Goal 3: Social Construction of Inequality

1. Goal 3: Social Construction of Inequality

2. Origin of racism • Ethnocentrism: The belief that one’s culture and way of life is superior to all others. • Additionally, other cultures are backward, inferior and strange.

3. LaPiere’s Study (1932-34) • Traveled the U.S. with a Chinese couple who were treated courteously and without discrimination. Surveys sent later to the same establishments (hotels, stores, restaurants) revealed a decided prejudice toward Asian people. (more than 90% of respondents answered with prejudice filled comments) This study has be replicated with similar results.

4. Can you recognize the flaws of this study?

5. Institutional Discrimination • Denial of equal rights and opportunities to groups (or individuals) as part of the normal operations of society. • Normal Banking practice and assessing credit risk tends to work against Blacks and Hispanics due to a lack of conventional credit references. Insurance costs for businesses in low-income areas have a much higher rate.

6. Institutional Discrimination • Assessment of academic ability favors middle-class and up children, especially white, due to the types of questions traditionally asked. • Many areas of the criminal justice system is dominated by whites who have a difficult time understanding life in poverty areas.

7. Institutional Discrimination • Hiring practices often require several years of positive work experience. • Many jobs automatically eliminate a person with a felony record.

8. Characteristics of an ethnic group • A group set apart because of its national origin or distinctive cultural patterns of behavior. • Ethnic groups are usually an oversimplification of any number of groups: • Ex: Hispanic/ Latino-includes almost 40 separate groups • Asian-includes almost 20 separate groups • African-American: includes hundreds of separate groups, along with some who are mistakenly identified with this group.

9. Merton’s Typology • All-weather liberal: unprejudiced in attitude; non-discriminator in behavior. • Reluctant liberal: unprejudiced in attitude; discriminator in behavior. • Timid bigot: prejudiced in attitude; non-discriminator in behavior. • All-weather bigot: prejudiced in attitude; discriminator in behavior.

10. Sociological Theories of Prejudice • Scapegoating Theory: A person or group blamed irrationally for another person’s or group’s problems or difficulties. • It encourages a person to transfer the responsibility for failure to some vulnerable person or group in place of accepting responsibility themselves.

11. Sociological Theories of Prejudice • Authoritarian Personality Theory: A psychological idea of a personality type likely to be prejudiced. • Adorno (1950) • Adherence to conventional values • Uncritical acceptance of authority • A concern with power and toughness • Intolerance of difference

12. Sociological Theories of Prejudice • Exploitation Theory: Conflict theorists use this to explain why society will use racial prejudice or ethnic prejudice to justify keeping a group in a subordinate position. • Used by Marx to explain the exploitation of the lower classes as an important part of the success of capitalism.

13. Sociological Theories of Prejudice • Normative Approach: The view that prejudice is part of societal norms. These situations and rules encourage or discourage the tolerance of minorities. • This pressure may be widespread or regionalized or localized. • Ex: Sundown towns

14. Religious Pluralism • This relates to the existence of greater religious tolerance in the U.S. than in most other countries. • There are some 1500 different recognized religious groups in the U.S. • In the U.S. we are primarily considered a Judeo-Christian-Islamic (Abrahamic) country.

15. Religious Pluralism • The non-christian groups have grown over the last 15+ years. • 1990 census estimated the population was 96% Christian; 3% all other faiths; 1% non-christian. • 2005 census update estimates these figures to be 82% Christian; 11% non-christian; 7% all other faiths.

16. Ethclass: The merging of a person’s status in society with their ethnicity. • Denotes the importance of both factors and joined with religion forms a triangle to explain the behaviors of people. You cannot over emphasize one factor over the other two, however, each person will choose for themselves one of these to focus their behavior around. • These included with race will all need to be considered when looking to describe a person’s behavior.