Illusory correlation is a psychological phenomenon where people perceive a connection between two items when there is none. It leads to stereotypes and can affect scientific research. Memories of memorable events strengthen the correlation, and it can spread through society. Being aware of it is important, and looking for evidence to refute the claim can help.
Illusory correlation is a psychological phenomenon where people think there is a connection between two items when in fact there is no connection, or it is very minor. This plays a key role in the formation of stereotypes, leading to a number of widely believed social attitudes. It can also create problems with activities such as scientific research, where people can misidentify a correlation and pursue it without realizing they are chasing a ghost. Much of this occurs on an unconscious level, making prevention difficult.
In a simple example of an illusory correlation, a person might decide that Asian students are better at studying based on knowledge of several Asian students who appear to be doing well in school. This person may ignore the tests of students of other races who are also good at studying and at the same time pay no attention to Asian students who do not perform as well in school. Once an illusory correlation begins to form, people tend to look for evidence to confirm it, rather than trying to disprove it by seeking evidence to the contrary. This leads to the strengthening of the illusory correlation over time.
The formation of illusory correlations usually begins with memorable events that the person’s brain can access easily. For example, one day a student might mistakenly wear their underwear inside out and then do well on a test. This event sticks in her mind and she decides that wearing her underwear inside out is lucky, even though she had previously performed well in tests. Readily available memories tend to rise to the top of a person’s memory and will become evidence supporting an illusory correlation even though there may be a lot of evidence contradicting the apparent connection.
Illusory correlations can spread through society. When people hear stereotypes and urban legends, they absorb them and look for confirmatory information around them. Many people believe, for example, that eating sugar makes kids hyperactive, even though studies don’t back this up. When someone who believes this sees a child being active after consuming candy, they confirm the illusory correlation. Incidents where children ate candy and behaved normally afterwards are not readily available in the person’s memory.
Being aware of the existence of illusory correlations is important. People who believe that two things are connected can try looking for evidence to refute the claim to see if the correlation is real. Scientific studies sometimes provide useful information, and people may also find it helpful to do things like keep records. The detailed records will help people identify if there is a correlation and how strong it is. It’s also important to be aware that correlation is not causation, and that a link between two things may not be causal in nature.
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