Why do positive impressions produced in one area positively influence our opinions in another area?

The 

Halo Effect

, explained.
Bias

What is the Halo Effect?

The halo effect is a cognitive bias that claims that positive impressions of people, brands, and products in one area positively influence our feelings in another area.

illustration of the halo effect

Where this bias occurs

The halo effect often occurs when we consider appearances. A classic example is when one assumes that a physically attractive individual is likely to also be kind, intelligent, and sociable. We are inclined to attribute positive characteristics to this attractive person even if we have never interacted with them. The halo effect is an error in our judgment and reflects individual preferences, prejudices, and social perception.

While biases can create an impact on an entire group, the halo effect can also be individualized. For example, if you specifically value one brand of hair care products, you may be likely to evaluate their new line as amazing, even if it has terrible reviews.

Related Biases

Sources

  1. Schouteten, J. J., Gellynck, X., & Slabbinck, H. (2019). Influence of organic labels on consumer's flavor perception and emotional profiling: Comparison between a central location test and home-use-test. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 116, 1000–1009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2018.09.038.
  2. Wade, T.J., DiMaria, C. (2003). Weight Halo Effects: Individual Differences in Perceived Life Success as a Function of Women's Race and Weight. Sex Roles 48, 461–465. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023582629538.
  3. Thorndike, E.L. (1920). A constant error in psychological ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0071663.
  4. Talamas, S. N., Mavor, K. I., & Perrett, D. I. (2016). Blinded by Beauty: Attractiveness Bias and Accurate Perceptions of Academic Performance. PloS one, 11(2), e0148284. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0148284.
  5. Perera, A. (2023, February 8). Halo effect in psychology: Definition and examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/halo-effect.html
  6. Using AI to eliminate bias from hiring. Harvard Business Review. (2023, January 18). https://hbr.org/2019/10/using-ai-to-eliminate-bias-from-hiring
  7. Wells, F. L. (n.d.). A mead project source page. F. L. Wells: A Statistical Study of Literary Merit with Remarks on Some New Phases of the Method. https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Wells/Wells_1907.html
  8. Xu, S., Martinez, L., & Smith, N. A. (2019, October 30). The effects of attractiveness, gender and self-esteem in service jobs. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2019-0127/full/html?casa_token=2UwrkiWsdIEAAAAA%3A7rvlk6IdmEX5UzvWH2tdHO2H5AA2ZnTvXW39tDhP2BxLcLlAv90iobiYPugsP5fstcZ_Sw-bmPz7xZFfEeCTqIkfYhJLnIqCFLJYRgdZ5fLlC15O6k3usQ.
  9. Harari, H., & McDavid, J. W. (1973). Name stereotypes and teachers’ expectations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 65(2), 222–225. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034978.

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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