Psychology Wiki      Ascribed characteristics      34,081pages
on     this wiki        Ascribed characteristics, as used in the
social sciences, refer to properties of an individual, over
which that individual has very little, if any, control. Typical
examples include race, ethnicity, gender, caste, height, and
sexual orientation. The term is more or less equally apt for
characteristics chiefly caused by "nature" (e.g. genetics) and
for those chiefly caused by "nurture" (e.g. parenting during
early childhood).      The term is often used in discussions of
how people with a certain ascribed characteristic are
systematically treated differently than other members of
society, in a way that is perceived as unfair. Thus the study of
racism can be seen, at least superficially, as the study of the
ways that people with a certain skin color and cultural
background are systematically mistreated by society at large.
Many heated arguments stem from disagreements over whether or
not a given trait is "really" an ascr