Distinctiveness‐based illusory correlations and stereotyping: A meta‐analytic integration*

Mullen, Brian; Johnson, Craig

doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1990.tb00883.x

Cited by 162 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(26 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

117

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Such contagion is less likely in the case of positive information since perceivers revisit their initial stereotype only infrequently for groups that were based on the positive behavior of a single individual. This supports the assertion that a significant amount of favorable information is required to disconfirm a negative stereotype, but very little information is needed to reconfirm a negative stereotype about a group that is already established (Mullen & Johnson, 1990). …”

Section: Evaluating Negative Information In Stereotypessupporting

confidence: 71%

The stereotyping of tourism management students in a business school setting

Tung

King

2016

Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous research has shown that students in business schools hold stereotypes towards their peers who are undertaking different specializations. Yet, to the authors' knowledge, no research to-date has investigated the stereotyping of tourism management students by other business students. The present study seeks to fill this research gap. The insights are important because negative perceptions exacerbate the challenge of attracting high-quality prospects for tourism degree programs and of producing graduates who enjoy favourable recognition by their peers and by industry. Tourism management students are future leaders who are critical to the long term sustainability and competitiveness of the tourism sector. In-depth interviews revealed three stereotyping themes: personality attribution, legitimacy, and professionalism. The study concludes by discussing potential stereotype-reducing strategies. KEY WORDS:Stereotypes, students, psychology, education experience, teaching This is the Pre-Published Version.

show abstract

Section: Evaluating Negative Information In Stereotypessupporting

confidence: 71%

The stereotyping of tourism management students in a business school setting

Tung

King

2016

Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed that perceivers actually evaluate majority and minority groups differently even when both groups are described by all favorable or all unfavorable information. Previous studies have demonstrated the formation of illusory correlations after presenting participants with evaluatively inconsistent information (i.e., with information in both frequent and infrequent favorability categories about each target; for reviews, see Hamilton & Sherman, 1989;Mullen & Johnson, 1990). However, our experiments demonstrated that illusory correlations form even when no distinctive, infrequent, or inconsistent behaviors are presented.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 49%

“…A meta-analysis by Mullen and Johnson (1990) indicates that, as the amount of information describing both groups increases, the tendency to misperceive the pattern of covariation is heightened. Our analysis suggests a possible limit to this effect: When the number of exemplars describing each group is extremely large, the likelihood of an illusory correlation may diminish as strong impressions of both groups may form.…”

Section: Additional Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broadening the Conditions for Illusory Correlation Formation: Implications for Judging Minority Groups

Shavitt¹,

Sanbonmatsu²,

Smittipatana³

et al. 1999

Basic and Applied Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perceivers tend to overestimate the relative degree of association between an infrequent or distinctive category of behavior and a minority group or target, an illusory correlation effect with implications for numerous social processes including stereotyping and product perception. We argue that such illusory correlations can form under a broader set of conditions than has been previously shown. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that illusory correlations can emerge even when no distinctive behaviors are presented (i.e., in the absence of co-occurrences of infrequent events). Experiments 2 and 3 showed that perceivers are more likely to form strong illusory correlations when the difference in the amount of information describing majority versus minority groups is large rather than small. These findings support a process account suggesting that illusory correlations can form merely as a result of differences in the amount of information acquired about targets; minority group targets are assumed to have more moderate characteristics than majority group targets because of the relatively limited minority group evidence that is available. We discuss implications regarding stereotyping and intergroup relations as well as perceptions of consumer brands in the marketplace.People often make judgments about the predictive relations between social characteristics. Indeed, the perception of covariation among characteristics of the social environment (e.g., between ethnicity and behavioral tendencies) is important in a variety of social processes. Unfortunately, as numerous studies have demonstrated, covariation estimation is a difficult task and people commonly form illusory correlations, or overestimations of the relation between two characteristics or events (e.g., Chapman & Chapman, 1967;Pryor, 1986;Schaller & Maass, 1989;Shaklee & Mims, 1982;Stroessner, Hamilton, & Mackie, 1992).Past studies (e.g., Chapman, 1967;Hamilton & Gifford, 1976) have demonstrated that perceivers are particularly prone to forming a distinctiveness-based illusory correlation, or an overestimation of the relative degree of association between an infrequent category of behavior and a minority group. Hamilton and Gifford demonstrated the tendency to form such illusory correlations. Participants in their study read a series of sentences, each of which described a behavior by a member of one of two groups (Group A or Group B), and most of which were either desirable or undesirable. More statements described members of Group A than Group B (i.e., Group B was, by definition, the minority group), but the proportion of favorable to unfavorable statements was the same. Thus, there was no relation between group membership and the favorability of behaviors. Nevertheless, participants evidenced a distinctiveness-based illu-

show abstract

“…However, because negative information is usually the most salient (Mullen & Johnson, 1990) and there exists a substantial information processing bias (i.e., in-group/out-group bias) that favors one's own group over another (Hewstone, Rubin, & Willis, 2002), stereotyped information is often anything but benign. Consequently, since the information that comprises stereotypes is usually incomplete and unduly negative, lack of knowledge constitutes a primary mechanism by which negative attitudes and stereotypes develop and are maintained.…”

Section: Knowledge Stigma and Attitude Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of the Relations Between Student Knowledge, Personal Contact, and Attitudes Toward Individuals With Schizophrenia

Eack

Newhill

2008

Journal of Social Work Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A survey of 118 MSW students was conducted to examine the relationship between social work students' knowledge about, contact with, and attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that students' knowledge about and contact with persons with schizophrenia were significantly related to better attitudes toward this population. Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between knowledge about and contact with persons with schizophrenia, such that knowledge was only related to positive attitudes among students who had more personal contact with persons with the illness. Implications for social work training in severe mental illness are discussed (99 words).Social workers are the primary providers of psychosocial treatment to individuals with schizophrenia (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2001), a complex and disabling mental disorder that poses unique treatment challenges to mental health professionals. Recent evidence has suggested that while social workers have remained committed to serving this population, they often feel inadequately prepared for this challenging work (Author, 2004), and that the challenges they face in the course of working with persons with schizophrenia may negatively influence their attitudes toward this population (Author, in press). Such attitudes are of particular importance, as they have been consistently linked with negative outcomes among persons with schizophrenia (e.g., Moore & Kuipers, 1992;Snyder et al., 1996). Unfortunately, the mechanisms by which negative attitudes develop among social workers are not well known.Social psychological theories of attitude and stereotype development suggest that inadequate knowledge about a group of people may lead to negative attitudes toward that group (Allport, 1954;Weber & Crocker, 1983). Given that many social workers feel inadequately prepared for working with persons with schizophrenia (Author, 2004), a lack of requisite knowledge about this population may be a primary mechanism by which negative attitudes develop. However, to date, no study has examined how social workers' knowledge about schizophrenia is related to their attitudes toward this population. One of the primary functions of social work education is to ensure that successive generations of social workers continue to "practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge, and skills related to clients' age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation" (Council on Social Work Education [CSWE], 2004, p. 7, italics added). An investigation of the relationship between knowledge and attitudes about schizophrenia is of particular importance to social work educators, as it can provide key insights about how negative attitudes develop among social Knowledge, Stigma, and Attitude DevelopmentAlthough clinical social workers are trained in diagnosing and treating severe me...

show abstract

Distinctiveness‐based illusory correlations and stereotyping: A meta‐analytic integration*

Cited by 162 publications

References 17 publications

The stereotyping of tourism management students in a business school setting

The stereotyping of tourism management students in a business school setting

Broadening the Conditions for Illusory Correlation Formation: Implications for Judging Minority Groups

An Investigation of the Relations Between Student Knowledge, Personal Contact, and Attitudes Toward Individuals With Schizophrenia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About