illusory correlation is the phenomenon of perceiving a relationship between variables (typically people, events, or behaviors) even when no such relationship exists. a common example of this phenomenon would be when people form false associations between membership in a statistical minority group and rare (typically negative) behaviors as variables that are novel or salient tend to capture the attention. this is one way stereotypes form and endure.  found that stereotypes can lead people to expect certain groups and traits to fit together, and then to overestimate the frequency with which these correlations actually occur. ==history== "illusory correlation" was originally coined by chapman and chapman (1967) to describe people's tendencies to overestimate relationships between two groups when distinctive and unusual information is presented. the concept was used to question claims about objective knowledge in clinical psychology through the [[rorschach test#illusory and invisible correlations|ch
Cognitive_biases