Forming Impressions of Others:

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Forming Impressions of Others

• A Classroom Demonstration

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Introduction

• This demonstration was created by Jackson (2000)
  and is based on an actual study by Hamilton and
  Gifford (1979).

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Instructions

• You will see a series of statements, each
  describing a person performing some type of
  behavior.
• Each person belongs to either Group A or Group B.
• After all statements have been presented, you
  will respond with your impressions.

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• John visited a friend in the hospital.

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• Allen dented the fender of a parked car and
  didnt leave his name.

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• Bill is rarely late for work.

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• Bob helped a child.

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• Tom shared his lunch with a co-worker.

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• Scott cheated on an exam.

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• Alan planted seedlings in a park.

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• Henry went out of his way to return a lost wallet
  to the owner.

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• Nathan took neighborhood kids swimming.

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• John is considered a very dependable co-worker.

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• Chad always talks about himself and his problems.

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• Josh finished his homework on time.

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• Lane is well-like by his colleagues.

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• Davis read a story to his daughter.

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• Ron made prank phone calls to his teacher.

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• Bruce never returns library books on time.

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• Ken helped a lost child in a supermarket.

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• David converses easily with people he doesnt
  know well.

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• Fred gave blood to the Red Cross.

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• Alex kicked a dog.

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• Devin donated his clothes to charity.

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• Mark learned how to fly an airplane.

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• Gary earned an A on his research paper.

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• Ted ran a red light.

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• Jeff volunteered to tutor needy students.

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• Richard yelled at a boy who bumped into him.

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• Eric drove his elderly neighbor to the grocery
  store.

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• Vincent forgot about his job interview.

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• Keith organized a birthday party for a friend.

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• Colin works out to keep himself in good shape.

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• Robert talks with food in his mouth.

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• Scott received a promotion at work.

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• Norman often tailgates when he is driving

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• Eliot sings in the church choir.

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• William rarely washes his car.

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• Pete is recognized as an excellent musician.

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• Don took a hurt stray dog to the vet.

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• Roger repaired his neighbors lawnmower.

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• Craig helped a friend move.

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Done!

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Group Ratings

• Construct the table below on a scrap piece of
  paper.

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Group Ratings
Attribute Group A Group B
Popular
Lazy
Unhappy
Intelligent
Honest
Irresponsible
Helpful
Unpopular
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Group Ratings

• Your next task is to rate each of the groups.
• Use the scale below
• 1 Strongly Disagree
• 7 Strongly Agree
• You should use intermediate values as well as
  these two extremes.

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Debriefing

• Group A (n 26 members)
• 18 positive statements
• 8 negative statements
• 94 ratio of positive to negative statements

• Group B (n 13 members)
• 9 positive statements
• 4 negative statements
• 94 ratio of positive to negative statements

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Debriefing

• The ratio of positive and negative events was
  exactly the same for Group A and Group B!
• Did we rate the Groups the way we should have?
• Are our ratings of the Groups exactly equal?

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Illusory Correlation

• This demonstration illustrates an Illusory
  Correlation the perception of a relationship
  where none exists, or perception of a stronger
  relationship than actually exists. Another way
  to think of it a false impression that two
  variables correlate.

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Illusory Correlation

• The joint occurrence of two distinctive events
  (minority member Group B distinctive event -
  negative behavior) probably attracted more
  attention and caused faulty impressions.

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Illusory Correlation

• Examples
• It always rains on the week-end
• It always rains after you wash the car
• The phone always rings when you are in the shower
• Librarians are quiet
• Doctors are wealthy

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Illusory Correlation

• The Illusory correlation may be one reason
  individuals become prejudiced.
• Research has shown that White Americans
  overestimate the arrest rate of African Americans
  (Hamilton Sherman, 1996).
• African Americans minority
• Arrest Rate distinctive event