Patterns of
Minority Groups
Treatment
MCS
Mrs. McVey
Minority
 What
does the word “minority” mean?
Minorities
 Minority:
group of people with physical
or cultural traits different from those of
the dominant group in society
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Distinctive physical or cultural characteristics that
can be used to separate from society
Dominated by majority
Often believed to inferior
Common sense of identity, strong group loyalty
Majority determines who belongs to minority
Minority
 Women
out number men in the United
States…so why are women a minority?
(Think about what the previous slide said)
Race & Ethnicity
 RACE:
People sharing certain inherited
physical characteristics that are considered
important within a society (how you look)
 ETHNICITY:
group identified by cultural,
religious, or national characteristics (where
you come from)
 Melting
 Toss
pot
salad
Assimilation
 Assimilation
is the blending or fusing of minority
groups into the dominant society
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

Melting pot
Tossed salad
Anglo-conformity is the most common pattern of
assimilation
 Cultural
pluralism is the desire of a group to
maintain some sense of identity separate from
the dominant group
Patterns of Conflict
 Genocide
(most extreme): systematic effort
to destroy an entire population

Examples from history?
 Population
transfer: minority is forced to
move to a remote location or leave entirely
 Subjugation (most common): minority group
is denied equal access to the benefits of
society
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De jure segregation = by law
De facto segregation = everyday practice
Pluralism
 Policy
that allows each group within a
society to keep its unique cultural identitiy
 Example:
Switzerland; three official
languages, loyalty to Switzerland, one
group doesn’t not have a dominate or
minority role in Swiss society
Assimilation
 Blending
of culturally distinct groups into a
single group with a common culture and
identity
 Voluntary, occurs naturally over time due
to daily interactions, or forced
 Example: Native American children sent
to mission schools to help them adopt the
English language, European styles of
dress, and learn about Christianity
Legal Protection
 Legal
steps taken to ensure that they
rights of minority groups are protected
 Example:
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting
Rights Act of 1965, Affirmative Action
Segregation
 Policies
that physically separate a minority
group from the dominate group
 De
jure (by law) or De Facto (societal
norms like economics)
 Example:
Jewish ghettos; Jim Crow Laws
Subjugation
 Maintaining
force
 Example:
Africa
control over a group through
slavery; apartheid in South
Population Transfer
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Indirect or direct transfer of a minority group
to a new territory by the dominate group
Indirect—dominate group makes life so
miserable for the minority group they choose
to leave the area
Direct—movement to a new location with use
of force or laws
Example: Native American Reservations;
Japanese Internment
Extermination/Genocide
 Intentional
destruction of the entire
targeted population
 Also known as genocide or ethnic
cleansing
 Example: Holocause
Reasons for Discrimination &
Prejudice

Social norms: lays out ways in which members
of society are expected to relate to members
of certain groups
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Personality: authoritarians, conformists, angry,
likely to blame others
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Scapegoating: blaming others when cause or
resolution to problems is unknown or out of
one’s reach
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Competition for scarce resources: JOBS