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Usability & InteractionMember ingredient
Illusory Correlation
People can overestimate an association when events are distinctive, expected or remembered selectively, without checking all of the underlying combinations.
Public evidence overview
One checked source, with its limits.
This preview is not the complete evidence base. Use it as a question to investigate in your own product, not as a prediction of what an individual will do.
Checked source previewAcademic paper
Illusory Correlations: A Simple Associative Algorithm Provides a Convergent Account of Seemingly Divergent Paradigms
Research-assisted source review
- What it supports
- Expected pairings can gain a processing advantage, while infrequent or unexpected events can become distinctive; both can exaggerate subjective correlation under different conditions.
- Where it may not transfer
- The associative model is one integrative explanation rather than a universal causal account. Reviewed tasks vary and do not yield one interface-ready effect size.
See how sources and limitations are checked in our editorial method.
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