How Do Race and Ethnicity Play a Major Role in Shaping

question 37

Essay

How do race and ethnicity play a major role in shaping public opinion? Support your response with specific examples.

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Definitions:

Representativeness Heuristic

A mental shortcut that involves judging the likelihood of an event or situation by comparing it to an existing prototype that already exists in our minds.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

Mental Sets

A tendency to solve problems using methods that have worked in the past rather than considering new approaches.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used, hindering problem-solving.