The 25 Cognitive Biases: Uncovering The Myth Of Rational Thinking by Charles Holm

Author:Charles Holm [Holm, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-08-26T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Halo Effect

Whether you know any personal details about a good looking hero in your favorite movie or not, it is very likely that you believe that person is smart, friendly and fun to be with in real life.

The halo effect was first introduced by psychologist Edward Thorndike. We fall prey to this bias when we determine specific personality traits of someone by generalizing their overall impression. Halo effect includes both negative and positive directions. Disliking a certain aspect of something predisposes us to think negatively about every other thing related to it. Likewise liking a certain aspect makes us view every other thing in a positive light. Research has shown that people tend to attribute positive traits to people who are perceived as physically attractive and negative traits to those who are not. This is why it is also called the ‘physical attractiveness stereotype’ and the ‘what is beautiful is good’ principle. Isn’t this very obvious in the way we judge celebrities?

Although the halo effect is a mental shortcut which helps us make decisions quickly, there’s a high chance our impressions may be false. The only way to avoid this is to ask yourself whether someone actually has a certain quality or you are just assuming they do based on what you like about them.

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