Hamilton

Question 1

What did McGarty et al (1993) criticise about Hamilton and Gifford’s (1976) cognitive explanation of the illusory correlation effect?

Answer 1

Flawed assumptions about people’s ability to estimate

Question 2

According to Hamilton & Gifford (1976), which characteristic is usually better remembered and therefore more likely to create illusory correlation?

Answer 2

Distinctiveness

Question 3

What is person in the social cognition understanding

Answer 3

= faulty information processing device due to limited capacity -> People are ‘cognitive misers’

Question 4

what is a cognitive miser

Answer 4

not always wanting to do a lot of hard work

Question 5

What is the aim of social cognition

Answer 5

Social phenomena can be explained without political and sociological theories but with social cognition instead

Question 6

How did Lippmann say we avoid info overload?

Answer 6

•	Avoid information overload by
–	Summarising information
–	Selecting information
–	Generalising
	All hallmarks of stereotypes!

Question 7

What does Hamilton and Gifford say the consequence of the need to simplify is

Answer 7

we only pay attention to those things that demand attention

Question 8

What is a disticntive info

Answer 8

often novel and rare

Question 9

How may statistical infrequency create bias

Answer 9

by creating distinctiveness

Question 10

How are negative things remembered

Answer 10

• Negative things also tend to stick in the mind more as they are less frequent

Question 11

Where were illusory correlations first used

Answer 11

in clinical psych

Question 12

Who first used the term illusory correlation

Answer 12

Loren and Jean Chapman (1967)

Question 13

What did Chapman use illusory correlation to refer to

Answer 13

unrelated clinical concepts that are seen as related because they were expected to relate to each other

Question 14

What did Hamilton and Gifford say about negatvie behaviour in a minority grouo

Answer 14

Negative behaviour by minority group members is thus doubly distinct, and therefore particularly attention grabbing

Question 15

What is an illusory correlation

Answer 15

false impression that two variables correlate

Question 16

What was the design of Hamilton and Gifford’s study 1

Answer 16

– 26 statements about Group A, 13 statements about Group B

– 27 statements about positive behaviour, 12 about negative behaviour

Question 17

What was the predicton of study 1

Answer 17

Participants rate Group B more negatively than Group A, despite the ratio of desirable to undesirable behaviour being the same for both groups.

Question 18

what were the measurements used in study 1

Answer 18

assignment task,
frequency estimation,
trait ratings

Question 19

What were the results of study 1

Answer 19

People underrated desirable behaviours in the minority group.
In the frequency estimate, there was an overestimation for the minority.

Question 20

How was study 2 different from1

Answer 20

Undesirable behaviour > Desirable behaviour

There is more undesirable behaviour statements than positive

Question 21

What were the results of study 2

Answer 21

that statistically infrequent behaviour (in this case desirable (!) behaviour) is more frequently remembered for the minority group
 Illusory correlation

People underrated the desirable acts done by the majority and overrated the desirable acts done by the minority.

Question 22

How did Zajonc criticise about the study

Answer 22

Mere exposure

– If you see it quite often, you start liking it
– Greater frequency of Group A members occurring leads to familiarity, which leads to liking
– BUT: would not explain Study 2 findings!

Question 23

What is the conceptual criticism

Answer 23

Distinctiveness may not be the key explanatory feature but skewed distribution combined with statistical infrequency

Question 24

How did Fiedler criticise the stufy

Answer 24

– Random information loss likely because of large number of behaviours that need to be remembered
– Random information loss will disadvantage small groups
• Lose informative info about small groups. Need to rely on the info you know. They may overestimate positivity of the positive group as they can remember it as the majority group are thought of frequently

Question 25

How did Smith criticise the study

Answer 25

– Focus on absolute number (i.e. 10 more pieces of positive information for the larger group) creates overly positive impression

Question 26

How did McGarty criticise the theory

Answer 26

based on self-categorisation theory
• Participants will try to find out how the groups differ, as this will help them to operate in a complex environment (‘differentiated meaning’)
• Stereotypes are not inherently negative but are as flexible, complex and accurate as they need to be to be adaptive
• Motivated to distinguish: There is support to see Group A as positive (18-8) but not much about Group B (9-4)
• If just cognitive bias, shouldn’t matter if it is A or B
• Would work better if personal (e.g. Exeter v Bath)

Question 27

What did Haslam’s follow up study show

Answer 27

• Replication of original study except…
– Participants were told of a difference between the groups (e.g. left-handed group v right-handed group) before given the information about behaviour
– Hypothesis: No illusory correlation because there is no more need to differentiate between the groups
– Result: No illusory correlation effect

Question 28

What is the most widely citd account of stereotype formation

Answer 28

hamilton