Chapter 13 Practice Questions

Because the law has made most forms of discrimination in the United States illegal, the expression of prejudice a) is more likely to be revealed in microaggressions. b) has declined markedly. c) is more likely to be explicit than implicit. d) is rarely activated when a person is angry or frustrated.

a

John knows and likes most of his Latino classmates but privately believes that his Anglo culture is superior to all others. His belief is evidence of his a) ethnocentrism. b) out-group homogeneity. c) anti-Latino prejudice. d) stereotyping a minority.

a

Rebecca is covering her college's football game against its archrival for the school newspaper. At the game, she interviews six students from her college but decides she needs to interview only one student from the rival school to represent their view of the game. Rebecca is demonstrating a) out-group homogeneity. b) blaming the victim. c) entitlement. d) in-group bias.

a

Suppose you're a bartender and you have a stereotype about people with full-arm tattoos: you think they are more likely to get into fights at your bar than people without tattoos. Your perception illustrates which aspect(s) of stereotypes? a) You are noticing people who confirm your stereotype and overlooking those who don't. b) You are paying attention to aggressive people without tattoos. c) Your stereotype is accurate. d) You are paying attention to nonaggressive people with tattoos.

a

What is a suppressed prejudice? a) A person knows he or she is prejudiced but chooses not to express it in public. b) A person has a tendency to become prejudiced under the right circumstances. c) A person holds a prejudice without being aware of it. d) A person reveals a prejudice subtly, by implying a bias rather than saying so outright

a

What is an aspect of social identity threat? a) Feeling threatened by stereotypes that others hold of our group b) Feeling threatened by prejudices we wish we didn't have c) Feeling threatened by people who confirm our stereotypes d) Feeling threatened by stereotypes we hold about other people

a

What is an implicit prejudice? a) A person holds a prejudice without being aware of it. b) A person knows he or she is prejudiced but chooses not to express it in public. c) A person reveals a prejudice subtly by implying a bias rather than saying so outright. d) A person has a tendency to become prejudiced under the right circumstances.

a

What is one of the main reasons that the jigsaw method is effective? a) It breaks down in-group versus out-group perceptions and stereotypes. b) It requires kids to behave in polite and empathic ways. c) It allows kids to express their real feelings toward one another. d) It sets clear rules for good behavior.

a

What is the key feature of the jigsaw classroom? a) Kids of different ethnicities need each other to solve problems. b) Teachers stop calling on individual students. c) Minority kids get to work in their own language and preferred pace. d) Kids of different ethnicities have a chance to show their individual talents.

a

What is the main social psychological mechanism that makes the jigsaw classroom effective? a) It requires cooperation in pursuit of shared goals. b) It relies on ethnocentrism. c) It emphasizes individual achievement to demonstrate minority competence. d) It measures and overcomes implicit prejudices.

a

What leads us to envy a social group? a) The group is stereotyped as being competent but not warm. b) The group is stereotyped as being incompetent but warm. c) The group is stereotyped as being incompetent and not warm. d) The group is stereotyped as being competent and warm.

a

When Gordon Allport said "defeated intellectually, prejudice lingers emotionally," what did he mean? a) A person's explicit prejudices may decline while implicit prejudices remain. b) You can't argue intellectually with a prejudiced person. c) A prejudiced person cannot intellectually defend his or her attitude. d) A person's implicit prejudices may decline while explicit prejudices remain.

a

Findings from social neuroscience suggest that a) people in some cultures are more likely to form stereotypes than other people. b) it has been evolutionarily beneficial for the brain to be able to rapidly form categories. c) the tendency to form categories and stereotypes is determined largely by experience. d) experience plays almost no role in the ability to notice different categories.

b

Jenny, who is Asian American, is taking a math test. Under which of these conditions is she likely to do best? a) Since Jenny is very good at math, none of these conditions will affect her performance. b) When she's made aware of her Asian identity c) When she's made aware that women don't do as well as men at math d) When she's made aware that she is not at a top-notch university

b

Noah's teachers don't think that Noah is very smart, so they stop paying attention to him or asking him questions. After a few years, Noah decides there is no point trying to do well in school because he's dumb. He has become a victim of a) implicit prejudice. b) a self-fulfilling prophecy. c) the justification of effort. d) stereotype threat

b

What is one of the main problems with the IAT? a) People can't respond to the pairs of associations rapidly enough. b) It may reflect cultural norms more than individual prejudices. c) It is pretty good at identifying racism but not other kinds of prejudice. d) It is a better test of explicit prejudice than implicit prejudice.

b

Which of these ways of thinking can reduce the power of social identity threat? a) Understanding that people's abilities are pretty fixed, so it's not worth being upset if you don't do well on a test b) Being aware that anxiety about taking tests is normal, especially for members of stigmatized groups c) Accepting the cultural stereotype as one that is likely to be based on actual group differences d) Spend 5 minutes before the test reflecting on your stigmatized group identity and how it defines you

b

Following are some explanations of prejudice that social psychologists investigate. Which one doesn't fit? a) Realistic economic conflicts b) Institutional discrimination c) The need for catharsis d) Pressures to conform

c

Increasing contact between groups will reduce prejudice if all of the following conditions are met except one. Which one? a) Common goals b) Approval of authorities c) Higher status of the minority group d) Cooperation between groups

c

The Robber's Cave study created hostility between two groups of boys by a) letting the boys set their own rules and games. b) allowing them to freely express their feelings of anger. c) putting them in competitive situations with prizes for the winners. d) randomly giving one group more privileges.

c

What strategy does the Robber's Cave study suggest for reducing hostility between groups? a) Being together in the same environment b) Sharing social norms c) Working together in pursuit of common goals d) Playing fun, competitive games, such as tug-of-war

c

Which of the following describes a consequence of in-group bias? a) Feelings of inadequacy about our own in-group b) A self-fulfilling prophecy c) A tendency to discriminate against members of an out-group d) A greater vulnerability to stereotype threat

c

Which of the following measures of unconscious prejudice describes the IAT? a) A person's making subtle slights and put-downs about a target person b) A group's ignoring the comments and contributions of its lone minority member c) A person's slower associations between a target image and positive words than with negative words d) A person's keeping greater distance from a member of a group he or she dislikes

c

Why did early attempts at desegregation fail to reduce prejudice between ethnic groups? a) The majority students shared the same goals as the minority students. b) The students were given equal status. c) The classroom environments were highly competitive. d) The minority students didn't try hard enough to make friends.

c

"Hostile sexists" think women are inferior to men; "benevolent sexists" think women are superior to men. What do they have in common? Both a) share an underlying admiration for women. b) reveal a dislike of women. c) share an underlying dislike of men. d) legitimize discrimination against women.

d

According to realistic conflict theory, prejudice and discrimination are likely to increase when a) people know that their close friends are prejudiced. b) people who hold stereotypes about a target group are frustrated. c) a country has a history of racism. d) people are competing for jobs and security.

d

Benevolent sexism refers to people who think that women are naturally superior to men in kindness and nurturance. What does international research show is a consequence of this belief? a) Men envy women for having more positive traits than they have. b) Women have higher self-esteem than men. c) It can cause people to overlook anti-male sexism. d) It can legitimize discrimination against women and justify relegating them to traditional roles.

d

The IAT might be measuring implicit prejudice, but what other explanations might account for the findings it produces? a) It is capturing cultural stereotypes rather than people's real feelings. b) It reflects actual associations between two traits but not necessarily prejudices. c) It doesn't measure speed of associations quickly enough. d) a and b.

d

What is implied by the extended contact hypothesis? a) Intergroup contact can be broadcast to the masses through the news and entertainment media. b) Contact must be experienced directly to be effective. c) Contact effects extend to the regional level. d) You will reduce prejudice among all your friends if they know you have cross-group friends.

d

What is social identity threat? a) Threats to the values and customs that comprise a person's social identity. b) When members of a minority group threaten to retaliate against the stereotypes they find unfair. c) The fear that a concealable identity will be revealed in a social group. d) The anxiety felt by members of a stereotyped group when they are made aware of a stereotype about them.

d

When people are attached to a "bogus pipeline" or other technological "lie detectors," how does this affect their willingness to admit their prejudices? a) They are less likely to admit any kind of prejudice. b) They are more likely to admit unconscious prejudices. c) They are less likely to reveal sexism but more likely to reveal anti-Semitism. d) They are more likely to admit prejudices that they would otherwise suppress.

d

A prejudice is a) a feeling held by members of a majority group toward members of a minority group. b) a hostile attitude toward members of a group, based solely on their membership in that group. c) generally unaffected by societal events. d) usually acquired in childhood and lasts a lifetime.

b

A stereotype is a) a negative impression of a group of people. b) a cognitive summary that can be positive or negative. c) the cognitive form of a prejudice. d) always inaccurate.

b

According to realistic conflict theory, what might be the major reason for the changing levels of prejudice and discrimination by white Americans toward the Chinese, Japanese, Irish, and Mexicans in American history? a) Degree of white familiarity with the minorities b) Competition for work and political status c) Percentage of minorities enrolled in colleges d) Differences in job training and skills

b

How can test takers reduce the effects of social identity threat on their performance? a) By blaming cultural prejudices in society b) By reminding themselves of their skills and good qualities c) By studying harder d) By denying that stereotypes affect them

b