Halo effect

This article is about the cognitive bias. For other uses, see The Halo Effect.

The halo effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the proclivity for positive impressions of a person, company, country, brand, or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings.[1][2] The halo effect is "the name given to the phenomenon whereby evaluators tend to be influenced by their previous judgments of performance or personality."[3] The halo effect is a cognitive bias which can prevent someone from forming an image of a person, a product or a brand based on the sum of all objective circumstances at hand.

The term was coined by Edward Thorndike. A simplified example of the halo effect is when a person, after noticing that an individual in a photograph is attractive, well groomed, and properly attired, then assumes, using a mental heuristic, that the person in the photograph is a good person based upon the rules of their own social concept.[4][5][6] This constant error in judgment is reflective of the individual's preferences, prejudices, ideology, aspirations, and social perception.[7][6][8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Halo Effect | Definition of Halo Effect by Lexico". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017.
  2. ^ Al Ries (17 Apr 2006). "Understanding Marketing Psychology and the Halo Effect". Advertising Age. Crain Publications. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  3. ^ Bethel, Ann; Knapp, T (2010). "Halo Effect". Dictionary of Nursing and Research. 4th – via Credo Reference.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Nisbett, Richard E.; Wilson, Timothy D. (1977). "The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 35 (4): 250–256. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.35.4.250. hdl:2027.42/92158. S2CID 17867385.
  6. ^ a b Gibson, Jeremy L.; Gore, Jonathan S. (December 2016). "Is He a Hero or a Weirdo? How Norm Violations Influence the Halo Effect". Gender Issues. 33 (4): 299–310. doi:10.1007/s12147-016-9173-6. S2CID 151849084.
  7. ^ Lachman, Sheldon J.; Bass, Alan R. (November 1985). "A Direct Study of Halo Effect". The Journal of Psychology. 119 (6): 535–540. doi:10.1080/00223980.1985.9915460.
  8. ^ Wade, T. Joel; DiMaria, Cristina (1 May 2003). "Weight Halo Effects: Individual Differences in Perceived Life Success as a Function of Women's Race and Weight". Sex Roles. 48 (9): 461–465. doi:10.1023/A:1023582629538. S2CID 141143275.
  9. ^ Greenwald, Anthony G.; Banaji, Mahzarin R. (1995). "Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes". Psychological Review. 102 (1): 4–27. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.411.2919. doi:10.1037/0033-295x.102.1.4. PMID 7878162. S2CID 8194189.
  10. ^ Levy, Leon H.; Dugan, Robert D. (July 1960). "A constant error approach to the study of dimensions of social perception". The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 61 (1): 21–24. doi:10.1037/h0042208. PMID 14416418.