Stereotypes can influence the way we think about a specific group of people. This is especially common in racial and ethnic group, but it is not reserved specifically for those groups. Stereotypes can also apply to school groups, cliques, and neighborhoods. A stereotype is similar to which of the following terms:

A) feature detectors

B) texture gradient C) perceptual set D) stereogram

E) relative clarity

The correct answer to this question is C. Perpetual set.

To understand why the answer is C, we first need to understand both terms. First, stereotyping is defined as a generalized and oversimplified way in which a group of people identifies and understands something or someone. Basically, you are told or taught what to think, believe, see, understand of an object or an event, also a person, and thus you categorize them. As an example, in South America there is only underdevelopment and poverty. Perceptual set is a psicological theory that states the process by which a person perceives something. It also understands the steps that lead a person to interpret and understand a person, an event or a circumstance. In this perceptual set, two things that affect it are culture and education. This means that a person may change his/her perception depending on what he/she is taught and how his/her culture affect their way of perceiving things. As an example, culturally, people from more developed countries, like Canada, the U. S, or European countries, tend to look at people from South America, and because they have been taught so, believe that people from this region of the world are all poor, which is not generally true. But because of education and cultural perception, people from more developed nations may think this way.

C) Perceptual set.

'Perceptual set' is a tendency or predisposition to perceive or notice certain aspects of an object, event, person, etc, and ignore others. This impact the way we interpret and respond to situations and can be influenced by our expectations, motives, interests, among others.

This is similar to stereotypes because, as stereotypes, our perceptual set is based on our pre-established conceptions about an object/person/situation, it is not necessarily factual or accurate since it is a perception that ignores others factors.

For example, if a man has had a bad experience with all Asian people he has met in his life so far, which are merely three, he might develop a set of perception that all Asian people are bad and impolite. This perception is a over-generalized belief based on his experiences only, but it ignores other details such as the diversity of people.