PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Carey Lynn Osborne
MA-Research
August 1999

Illusory Correlation in Person Perception as a Biologically Prepared Social Phobia

    Stereotype formation of social groups from an evolutionary perspective was investigated.  High, but not low, trait anxiety people were hypothesized to associated out-group members with negative behaviors because of overactivated fight/flight mechanisms.  Participants saw a series of 34 individually presented behavioral statements, half of which were performed by members of a familiar or a novel occupational group.  Cued recall, reaction time, trait and liking ratings, and frequency estimates were recorded for each participant.  High anxiety people recalled more negative behaviors for the novel group than for the familiar group.  Both anxiety groups evaluated the novel group less positively that the familiar group.  The low anxiety group liked the novel group less than the familiar group. There were no frequency effects.  Differential effects between anxiety groups are discussed in terms of anxiety level and attention to the environment.

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