Illusory Correlations: An Investigation in a Social Media Setting

This experiment investigated whether illusory correlations (ICs) exist within social media settings, and the likelihood of the occurrence of marked differences between individuals in their IC rates. Eighty individuals participated in the study, with 71 used for analysis. The experiment consisted of three tasks: a learning phase and two test phases, A and B. Participants were first presented with Facebook statuses from two groups, Purple or Orange, followed by questions on various aspects in phases A and B. Statistical analysis of the results showed no significant difference between the groups, however further analysis of subdivided groups showed higher IC rates in some groups. Confidence levels were found to correlate with the emergence of IC. Additionally, the results demonstrated the emergence of a ‘reverse’ IC that has been previously unreported in the literature. Qualitative analysis reflected a significant overall IC between the groups.