Hamilton and Gifford

Uses: stereotype and cognitive biases (thinking)

Illusory Correlation (Hamilton & Gifford)

• People will see a relationship between two variables even when there is none

Procedure:

• 70 American Undergraduates

• shown a series of slides, each containing a statement about either group A or B, and it can be either positive or negative

• There are twice as many slides/people in group A, so group B is the minority (participants are aware of this from the beginning)

• Each group had the same proportion of positive to negative statements

• Afterward, participants were asked to rank each group’s members based on 20 traits such as popularity

• Then given a booklet asking them to recall if the person who did “x” is from group A or B

• At last, they were asked how many statements from each group were negative.

• Split into 2 groups, with different orders to avoid interference and extraneous variables

Results:

• Group A was ranked higher in positive traits and lower in negative traits

• Recalled more positives for group A and more negatives for group B

• Overestimated the number of negatives in group B

Conclusion:

• Negative stereotypes may be more common for minority groups than for the majority.

• Participants made a relationship between a minority group and negative behaviors even when there is none. (illusory correlation)