How the Halo Effect Can Shape Your Opinions of People

Imagine meeting someone you find physically attractive. Without meaning to, you assume that they’re also intelligent, trustworthy and kind — even though you have no evidence to support those beliefs.

This is called the halo effect, says psychologist Kia-Rai Prewitt, PhD — when one thing you like about a person drives all of your other assumptions about them.

What is the halo effect?

The halo effect is a type of cognitive bias that describes how perceiving one positive quality in a person can create a “halo” of positivity that extends to other, unrelated attributes. Psychologist Edward Thorndike coined the term in the 1920s.

“The halo effect is like a shortcut that our brain makes,” Dr. Prewitt explains. “If we have a positive first impression of someone, it can be natural to want to assume that they must be a good person. But this can lead you to ignore other things about them.”

When you see that someone has a certain trait you admire or value, you may subconsciously let it overshadow everything else about them — for better and for worse.

Halo effect examples

This phenomenon is often about physical attractiveness. In fact, it’s sometimes known as the “What is beautiful is good” principle. Studies show that when someone is attractive, we’re more likely to assume they have other positive attributes, too — everything from confidence and trustworthiness to intelligence and emotional stability.

But other traits can also induce the halo effect, like:

• Physical fitness
• Leadership qualities
• Likeability and charm
• Certain social status or achievements
• Perceived intelligence

Let’s say you have a colleague who speaks confidently in meetings and always looks put-together. You don’t know them very well, but you’re impressed by them. You assume they’re organized, detail-oriented and great at their job.

But one day, when you’re assigned to a project together, you realize that their reports are filled with errors and they’re not great with deadlines! It turns out that their confidence and poise created a “halo” around them, influencing your perception of their job performance.

The impact of the halo effect

The halo effect can influence how you form first impressions of other people and evaluate their skills, abilities and personality traits. That sounds OK, right? No harm, no foul?

But assuming good characteristics can also cause you to overlook negative ones. Dr. Prewitt outlines some of the areas of life where this type of cognitive bias can rear its head and what kind of impact it can have.

In relationships

A single positive trait, like attractiveness or charisma, can lead you to form a positive bias in romantic relationships and friendships.

Sometimes, the effect is relatively harmless — like, say, when you meet someone good-looking and develop a huge crush on them, fantasizing about your future together. But when you eventually go on a date, you realize that personality-wise, they’re actually not a good match for you at all. Oops!

But in more dire circumstances, ignoring negative characteristics can lead you to disregard red flags, develop unhealthy relationships and even stay in toxic or abusive relationships.

“If you have an overall positive impression of someone, you may be more likely to ignore or even fail to notice their negative behaviors,” Dr. Prewitt cautions.

At work

On the job, the halo effect can impact how you assess your colleagues. If someone is highly skilled in one area, you may assume they have other positive qualities, too.

If an employee excels in one aspect of the job, the supervisor may perceive their overall performance more positively and overlook areas of concern. This can lead to favoritism and contribute to a toxic work environment.

Studies show that the halo effect also shows up during the interview process. Hiring managers may focus on one positive quality in job candidates — say, the university they attended or how eloquent they are — which can cause them to look favorably upon supposedly less-qualified candidates.

“When a hiring manager sees this positive aspect of a candidate, they may make a decision before getting all the information,” Dr. Prewitt points out.

In the classroom

Even educators can be vulnerable to the halo effect. Multiple studies have looked at how this phenomenon can affect grading, but it can arise in other scenarios, too.

Imagine a teacher who can’t believe his star pupil could be a bully outside the classroom. Or an academic advisor who places a high-achieving math student into an advanced English class, assuming they must be great at both.

“These types of assumptions can put pressure on certain students and can lead to other classmates feeling dismissed or ignored,” Dr. Prewitt notes.

In marketing

The halo effect is everywhere in marketing. It’s the whole reason celebrities make for such compelling salespeople. If you see a star you love singing the praises of a product you’ve yet to try, your positive view of that person may extend to the item they’re selling.

“You assume the product is great because you think the person selling it is great,” Dr. Prewitt says.

About other people’s health

The halo effect can influence our perceptions about other people in a variety of ways, including how we view their mental and physical health.

Our perceptions of the way someone else’s body looks can lead to assumptions about their overall health or other characteristics. If, for example, you perceive someone as being physically fit, you may immediately assume they’re healthy — when, in reality, their lifestyle habits skew toward junk food and a sedentary lifestyle.

The same goes for mental health. If you perceive someone as being successful, intelligent or attractive, you may have a hard time believing they could be dealing with a condition like depression.

“If someone is typically seen as being strong and able to handle their problems, the people around them may fail to recognize signs of mental health concerns,” Dr. Prewitt says.

What is the opposite of the halo effect?

This type of cognitive bias can happen in the other direction, too: Your perception of one negative quality can lead to a negative bias overall. This is sometimes called the “horn effect,” and it can have just as much of an impact on the way we see and treat others.

For instance, in academic settings, Dr. Prewitt says the horn effect can play a role in creating reputations that can be hard for students to shake.

“Think about kids who have gotten in trouble for something in the past,” she says. “Teachers, administrators and other kids all talk to each other, so one incident can really follow a student and affect the way others see them. Now, others have a negative impression of that student, all because of one incident from their past.”

The horn effect can occur in all of the other settings as the halo effect, too. For example:

• Your coworker is a little bit awkward and dresses in a way that you think is “weird,” so you assume they’re also probably bad at their job. In reality, they’re one of the best in the department.
• A participant in your cycling class has a larger body type than the others, so you assume they’ve never worked out before. As it turns out, she’s actually a former triathlete recovering from an injury.
• You’re not attracted to a guy you encounter on a dating app, which leads you to suspect that he must be a total creep, rather than the kind, thoughtful, funny person he really is.

These examples all sound a little extreme and a lot rude. But often, we make these snap judgments so quickly and so subconsciously that we don’t even realize we’re doing it — or how unfair we’re being.

How to combat the halo effect

None of us is immune to cognitive biases, much as we’d like to think we are. What we can do, Dr. Prewitt says, is work to consciously reverse them. Try these strategies:

• Reflect on your biases. The first step is to recognize that the halo effect exists. Then, consider how it has influenced your past perceptions and judgments. “It’s always good to self-reflect,” Dr. Prewitt affirms. “And in this case, it can help you look at how you’ve made past decisions.”
• Look at the whole picture. The halo effect can cause you to make snap decisions, so make an effort to seek evidence to support or refute your judgments. “Give yourself some time before you make a decision about another person,” Dr. Prewitt advises. “Ask yourself: Is there enough information to support your positive or negative evaluation beyond just the one impression you’re focusing on?”
• Listen to feedback (and criticism). Staying open to feedback and constructive criticism can help you see situations and people from a variety of angles — not just through the distortion of the halo effect. This gives you a more complete and realistic view of what’s going on. “Asking for other people’s thoughts can help you see something that you didn’t pick up on,” says Dr. Prewitt.

Think about how much information you take in every single day. A lot, right? It’s understandable that your brain tries to take a shortcut to try to condense some of that information. But you don’t have to let it happen.

“If you notice that you’re experiencing the halo effect, that’s already a good first step,” Dr. Prewitt encourages. “Keeping your mind open with each interaction you have with others can help you challenge the halo effect and other forms of cognitive bias.”