Intuitive covariation assessment of the illusory correlation

Most of the research concerned with the illusory correlation is modeled aft er the seminar work of D. L. Hamilton and R. K. Gifford (1976). However, S. A. Haslam and C. McGarty (1994) have voiced concerns over the dependent me asures used within this paradigm. Therefore, in this study, the authors tes ted a new dependent variable that has high face validity. This measure was modeled after the work of J. R. McGahan and R. Wight (1989) and consisted o f a set of propositional statements representing either the illusory correl ation, the contingency opposite the illusory correlation, or the nonconting ency. A second purpose of this study was to validate other studies that hav e used dependent measures modeled after the work of J. R. McGahan and R. Wi ght (1989). Demonstrating that this measure can be used to detect a well-do cumented phenomenon (i.e., the illusory correlation) would strengthen the r esults and conclusions from other studies. To this end, results from 2 expe riments indicate that this measure does provide a valid alternative to thos e measures that are commonly used in illusory correlation studies. The resu lts thereby give credence to other studies that have used similar dependent measures.