Internet Activities

  1. Race is arguably the most consequential concept in the history of this nation (and the world). To extend the discussion, visit the website that accompanies a fascinating documentary, “Race: The Power of an Illusion,” at www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm. Its major point parallels this book: specifically, that race is a social construction, a cultural and political perception invented during particular historical eras, largely to justify and rationalize the differential treatment of others. Once established and passed from generation to generation, race becomes hugely consequential in the lives of U.S. citizens--it becomes its own reality, shaping and controlling peoples’ lives. We encourage you to explore all six subsections of the website. Prepare answers to each of the questions below and use this information along with ideas from this chapter to discuss the concept of race with others.
    1. In what ways should race be considered a “modern” idea?
    2. In what ways is race not a biological concept?
    3. How have ideas about race evolved and changed since ancient times?
    4. What are some U.S. examples of how public policy has treated people differently based on race? What are some of the consequences?
    5. How have definitions of Black and White changed over the years? How have U.S. Census Bureau definitions of race changed? Why?
    6. Try the “Sorting People” exercise and record your number of “correct” classifications here: ______. What does this exercise make you think about race as a concept? Can you accurately tell someone’s race by looking at her or him? If not, what does this say about the concept of race?
    7. Take the quiz under the “Human Diversity” tab and record the number of correct answers here: ______. Was your information accurate? Where did you get this information?
    8. Click on the “Explore Diversity” button under “Human Diversity” and explore the activities. Does this information support the idea that “race isn’t biological?” How?
  2. In this chapter, we treated prejudice as a set of attitudes, opinions, stereotypes, and emotions that people express in their everyday conversations and that can be measured by surveys like the social distance scale. A group of psychologists has developed a very different approach to the topic: They believe that people have a largely unconscious and unspoken set of attitudes toward other groups that affects their thinking, feelings, and actions (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995; Greenwald et al., 2002). These implicit or hidden prejudices are acquired during socialization and shape our relationships with other groups, even when we are not aware of it. This form of prejudice can exist even in people who have no conscious prejudice and who behave in nondiscriminatory ways. Do you have an implicit negative reaction to other groups? You can find out by taking the Implicit Association Test (IAT) at the Project Implicit website. To complete this test, follow these instructions:
    1. Go to the IAT website at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/. Alternately, you can search for “Implicit Association Test” using your search engine.
    2. Find the box on the left labeled “Project Implicit Social Attitudes.” You may want to proceed as a guest user rather than registering, so click “GO!” in the lower panel of the box, next to the U.S. English window.
    3. Read the information and disclaimer on the next window. Then, click “I wish to proceed.” Take several of the tests, including the Race IAT.
    4. Learn more about the IAT by clicking the “Education” button on the top of the window after you finish the tests and then clicking “About the IAT.” Browse the rest of the site and, especially, read the “Frequently Asked Questions.”
  3. After taking the tests and gathering some perspective on the IAT, consider these questions:
    1. What is an “implicit” attitude? How does implicit prejudice differ from affective prejudice, stereotypes, social distance, and modern racism?
    2. If test shows you have a preference for one group over another, does this mean that you are prejudiced against the less preferred group? Do you feel that the test accurately reflects your feelings and ideas? Why or why not? (Remember that your implicit attitudes can be quite different from your explicit or conscious attitudes.)
  4. Research using the IAT reveals that many White Americans have a preference for Whites over Blacks. Why do you think this is so? What aspects of American culture might create and sustain this preference?
  5. Which of the situations listed below would be most and least affected by a person’s implicit attitudes? Why?
    1. Friendship choices in a multigroup elementary school classroom.
    2. Friendship choices in a multigroup high school or university.
    3. Reactions to hearing that a friend is dating a member of a different racial or ethnic group.
    4. Reactions to a news story that a minority group man has raped and killed a dominant group woman.
    5. Reactions to a news story that a dominant group man raped and killed a minority group woman.
    6. Choices between political candidates who are from different racial or ethnic groups.
    7. Support for policies such as affirmative action that can be controversial.
    8. Hiring decisions involving applicants from many groups.
    9. Choices about which neighborhoods to live in.
    10. Choices in a “shoot/don’t shoot” situation involving a White police officer and a possibly armed Black man suspect. How about if the suspect were a White woman?
  6. If the IAT shows that you have a group preference you would rather not have, what are some things you could do to change yourself?