ConceptConceptDocsDocuments

AP Psychology 4.2.A: Stereotypes and Bias

Explore AP Psychology 4.2.A questions on stereotypes, implicit attitudes, out-group homogeneity, attribution errors, prejudice, and discrimination.

Syllabus
Effective Fall 2025
Course
AP Psychology

Exam points

  • explain how stereotypes generalize about groups and can shape biased perceptions or discriminatory behavior
  • apply implicit attitudes and out-group homogeneity bias to explain perceptions of people outside one’s group
  • distinguish dispositional from situational explanations when analyzing attribution of behavior

4.2.A—Explain how stereotypes and implicit attitudes contribute to the behaviors and mental processes of prejudice and… question 1

[Maximum number: 1]

Ruth is bored at home alone, so she decides to watch a scary movie. At the most tense part of the movie, when

a large, scary-looking creature is being chased through the village by an angry mob, Ruth's roommate Lynn

comes home unexpectedly and flips on the lights. Ruth is startled and spills her hot chocolate on herself.

Part B

As they are cleaning up, Ruth tells Lynn the plot of the movie she was watching. While the creature

was large and scary-looking, he was actually quite gentle and friendly. The villagers discussed the

situation and concluded that the creature was going to hurt them, so they grabbed their torches and

pitchforks and chased him out of town. As the creature tried to escape, he tripped over a rock and

knocked down a villager.

Explain how each of the following concepts relates to the villagers' perceptions during this scene in the

movie.

- Out-group homogeneity bias

- Fundamental attribution error

Out-group homogeneity bias

All question bank results loaded