Editing Illusory correlation (section)

==Example==
David Hamilton and Robert Gifford (1976) conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated how stereotypic beliefs regarding minorities could derive from illusory correlation processes.<ref name="HamiltonGifford1976">{{cite journal|last1=Hamilton|first1=D|last2=Gifford|first2=R|title=Illusory correlation in interpersonal perception: A cognitive basis of stereotypic judgments|journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume=12|issue=4|year=1976|pages=392–407|doi=10.1016/S0022-1031(76)80006-6}}</ref> To test their hypothesis, Hamilton and Gifford had research participants read a series of sentences describing either desirable or undesirable behaviors, which were attributed to either Group A (the majority) or Group B (the minority).<ref name="Whitley">{{Harvnb|Whitley|Kite|2010}}</ref> Abstract groups were used so that no previously established stereotypes would influence results. Most of the sentences were associated with Group A, and the remaining few were associated with Group B.<ref name="HamiltonGifford1976" /> The following table summarizes the information given.
{| class="wikitable" align="right"
|-
! Behaviors !! Group A (majority) !! Group B (minority) !! Total
|-
| Desirable || 18 (69%) || 9 (69%) || 27
|-
| Undesirable || 8 (30%) || 4 (30%) || 12
|-
| Total || 26 || 13 || 39
|-
|}

Each group had the same proportions of positive and negative behaviors, so there was no real association between behaviors and group membership. Results of the study show that positive, desirable behaviors were not seen as distinctive so people were accurate in their associations. On the other hand, when distinctive, undesirable behaviors were represented in the sentences, the participants overestimated how much the minority group exhibited the behaviors.<ref name="HamiltonGifford1976" />

A parallel effect occurs when people judge whether two events, such as pain and bad weather, are correlated. They rely heavily on the relatively small number of cases where the two events occur together. People pay relatively little attention to the other kinds of observation (of no pain or good weather).<ref name="Kunda127">{{Harvnb|Kunda|1999|pp=127–130}}</ref><ref name="Plous162">{{Harvnb|Plous|1993|pp=162–164}}</ref>