SOC205 - Exam II - Chapter 8 Questions
Can you define institutional racism? How was the UCLA case we discussed an example of ways that an institution could discriminate, even if no individuals within the institution did anything wrong?
- Institutional Racism: refers to policies, laws, and institutions that reproduce racial inequalities - both intentionally and unintentionally * Systemic Racism: racial inequality created by whites to benefit whites - focuses on history * Structural Racism: focuses on inter-institutional interactions across time and space reproduce racial inequality - ex: 4.39 GPA - AP classes, not all schools offer AP classes
Who are John and Glenn? What did their 20/20 audit study show about differential treatment on the basis of race? (The full video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DrZDm8XWBI and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8T-WeQGoj8). Can you name the different sites where John and Glenn visited? Can you talk about what happened to John and Glenn in those different sites? How was Glenn, in particular, emotionally affected by this experience?
- John and Glenn are two men used in an audit study to examine racial discrimination in St. Louis, Missouri. John, who is White, experienced much better treatment at several different sites than Glenn, who is Black - Glenn was consistently ignored and followed in stores and at a car dealership; he was also turned away from job and housing. - Glenn was very discouraged and questioned and whether be could succeed in that city
What did the This American Life podcast clip reveal about levels of implicit bias among police officers when compared to the general population? (The short clip we listened to in class begins around minute 37. It is available here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/548/cops-see-it-differently-part-two?act=2#play ... If you are really interested, you can listen to Part I of this fascinating, heart breaking, and eye opening podcast series, here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/547/cops-see-it-differently-part-one ... If you decide to listen, though, please be forewarned that there is some graphic audio recording included.)
- Police officers are more likely to see images of black men as threatening even though they usually make the correct decision to shoot or not - However, police who work on gang units do worse than other cops and are biases in their response times and their choices to shoot or not. They have the the implicit bias that Black men are dangerous as well as being more likely to shoot unarmed Black targets as opposed to unarmed White targets
What are racial microaggressions? What are potential cumulative effects of racial microaggressions? What does the "Voices" box on page 183 of your book reveal about racial microaggressions that real people have experienced? What does the "Global View" box on page 185 show about a woman's experiences with microaggressions in Peru?
- Racial Microagressions: daily, commonplace insults and racial slights that cumulatively affect the wellbeing of minorities - Cumulative effects included being tired, discouraged, frustrated, and disappointed
What is implicit bias? How do the Implicit Association Tests (or IATs) try to measure implicit bias? What percent of all people who have taken the IATs have shown pro-white biases? How does this vary geographically (see the 10-10-16 Facts and Figures slides)?
- implicit bias (previous question) - measures the reaction time of putting good and bad words with pictures of either White or Black people - Nearly 70% of all who have ever taken the IAT test have pro-White associations - States in the South and East have stronger pro-White biases.
How are sociological theories of race and racism used to explain racial inequality?
1. Implicit Bias:Unconscious of "hidden" biases that tend to favor tend to favor dominant groups and cultural. 2. Individual Racism: When one person discriminates against another on the basis of race or ethnicity. - Racial Microagression: daily, commonplace insults and racial slights that cumulatively affect the wellbeing of minorities 3. Institutional Racism: Refers to policies, law, and institutions that reproduce racial inequalities both intentionally and unintentionally
Also on Wednesday, we talked about 4 things that researchers recommend you can do if you want to change your IAT score and move it toward neutral. What were those 4 things we discussed?
1. Recognition 2. Remain alert - to your surroundings and be critical consumers of what you see/ hear 3. Change your input - What do you take in? what media do you consume? 4. Alter your exposure and listen - try something new and listen to someone's perspective that may differ from your own.
I showed you a video on Wednesday of children who attend a so-called "racial apartheid" school in New Orleans. What were the children in that video doing?
The Children were singing the wake up good morning song.
What might drive someone to commit a racial microaggression? (Hint: We discussed three reasons that are often cited on Wednesday in class. You should be familiar with those three reasons.)
Three reasons: - overt hostility - insensitivity - ignorance
On Wednesday in class, we discussed the IAT tests in more detail. What did you learn regarding the levels of pro-White bias among Whites, Asians, and Blacks?
- All groups tend to express preferences toward the dominant/ favored group - Whites and Asians both express a strong pro-White bias - Of Blacks who have taken the IAT, half receive a pro-Black bias and half received a pro-White bias.
What is individual racism? What are some of the methods or approaches that researchers use to study or to understand the prevalence of racist acts in our society?
- Individual Racism: When one person discriminates against another on the basis of race or ethnicity - Methods used by researches: 1. Interviews and observations 2. Secondary statistics and surveys 3. Audit studies (John and Glenn audit study video)
You should have carefully read Chapter 7 and have familiarized yourself with the studies described in the text. For example, can you answer the following? a. According to Joe Feagin, what percent of whites agree with prejudicial statements about blacks? b. What did the study described in the book find about the race of imagined "drug users?" c. What did the Department of Defense study reveal about the prevalence of racist jokes? d. How often do blacks encounter racial hostility in public places?
a. According to Joe Feagin, what percent of whites agree with prejudicial statements about blacks? - 3/4 of whites with prejudicial statements about Blacks as "Blacks have less native intelligence than Whites." b. What did the study described in the book find about the race of imagined "drug users?" - 95% of respondents imagined a Black person when asked to close their eyes and pictures a drug user. c. What did the Department of Defense study reveal about the prevalence of racist jokes? - Nearly half of the Black employees at the Department of Defense had heard racist jokes in the past year. d. How often do blacks encounter racial hostility in public places? - A study by Feagin and McKinney revealed that 80% of Black respondents had encountered racial hostility in public places.
