Within-target illusory correlations and the formation of context-dependent attitudes

Two experiments explored the formation of context-dependent attitudes about a single social target. One such mechanism for the development of differential attitudes toward a target in different contexts is illusory correlation formation. It was proposed that within-target illusory correlations (i.e., perceiving unwarranted associations between salient target behaviors and distinctive domains in which the target is observed) can result in biased evaluations of a social target in different domains (e.g., home vs. work). When memory-based (vs. on-line) judgments were induced, perceivers formed context-dependent attitudes for both group (Experiment 1) and individual (Experiment 2) targets. These findings are consistent with theories regarding multiply categorizable attitude objects. Further, they suggest that some apparent discrepancies between attitudes and behavior may reflect holding multiple context-dependent attitudes about social targets.