Halo effect
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Halo effect refers to the cognitive bias which in a series of perceptions the interpretation of later ones are influenced by perception of former ones. Said another way, if we are told that we are seeing a person that has just returned from psychiatric treatment, we will tend to interpret otherwise neutral behaviors as indicators of mental illness.
Also, halo effect is involved in Kelley's implicit personality theory, where the first traits we recognize in other people then influence the interpretation and perception of latter ones (because of our expectations). Attractive people are often judged as having a more desirable personality and more skills than someone of average appearance. Celebrities are used to endorse products that they have no expertise in evaluating.
When commanding officers were asked to rate their soldiers in an early psychology experiment conducted by Edward L. Thorndike, he found high cross-correlation between all positive and all negative traits. People seem to rarely think of each other in mixed terms; instead we seem to see them as universally roughly good or roughly bad across all categories of measurement. Solomon Asch also performed research in this area. The halo effect may be involved with the theory of cognitive dissonance.
In brand marketing, a halo effect is one where the perceived positive features of a particular item extend to a broader brand. It has been used to describe how the iPod has had positive effects on perceptions of Apple Computer's other products. The term is also widely used in the automotive industry, where a manufacturer may produce an exceptional halo vehicle in order to promote sales of an entire marque. Modern cars often described as halo vehicles include the Dodge Viper, Ford GT, and Acura NSX.
A corollary to the halo effect is the "devil effect" (or "horns effect"), where individuals judged to have a single undesirable trait are subsequently judged to have many poor traits, allowing a single weak point or negative trait to influence others' perception of the person in general.
[edit] See also
Halo Effect is also a term used in HR recruitment. While interviewing a person, you might be influenced by one of his attributes and ignore his/her other weaknesses. Solomon Asch has also done a study about central traits and his findings suggest that attractiveness is a central trait, so we presume all the other traits of an attractive person are just as attractive and sought after.
Individuals when discovering that they are in the presence of authority figures, often suddenly exhibit their best behavior. As if they have projected a halo over their heads as seen in old Warner Brothers cartoons, presumably in a effort to avoid being accosted by said authority figure.
[edit] References
- Asch, S. E. (1946). "Forming impressions of personality." Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 41, 258-290
- Thorndike, E. L. (1920). "A Constant Error on Psychological Rating." Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. IV, 25-29
