Psychology Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Illusory correlation: Illusory correlation in psychology is the cognitive bias of perceiving a relationship between two variables, often events or behaviors, when none exists or the correlation is weaker than assumed. See also Cognitive biases, Illusion, Deception, Causality, Correlation, Stereotypes._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Eliot R. Smith on Illusory Correlation - Dictionary of Arguments
Haslam I 237 Illusory correlation/Smith: Eliot Smith(1991)(1) proposed a new account that did not afford any special importance to paired or doubly distinctive information. (SmithVsHamilton, SmithVsGifford). >Illusory correlation/Fiedler, >Illusory correlation/psychological theories, >Illusory correlation/Social psychology, >Illusory correlation/Gifford/Hamilton. Smith (like Fiedler) explained the illusory correlation effect as a natural consequence of asking people to process skewed distributions of information. In effect, the new models were explanations of the illusory correlation effect rather than of stereotype formation. See also Berndsen et al., (1998)(2), McConnell et al., (1994)(3), Sherman et al., 2009)(4). Haslam I 238 Smith posited the existence of an information-processing architecture derived from work on connectionist modelling. He argued that if we assume that perceivers possess a cognitive system which, in an illusory correlation study, is forming and storing impressions of the two groups, then it is very plausible that the impression of the larger group will be more positive than that of the smaller group due simply to properties of the information set to which they are exposed. This is because, in the case of the larger group there are ten more positive pieces of information than there are negative pieces, while in the case of the smaller group this difference is just five pieces of information. If the positivity of impressions stems from the balance of positive and negative information then it is difficult to see how small groups could be seen as positively as the large group. VsSmith, Eliot: Problem: the model rests on a specific cognitive architecture that may not actually exist. It is also the case that the model is sensitive to sample size in similar ways to Fiedler’s proposal. >Illusory correlation/Fiedler. 1. Smith, E.R. (1991) ‘Illusory correlation in a simulated exemplar-based memory’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27: 107–23. 2. Berndsen, M., Spears, R., McGarty, C. and van der Pligt, J. (1998) ‘Dynamics of differentiation: Similarity as the precursor and product of stereotype formation’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74: 1451–63. 3. McConnell, A.R., Sherman, S.J. and Hamilton, D.L. (1994) ‘Illusory correlation in the perception of groups: An extension of the distinctiveness-based account’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67: 414–29. 4. Sherman, J.W., Kruschke, J.K., Sherman, S.J., Percy, E.T., Petrocelli, J.V. and Conrey, F.R. (2009) ‘Attentional processes in stereotype formation: A common model for category accentuation and illusory correlation’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96: 305–23. Craig McGarty, „Stereotype Formation. Revisiting Hamilton and Gifford’s illusory correlation studies“, in: Joanne R. Smith and S. Alexander Haslam (eds.) 2017. Social Psychology. Revisiting the Classic studies. London: Sage Publications_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
EconSmith I Adam Smith The Theory of Moral Sentiments London 2010 EconSmithV I Vernon L. Smith Rationality in Economics: Constructivist and Ecological Forms Cambridge 2009 Haslam I S. Alexander Haslam Joanne R. Smith Social Psychology. Revisiting the Classic Studies London 2017 |
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> Counter arguments against Smith
> Counter arguments in relation to Illusory Correlation
