Editing Illusory correlation (section)

{{distinguish|Correlation fallacy}}
{{short description|Inaccurately perceiving a relationship between two unrelated events}}

In [[psychology]], '''illusory correlation''' is the phenomenon of perceiving a [[correlation|relationship]] between variables (typically people, events, or behaviors) even when no such relationship exists. A false association may be formed because rare or novel occurrences are more [[Salience (neuroscience)|salient]] and therefore tend to capture one's [[attention]].<ref>{{cite book |last1= Pelham |first1= Brett |last2= Blanton |first2= Hart |title= Conducting Research in Psychology: measuring the weight of smoke |publisher= [[Cengage Learning]] |location= Belmont, CA |edition= 4th |orig-year = 2007 |year= 2013 |isbn= 978-0-495-59819-0 |pages= 11&ndash;12 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aI_fiKAJbHkC&pg=PA11 }}</ref> This phenomenon is one way [[stereotype]]s form and endure.<ref name="MullenJohnson">{{cite journal |last1= Mullen |first1= Brian |last2= Johnson |first2= Craig |year= 1990 |title= Distinctiveness-based illusory correlations and stereotyping: A meta-analytic integration |journal= [[British Journal of Social Psychology]] |volume= 29 |issue= 1 |pages= 11–28 |doi= 10.1111/j.2044-8309.1990.tb00883.x }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1= Stroessner |first1= Steven J. |last2= Plaks |first2= Jason E. |chapter= Illusory Correlation and Stereotype Formation: Tracing the Arc of Research Over a Quarter Century |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DE-cJ8F4rSMC&pg=PA247 |pages= 247&ndash;259 |editor-first= Gordon B. |editor-last= Moskowitz |title= Cognitive Social Psychology: The Princeton Symposium on the Legacy and Future of Social Cognition |publisher= Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location= Mahwah, N.J. |year= 2001 |isbn= 978-0-8058-3414-7 }}</ref> {{harvtxt|Hamilton|Rose|1980}} found that stereotypes can lead people to expect certain groups and traits to fit together, and then to overestimate the frequency with which these correlations actually occur.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Vivian E. |last1=Peeters|year=1983| chapter=The Persistence of Stereotypic Beliefs: a Cognitive View|title=Advances in Consumer Research|volume=10|editor= Richard P. Bagozzi |editor2=Alice M. Tybout|location=Ann Arbor, MI|publisher=Association for Consumer Research|pages=454–458|chapter-url=http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=6160}}</ref> These stereotypes can be learned and perpetuated without any actual contact occurring between the holder of the stereotype and the group it is about.