Forming Impressions of
Others:
A Classroom Demonstration
Introduction
This demonstration was created by
Jackson (2000) and is based on an
actual study by Hamilton and Gifford
(1979).
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.
John visited a friend
in the hospital.
Allen dented the
fender of a parked
car and didn’t leave
his name.
Bill is rarely late for
work.
Bob helped a child.
Tom shared his
lunch with a coworker.
Scott cheated on an
exam.
Alan planted
seedlings in a park.
Henry went out of
his way to return a
lost wallet to the
owner.
Nathan took
neighborhood kids
swimming.
John is considered a
very dependable coworker.
Chad always talks
about himself and
his problems.
Josh finished his
homework on time.
Lane is well-like by
his colleagues.
Davis read a story to
his daughter.
Ron made prank
phone calls to his
teacher.
Bruce never returns
library books on
time.
Ken helped a lost
child in a
supermarket.
David converses
easily with people
he doesn’t know
well.
Fred gave blood to
the Red Cross.
Alex kicked a dog.
Devin donated his
clothes to charity.
Mark learned how to
fly an airplane.
Gary earned an “A”
on his research
paper.
Ted ran a red light.
Jeff volunteered to
tutor needy
students.
Richard yelled at a
boy who bumped
into him.
Eric drove his elderly
neighbor to the
grocery store.
Vincent forgot about
his job interview.
Keith organized a
birthday party for a
friend.
Colin works out to
keep himself in good
shape.
Robert talks with
food in his mouth.
Scott received a
promotion at work.
Norman often
tailgates when he is
driving
Eliot sings in the
church choir.
William rarely
washes his car.
Pete is recognized
as an excellent
musician.
Don took a hurt
stray dog to the vet.
Roger repaired his
neighbor’s
lawnmower.
Craig helped a friend
move.
Done!
Group Ratings
Construct the table below on a scrap
piece of paper.
Group Ratings
Attribute:
Popular
Lazy
Unhappy
Intelligent
Honest
Irresponsible
Helpful
Unpopular
Group A
Group B
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.
Debriefing
Group A (n = 26
members)
18 positive
statements
8 negative
statements
9:4 ratio of positive
to negative
statements
Group B (n = 13
members)
9 positive statements
4 negative
statements
9:4 ratio of positive
to negative
statements
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?
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.
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.
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
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