Is it true that attractive or talented people gain more advantages than others?
Before going into the content, think about the following real-life examples. Do they ever cross your mind?
Think about body shape – What kind of body shape is associated with hardworking? Or healthier? (Oh yes, I have been through that stage of being looked “differently”.)
Worshipping idols based on their physical appearance or talents. (Haven’t we all been through that teenage stage?)
On a similar scale, having a crush on someone just because he/she is attractive. Then being frustrated with this person’s unacceptable flaws after dating for a while. (No…not speaking from experience…………)
Overrating a product’s features (e.g., quality, value, etc.) when you see a “trusted” brand name. (I wonder which cell phone brand you are using?)
Psychologist Edward Thorndike asked some military commanding officers to appraise their subordinate soldiers’ characteristics such as dependability, aptitude, intelligence, and physical appearance in his research. He wanted to investigate if people are influenced by #stereotyping their appraisals on a particular trait of another person. The officers intuitively heightened the ratings in reliability, intelligence, and leadership skills when the soldiers had better physiques. This research shed light on a common psychological phenomenon coined the Halo Effect #HaloEffect.
The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias that explains why people “judge a book by its cover”. #cognitivebias
It explains the tendency for people to subjectively infer an overestimated general impression based on a single positive trait. This outstanding trait (e.g., physical appearance), which is only a partial impression, enhances the evaluation of other traits such as responsibility, personality, ability, intelligence, etc. This “halo” serves as the holy aura or glow around the person, creating a biased perception.
The Halo Effect operates on a top-down processing perception. It occurs when we make judgments by taking one or two of its characteristics to deduce the whole without analyzing every component. We fill in the missing pieces with properties that are “seemingly rational” from our past experiences. For example, rather than analyzing every characteristic of a person (e.g., the face, the voice, etc.), we form an image of our best friend just by seeing the back of a person.
Although the halo effect “beautifies” our world, it can potentially lead to undesirable results like #prejudice or over #generalization. Besides the examples listed in the beginning, here are more examples:
Athletes, singers, doctors, or specialists seem more professional, trustworthy, hardworking, capable, and kind when they possess a charming appearance. (This reminds me of people picking the “best looking” fruit in the supermarket. Do they really taste better? Maybe we can try to hold an orange “beauty” contest and see which orange is judged to be the “sweetest”.)
Teachers and students are unconsciously assessed or evaulated more positively because of their physical appearance or language ability. (I am aware of the halo effect, so my students also acknowledge that some things don’t work on me. I am also quite sure that my teaching evaluation is accurate and free from the halo effect. )
So next time you meet a foreigner, a superstar on a product (spokesman), going on a date or slapping on some brand-name clothes, think about whether the halo effect gets in your way or gives you the advantages.
References / Further Readings
Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977). The halo effect: Evidence for unconscious alteration of judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(4), 250–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.35.4.250
Sanrey, C., Bressoux, P., Lima, L., & Pansu, P. (2021). A new method for studying the halo effect in teachers' judgement and its antecedents: Bringing out the role of certainty. British journal of educational psychology, 91(2), 658-675. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12385
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
Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error in psychological ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0071663
About the Author
Andy CHO is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the Education University of Hong Kong. He has over 14 years of teaching experience in secondary and tertiary education with positions such as a subject vice-panel chairperson, a discipline team teacher, a course designer, and a program coordinator.