In informal surveys, people always overestimate the number of lesbians who have AIDS. Lesbians actually have extremely low rates of AIDS, but people tend to associate lesbians with gay men (who have relatively high rates). Thus, people tend to think that they see a lesbian-AIDS relationship when in fact there is no such relationship. This is a good example of the ____.
A)false consensus effect
B)illusory correlation
C)belief in a just world hypothesis
D)contrast effect

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of the illusory correlation, where people perceive a relationship between two variables (in this case, being a lesbian and having AIDS) even when no such relationship exists. This misconception arises from associating lesbians with gay men, who have higher rates of AIDS, leading to an incorrect assumption about lesbians.

In Informal Surveys, People Always Overestimate the Number of Lesbians