misassociation
Faulty mental connection
Misassociation is a faulty or mistaken connection between things—linking an idea, memory, or meaning to the wrong source or context.
In psychology, it often describes errors in memory where details get attached to the wrong events: The witness's misassociation of faces led to a false identification.
More broadly, any wrongly perceived connection: the common misassociation between correlation and causation.
Believed but fictional recall
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- source confusionMistaking where memory came from
- mental shortcutQuick cognitive approximation
- encoding errorMisinterpreted byte sequence
Crediting the wrong source
- fallacyError in reasoning
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- mistakeWrong action or decision
- misconceptionErroneous belief or understanding
misidentification · misjudgment · misinterpretation · inaccuracy · distortion · conflation · misreading · miscategorization
Fixed oversimplified notion
- prejudicePreformed unfavorable opinion
- profilingCharacterizing by patterns
- stigmaMark of dishonor
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
labeling · false accusation · character assassination · smear · tarring · groupthink · in-group bias · snap judgment
Redirecting feelings to substitutes
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- trauma responsePsychological wound's behavioral aftermath
- triggerWhat initiates action
Pavlovian · learned response · aversion · defense mechanism · repression · dissociation
false memory
Believed but fictional recall
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
- source confusionMistaking where memory came from
- mental shortcutQuick cognitive approximation
misattribution
Crediting the wrong source
- fallacyError in reasoning
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- mistakeWrong action or decision
misconception · misidentification · misjudgment · misinterpretation · inaccuracy · distortion · conflation · misreading · miscategorization · faulty reasoning
stereotype
Fixed oversimplified notion
scapegoating · labeling · false accusation · character assassination · smear · tarring · groupthink · in-group bias · snap judgment · halo effect
transference
Redirecting feelings to substitutes
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- trauma responsePsychological wound's behavioral aftermath
trigger · Pavlovian · learned response · aversion · defense mechanism · repression · dissociation
associate, associated, associates, associating, association, associations, associative, disassociate, disassociated