and African Americans c. Irish Americans and Eastern Europeans d. African Americans and Hispanic Americans e. Africans and Arab Americans

Q: Why did the United States turn to China when North Korea conducted a second nuclear test? Was this a good idea? Why or why not?

Q: How important is the relationship between the United States and Russia compared to other countries today?

Q: Explain the constitutional clash of powers between the president and Congress in the area of foreign policymaking.

Q: In what ways has the United States made humanitarian efforts in different parts of the world?

Q: Describe the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and the efforts to bring peace to this troubled part of the world.

Q: Explain the role that China has come to play in the world. How should the United States interact with China in the future?

Q: Explain the problem of nuclear proliferation in relation to Iran and North Korea.

Q: Explain the role of the United States in Afghanistan and the problems encountered there.

Q: Analyze the two Iraq wars in terms of both causes and consequences, and assess the impact of both on the future of the Middle East.

Q: Explain the emergence of terrorism as the strategy of choice for groups in the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries and how governments have attempted to battle terrorists.

Q: Should the United States practice a foreign policy more oriented toward moral idealism or political realism, and why?

Q: Perhaps the closest the United States and the Soviet Union came to a nuclear confrontation was the a. Cuban missile crisis. b. Battle of the Bulge. c. Tet Offensive. d. Khmer Rouge massacre. e. Warsaw standoff.

Q: During the Cold War, there was a. a continuous diplomatic exchange between U.S. and Soviet military advisors. b. never any direct military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. c. an occasional exchange of artillery fire across the East German/West German border. d. direct fighting between U.S. and Soviet ground troops during the Korean War. e. occasional dogfights between U.S. and Soviet fighter planes over Europe.

Q: The doctrine of containment set forth by George F. Kennana. proposed that the United States should seek to "roll back" Communism in Eastern Europe.b. was expressed in the Truman Doctrine enunciated by President Harry Truman in 1947.c. called for the United States to initiate arms reduction talks.d. said that the United States should seek to contain Communist power by invading the Soviet Union.e. was discredited by NATO.

Q: Which of the following is true about the Soviet bloc? a. Its formation was the turning point in World War II. b. It was made up of countries that had seceded from the Soviet Union. c. It consisted of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries with Communist regimes. d. It was designed to prevent supplies from entering West Berlin in 1948. e. It was the alliance set up by the United States and Western Europe to counter the Soviet Union.

Q: The United States was the only major country to emerge from World War II with a. an addition to its territory. b. operational nuclear weapons. c. less than 2,000 casualties. d. a weakened economy. e. an intention to expand its role in the world.

Q: U.S. foreign-policy isolationism can be said to have ended completely whena. The Great Depression began.b. Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.c. the United Nations was founded.d. France and the United States signed a mutual alliance pact during the American Revolution.e. the Korean War started.

Q: After World War I, the United States returned to a state of "normalcy" in foreign policy, which meant a. a continued commitment to international peacekeeping. b. reassuring the public that the United States would act in the role of world policeman. c. a sharp increase in military spending in order to honor commitments made to the allied powers. d. a reduction in military forces and defense spending and a return to isolationism. e. the annexation of additional territory in the Western Hemisphere.

Q: The Monroe Doctrine stated that a. European nations should not establish new colonies in the Western Hemisphere or intervene in the affairs of independent nations of the Western Hemisphere. b. the United States had the authority to intervene in the affairs of European nations if American interests were at stake. c. the United States would take action against the Barbary pirates in order to protect American lives and commerce. d. the United States would not wait to be attacked, but rather would take preemptive action against clear and present dangers. e. the United States would only conduct business with other nations by employing treaties.

Q: Which of the following statements best generalizes United States foreign policy during the 1800s?a. The United States mostly stayed out of European conflicts and politics, but pursued an expansionist policy in the Western Hemisphere.b. The United States expanded around the globe.c. The United States intervened in Europe, but stayed isolated from the Western Hemisphere.d. The United States acted completely isolationist.e. The United States did not engage in any wars in the 1800s.

Q: If the president orders that a certain action be taken, but Congress blocks the action from being executed by refusing to fund it, Congress is exercising a. conscientious objection. b. its power of the purse. c. it veto power. d. its right to free speech. e. its override power.

Q: In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, whicha. required congressional approval before the president could dismiss the Secretary of Defense.b. limited the president's use of troops in military action without congressional approval.c. expanded the president's power over the military.d. was necessary because of the increased threat of nuclear war.e. allowed the president to declare an unlimited national emergency.

Q: Which of the following was a major foreign policy development during the Vietnam War? a. Another Cuban Missile Crisis of sorts involving China and the United States b. An improvement in U.S. foreign policy c. Despite the backing of the United States, South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam d. The creation of the U.S. Navy SEALS e. Border clashes that almost resulted in full-blown nuclear war between the USSR and Iran

Q: Although larger than any other federal department, the Department of Defense a. declined in size after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. b. declined in size after the end of World War II. c. significantly increased in size with the election of Barack Obama. d. significantly increased in size after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. e. declined significantly in size after the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in 2011.

Q: In 2004, the legislature established the ______ to oversee the intelligence community.a. Department of Homeland Securityb. National Security Councilc. vice presidencyd. Office of the Director of National Intelligencee. State Department

Q: Which of the following best describes the intelligence community? a. The people in Washington who make policy b. The armed services c. The government agencies that gather information about the capabilities and intentions of foreign governments d. The people who report directly to the President e. Regulatory agencies

Q: Which of the following is NOT a member of the National Security Council? a. The president of the United States b. The vice president of the United States c. The secretary of state d. The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation e. The secretary of defense

Q: The responsibilities of the State Department includea. formulating defense policy.b. appointing the Secretary of State.c. directly overseeing U.S. intelligence agencies.d. staffing U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.e. overseeing U.S. military operations.