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Illusory correlations in perceptions and predictions of organizational traits
Author(s) -
Camerer Colin
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of behavioral decision making
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0771
pISSN - 0894-3257
DOI - 10.1002/bdm.3960010203
Subject(s) - psychology , trait , perception , social psychology , similarity (geometry) , correlation , cognitive psychology , mathematics , computer science , artificial intelligence , geometry , neuroscience , image (mathematics) , programming language
People often believe in ‘illusory’ correlations between variables that are similar, but not actually correlated. This study suggests that judgments of organizational traits reflect illusory correlations, because subjects' perceptions of correlations between traits, and the predictions of Hage's (1965) ‘axiomatic’ theory, were more highly correlated with independent similarity ratings than with actual correlations between traits. Some methodological reasons why organizational‐trait theories might unwittingly produce illusory correlation predictions are discussed, along with possible remedies.