Chapter 9 Race And Ethnicity Key Terms

ethnic groups A social category of people who share a common culture.   ethnic groups A social category of people who share a common culture.   racialization A process whereby some social category such as social class or nationality takes on what are perceived in the society to be race characteristics.

   race A group treated as distinct in society on the basis of certain characteristics that have been assigned social importance in society.   racial formation The process by which groups come to be defined as a race.

  minority group Any distinct group in society that shares common group characteristics and is forced to occupy low status because of prejudice and discrimination. stereotypes Oversimplified set of beliefs about members of a social group or social stratum that is used to categorize individuals of that group.

  salience principle States that we categorize people on the basis of what appears initially prominent and obvious about them. stereotype interchangeability Holds that racial, gender, cultural, and class stereotypes, especially negative ones, are often interchangeable among groups.

prejudice The evaluation of a social group, and individuals within that group, based on conceptions about the social group that are held despite facts that contradict it, and that involve prejudgment and misjudgment.   ethnocentrism The belief that one's group is superior to all other groups.  

  discrimination Overt negative and unequal treatment of the members of some social group or stratum solely because of their membership in that group or stratum.  residential segregation Spatial separation of racial and ethnic groups into different residential areas.

racism The perception and treatment of a racial or ethnic group or member of that group as intellectually, socially and culturally inferior to that group. institutional racism Negative treatment and oppression of one racial or ethnic group by society’s existing institutions based on the presumed inferiority of the oppressed group.

  racial-ethnic discrimination The unequal treatment of a person based on race or ethnicity takes many forms, may be combined with other forms of discrimination, producing the double jeopardy effect, and does not necessarily go together with prejudice. assimilate Process by which a minority becomes socially, economically and culturally absorbed within the dominant society.  

  gendered racism theory Refers to the interactive or combined effects of racism and sexism in the oppression of women of color. cultural pluralism Defined as different groups in society keeping their distinctive cultures while coexisting peacefully with the dominant group.

  segregation The spatial and social separation of racial and ethnic groups. urban underclass A grouping of people, largely minority and poor, who live at the absolute bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in urban areas.

affirmative action Race specific policy for reducing job and education inequality.