RACE, ETHNICITY AND THE
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Chapter 10, Section 1
RACE

Race= a category of people who share
inherited physical characteristics and
whom others see as being a distinct group.


Ascribed status
Hard to classify race– sociologists have been
trying for years and still do not have a consensus.

Three classifications of race/racial groups:
Caucasoids (whites) fair skin; straight or wavy hair
 Mongoloids (Asians) yellowish or tan skin; distinctive
folds in eyelids
 Negroids (blacks)dark skin and tightly curled hair

ETHNICITY

Ethnicity= set of cultural characteristics
that distinguishes one group from another.

Ascribed status
Ethnic group= people who share common
cultural background and sense of identity.
 Factors included in ethnicity:







National origin
Religion
Language
Customs
Values
In the United States, some ethnicities have held
onto traditions better than others.
MINORITY GROUPS

No particular group of any characteristic is
superior or inferior by nature; humans create
these hierarchies.


Those who hold power in societies value certain
characteristics.
Minority group= a group of people who,
because of physical characteristics or
cultural practices, are singled out or
unequally treated.

Idea by Louis Wirth
CHARACTERISTICS OF MINORITY GROUPS

Must exhibit all of the following to be a minority
group:
1) Group possesses identifiable physical or
cultural characteristics that differ from those
of the dominant group.
2) Group members are victims of unequal
treatment at the hand of dominant group.
3) Membership into group is an ascribed status.
4) Group members share a bond and sense of
loyalty.
5) Members practice endogamy.
JANE ELLIOT

Jane Elliot tested this in her blue-eyed/browneyed experiment
Took 28 students in class (third-graders)
 Eye color determined dominant group (either blue or
brown)
 Rules for each group– privileges and incentives went
to brown-eyed students.
 Reversed the experiment the next day.

- You do not have to write this all down, just have a
general understanding of the experiment!!!

What do you think happened with the students?
MINORITY GROUPS IN THE
UNITED STATES
Chapter 10, Section 3
AFRICAN AMERICANS
~12% of population
 Long history of prejudice and
discrimination
 24% of employed African Americans hold
managerial or professional jobs (35% of whites)
 Concerns:

Education
 Employment
 Income


Becoming more politically active
HISPANICS
~17% of the total population
 Rapidly growing population
 Diverse population– not just one country of
origin
 Concerns:



Lag behind in income and education
Primary states of residence: California, Florida,
New York, Texas, Illinois
ASIAN AMERICANS
~6% of total U.S. population
 Variety of national backgrounds
 Waves of immigration restrictions limited
population over the years
 Contrast between first-generation and
second-generation; poor and
financially/educationally successful
 “Model minority”

NATIVE AMERICANS
~1.5% of total U.S. population
 Concerns:

High poverty
 Poor education

History of forced movement in U.S. as well as
forced assimilation.
 31% live below poverty level

WHITE ETHNICS
White ethnic= immigrants from countries
such as Ireland, Italy, France and Greece
(generally Catholic)
 Assimilation to American society.



Live in ethnic neighborhoods.
Today, generally accepted into mainstream
society.
OTHER MINORITIES?
Pacific Islander- includes Hawaiians…
 Middle Eastern- currently considered ‘Asian’
 Indian- currently ‘Asian’

***Leads to the problem of classification for social
scientists***
PATTERNS OF INTERGROUP
RELATIONS
Chapter 10, Section 2
DISCRIMINATION

Discrimination= denial of equal treatment
to individuals based on their group
membership.

Involves a behavior of some sort.
Can be individual or societal.
 Forms of societal discrimination:

Legal discrimination= discrimination upheld
by law; laws can be changed to remove the
discrimination.
 Institutionalized discrimination=
discrimination that arises due to societal
structure.

PREJUDICE

Prejudice= an unsupported generalization
about a category of people.


Refers to the attitudes one has towards another–
usually negative.
Prejudicial beliefs often used to justify
discrimination are often forms of racism– the
belief that one’s own race or ethnic group is
naturally superior.
PREJUDICE (CONT’D)
Stereotype= an
oversimplified,
exaggerated, or
unfavorable
generalization about a
group of people.
 Robert Merton believed that
if confronted with a
stereotype long enough,
individuals would start to
exhibit behaviors that
makes the stereotype.


Known as self-fulfilling
prophecy.
SOURCES OF DISCRIMINATION

Sociological
Some prejudices are embedded in social norms.
 Maintain membership within a group


Psychological
Individual personality of someone lends to prejudice–
Theodor Adorno
 Scapegoating= placing the blame for one’s
troubles on an innocent individual or group.


Economic
Competition over scarce resources
 Dominant group encourages competition between
minority groups

PATTERNS OF MINORITY GROUP
TREATMENT
o
o
o
o
Cultural pluralism= encourage ethnic and
racial variety.
Assimilation= culturally distinct groups
blend together to form one single group
with a common culture.
Legal protection= minority rights protected
by law.
Segregation= minority group physically
separated from dominant.
De jure segregation= based on laws
• De facto segregation= based on informal norms.
•
PATTERNS OF MINORITY GROUP
TREATMENT (CONT’D)
Subjugation= dominant group controls
minority group through force.
 Population transfer= dominant group moves
minority group to new locations within or
outside the country.
 Extermination= dominant group attempts to
destroy minority group.

Genocide= when the goal of extermination is
intentional destruction of an entire targeted
population.
 Ethnic cleansing= removing a group from an
area through terror, expulsion or mass murder.
