Khanna, N., & Harris, C. (2009). Teaching Race as a Social Construction: Two Interactive Class Exercises. Teaching Sociology, 369-378.

This article discusses the results of two classroom exercises which are both designed to teaching race as a social construction.  The first exercise is entitled, “What’s my Race” and the second exercise is entitled, “Black or White”?  The authors of the article discuss the purpose of the exercises and feedback from the students.

Questions to Consider:

1)  Why is it difficult to determine someone’s racial background from his/her physical appearance?  What lessons can be learned by completing an exercise such as the ones    described in this study?\

 

 2)  Describe what is meant by the “social construction of race”.  Who might benefit, besides college students, from participating in exercises such as the ones described here? 

 

Whitfield, K., & Wiggins, S. (2003). The Impact of Desegregation on Cognition among Older African Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 275-291.

One of the single most influential factors on current and future cognitive functioning is educational attainment. Researchers examined the influence of educational desegregation on cognitive performance using Horn’s Gf-Gc theory among older African Americans. The data on 197 African Americans included school attendance (desegregated [DS] or segregated [SS]) and the number of years they attended desegregated schools. Using measures of fluid (inductive reasoning and spatial ability) and crystallized (number concept and vocabulary) ability to assess cognition, the results showed that the DS group had significantly higher mean cognitive scores compared to the SS group.

Questions to Consider:

1)According to the researchers, older African American adults (65 years and older) have been shown to have an average of 10 years of formal education.  What implications can this have for this demographic?

2)  The researchers concluded that individuals in this study did benefit from attending desegregated schools.  In your opinion, what factors could account for this? 

 

 

Dovidio, J., & Gaertner, S. (n.d.). Reducing Prejudice: Combating Intergroup Biases. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 101-105.

Whereas the traditional form of prejudice may be reduced by direct educational and attitude-change techniques, contemporary forms may require alternative strategies oriented toward the individual or involving intergroup contact. Individual-oriented techniques can involve leading people who possess contemporary prejudices to discover inconsistencies among their self-images, values, and behaviors; such inconsistencies can arouse negative emotional states (e.g., guilt), which motivate the development of more favorable attitudes. Intergroup strategies can involve structuring intergroup contact to produce more individualized perceptions of the members of the other group, foster personalized interactions between members of the different groups, or redefine group boundaries to create more inclusive, superordinate representations of the groups. 

Questions to Consider:

1)What benefits can be attained through intergroup contact in terms of reducing prejudicial attitudes towards racial groups that can’t be attained through individual-level strategies?  Why do you think this is so?

 

            2)  Who in our society might benefit from the results of this study?  How so?

 

Welsh, R. (1978). Delinquency, Corporal Punishment, and The Schools. Crime & Delinquency, 336-354.

This article suggests that racism and person injustice are more common in an authoritarian atmosphere.  The authors of the article suggest that a national effort be made to discourage the use of corporal punishment not only in the home but in the school setting as well as it can play a role in the development of prejudicial attitudes.

Questions to consider:

1)What is the relationship, according to the authors, between corporal punishment and criminal behavior?     

 

2)What is the relationship between race, the educational system, and punishment according to the authors of this article?

 

3)  How would a conflict and functionalist theorist analyze the issues that are presented in the article?

 

Zhao, J., Lai, Y., Ren, L., & Lawton, B. (2015). The Impact of Race/Ethnicity and Quality-of-Life Policing on Public Attitudes Toward Racially Biased Policing and Traffic Stops. Crime & Delinquency, 350-374.

This article examines the impact of race/ethnicity and quality-of-life (QOL) policing on citizens’ perceptions of racial bias and traffic stops. Using data obtained from a random-sample telephone survey of Houston citizens, respondents were asked whether they felt that the police treated citizens “equally” based on the race/ethnicity of the citizen as well as the race/ethnicity of the officer. These variables were then recoded to construct a nominal measure ranging from racially biased policing to absence of racially biased policing, with a middle category of “semiracially” biased policing. Results indicated that race/ethnicity was a significant predictor.

Questions to consider:

1)Why do you think this may be the case?  “Some studies have found that socioeconomic characteristics of a neighborhood, such as single mother households, poverty, and unemployment, are correlated with the police behaviors and treatment of residents”.  What do you think is the relationship between these variables and police behaviors?

 

2)One of the findings, according to the authors of this study, was race was a significant predictor of racially biased policing.  What more can be done to rectify this issue?

 

3)The main method of data collection was a telephone survey.  What are the possible disadvantages of this type of research method?