The Halo Effect is a well documented social-psychology phenomenon that causes people to be biased in their judgments by transferring their feelings about one attribute of something to other unrelated attributes. For example, a tall or good-looking person will be perceived as being intelligent and trustworthy, even though there is no logical reason to believe that height or looks connects with intelligence and honesty.
The term Halo Effect was coined in 1920 by Edward L. Thorndike, an American psychologist. It’s based on observations of military officers during experiments that involved men ranking subordinates. Before the officers even communicated with their subordinates, Thorndike had the superior’s rank them based on character traits. These included leadership ability and intelligence.
Based
on the results, Thorndike noted that positive and negative traits formed by the
officers were based on unrelated traits that had to do with physical impressions.
For example, a tall and attractive subordinate was perceived as being the most
intelligent. He was also ranked as overall “better” than the others. Thorndike
found that physical appearances are the most influential in determining our
overall impressions of another person’s character.
The
term "halo" is used in analogy with the religious concept: a glowing
circle that can be seen floating above the heads of saints in countless
medieval and Renaissance paintings. The saint's face seems bathed in heavenly
light from his or her halo. Thus, by seeing that somebody was painted with a
halo, you can tell that this must have been a good and worthy person. In other
words, you're transferring your judgment from one easily observed
characteristic of the person (painted with a halo) to a judgment of that
person's character. The Halo Effect can impact organizations, locations,
products and delivery/communications channels as well as our judgments of other
people.
The
Halo
Effect works in both
positive and negative directions. If you like one aspect of
something, you'll have a positive tendency toward everything about it. If you
dislike one aspect of something, you'll have a negative inclination toward
everything about it. Below are recommendations to
keep you from being manipulated by the Halo Effect:
Ask yourself
questions-Question yourself. Every time
you pass a judgment about a person or object, ask yourself honestly if the
answer would be different if its image was different.
Avoid
negative (and positive) generalizations-Don’t
let yourself get carried away by other people’s opinions. Try to only think
about the recommendations that come from people who really know what they’re
talking about.
If
they have some kind of authority over a given subject, take their advice into
consideration when making a decision. If they don’t know what they’re talking
about, don’t take their word as fact. An example of the
Halo Effect would be: “No one has
been talking to that new girl, so why would I?”
Be aware of
your non-verbal language-More than 70% of what the other
person perceives comes from non-verbal language. The way you move, your tone of
voice, looking the person in the eyes or shying away, nodding, and other small
body language cues give off much more than you might think.
Be coherent-Coherence, or being loyal to your morals, code of
ethics, likes, and hobbies, is essential for boosting the Halo Effect. You’re
coherent when you say what you think and you do what you say you’ll do.
If
you project an incoherent image, your Halo Effect will be noticeably reduced,
because the other person will see a cheater or liar, and you might end up being
judged. An example of the Halo Effect would be when a politician says in their campaign that the
will raise the minimum wage, but when they get to office the wage is reduced
not raised.
Be conscious
of your judgment-The first step to putting a stop
to the Halo Effect is to be conscious of when you’re wrongfully judging
someone, but the problem with the Halo Effect is that you’re rarely aware that
it’s happening. If you can learn how to make an educated judgment of a person
without letting your own brain manipulate you, you’ll be able to make more
accurate judgments.
An example of the Halo
Effect would be when you see
an overweight person. You might also automatically attribute them with other
negative characteristics. “How could you get that big?” “They must be lazy”…
It’s ugly and you don’t necessarily do it on purpose, but you making
suppositions based off of a primary glance of someone is what the Halo Effect
is capable of doing.
Give your
first impressions a second chance-It’s
almost impossible to keep yourself from making a first impression of someone
you’ve just met, but try to be critical of the first impression that you get.
Try to back up your feelings toward someone with a real data. If you have a
hard time finding a reason why you like or dislike someone, give them a second
chance.
Learn how to
use your intuition well-The most important thing in life
is balance. Don’t doubt yourself and your intuitions because they might be
right. Can you imagine the amount of friends you’ve missed out on, of the
places you’ve never seen, or the things you haven’t tried, just because of a
first impression?
Smiling affects
the Halo Effect-A smile projects kindness,
empathy, and sympathy. Studies have shown that when you smile, you produce a
cause-effect phenomenon: The other person smiles too. You’re likely to like
someone who smiles if it’s a real, honest smile. Try to stay away from a forced
smile. It will do you more harm than good, and you will come off as phony and
unlikable.
Take care of
yourself-Leaving weight, looks, or height
aside; it’s important to help create a positive Halo Effect by having healthy
personal hygiene. Greasy hair, bad body odor, and dirty nails are certainly not
going to help you make a good first impression. It probably sounds obvious, but
you’ll be surprised at how many people are able to go to a job interview with a
dirty shirt or greasy hair.
You’re also
prejudged so reflect-You can
produce the Halo Effect. Take some time to reflect on the image that you
project because it’s easier to see the fault in others before you see your own
faults.
An example of the Halo Effect would be: Ask someone you know well what their first
impression of you was, and reflect on their response.
“My
life has been one great big joke, a dance that's walked a song that's spoke; I
laugh so hard I almost choke when I think about myself.”
(Maya Angelou)
[i]
[i] Sources used:
· “The Halo Effect: 10 Tricks to Successfully Manage It” by Molly Minchew
·
“The Halo Effect” By Jakob Nielsen and Jen
Cardello
·
“What Is the Halo Effect?” by Kristeen
Cherney
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