What Is The Halo Effect? Examples Of First Impression Effects
Do you think being handsome can benefit you? Are there prejudices about our beauty? Discover how it affects the first impression through the Halo Effect and the Horn Effect.
We all like to make a good first impression on others. This fact only highlights the need that we all have to be accepted by society. Although this may seem like a social conviction, in reality the ability to appreciate or despise others at first glance is a natural mechanism that we all have. This is what the so-called halo effect
The Halo Effect It occurs when we prejudge someone positively without having information about it. We draw a metaphorical halo, that is, we focus on a positive quality of that person and generalize it to apply it to the rest of the aspects of that person.
I’ll give you an example: it’s your first day at work, you arrive at your job and one of your colleagues greets you with a smile and explains your duties in detail. The first thing you may think is that this colleague is very nice and you may even get along well. Shortly after, you discover your classmate criticizing you and making fun of you for how clumsy you are being on your first day.
In this example, the problem is that just because he greeted you with a smile and explained how everything works, you have assumed that he is a nice, respectful, empathetic person and perhaps you could even have a friendship. You have attributed personality traits and values to that person from a certain behavior, and you have been wrong. This it is the halo effect that is, you have attributed positive qualities to a person based only on a specific characteristic.
On the other hand, the so-called Horn effect It is precisely the opposite. Therefore, what we do on this occasion is attribute negative traits or qualities to someone without having enough information, that is, we prejudge negatively.
For example: you have a dinner with some friends but one of them has decided to come with someone you don’t know. You are introduced to her and she is an apparently serious person, she has very marked features and the corners of her mouth and the expression of her eyebrows show an angry face. In addition to her, you hear her speak and she has a very sharp tone and a thick voice. And all you had to do was ask him for the salt and he wouldn’t listen to you. In short, you don’t know why but you dislike her and you don’t know anything about her nor have you exchanged any words yet. This would be an example of the Horn Effect, since although apparently this girl may seem a little unfriendly, perhaps she is just her appearance and in reality she is a nice but shy girl.
Now, the problem of Halo Effect and the Horn Effect is that many times we continue to pay selective attention to positive or negative traits, we do not value everything as a whole, but rather we are interested in the traits that will make us continue maintaining our hypothesis and we therefore maintain a biased vision of people.
As he halo effect such as the Horn effect imply a stereotype about physical attractiveness, based on the idea that ‘what is beautiful is also good’. So much so that according to various studies, people who consider themselves attractive tend to receive a higher rating in other positive traits. Although the halo effect mainly happens in people with attractive features, there are also cases in which it happens with other characteristics of people such as extroversion or socialization.
Why does the Halo effect and the Horn effect occur?
The first to grant to the Halo effect one meaning was Edward Thorndike. This researcher asked various army officers to evaluate his subordinate soldiers. In this experiment, Thorndike discovered how high ratings of a particular quality also correlated with high ratings of other characteristics, and precisely the opposite was true for negative aspects.
He meaning of Halo It gained much more strength when through different studies it was found that even the members of a jury were distorted by it. So much so that it was shown that they were less likely to believe that attractive people were less guilty of criminal behavior.
Despite the halo effect It normally influences people in a positive sense, some research has also shown that there may be certain prejudices regarding beauty. Among them, many people tend to connect physical attractiveness with vanity, dishonesty and trying to manipulate others with beauty.
He halo effect It happens because our perception is a constructive process. When we form impressions of others, we not only rely solely on objective information, but we actively construct an image that often fits with what we already know. As a result, our general perceptions of people bias our ability to make judgments about other characteristics.
Example 1. Diagnosis of health problems: A Halo effect example can be found in the medical field. Studies have shown that doctors may assume that a patient is healthy because the person appears ‘healthy.’
Example 2. Evaluation at school: He Halo effect has examples also in the educational world. In fact, studies have shown that more attractive students tend to receive higher grades. Even when teachers are experienced, they can still fall into this cognitive trap.
How can the Halo effect and the Horn effect affect us?
This characteristic of our human psychology can harm us in different aspects. Whether we are considered attractive by others and create this halo effect as if on the contrary, we do not receive these attributes.
In education: According to many researches the halo effect can cause teachers to interact much more with students they see as more attractive. So much so that these studies have shown how teachers had higher expectations of children who they rated as more attractive than those who were not.
Job: Although it seems that adults can be more critical of our prejudices, the reality is that precisely the opposite happens. Even at work we can be harmed (or benefited, in the event that beauty is overwhelming) by the halo effect In this way, supervisors can rate their subordinates based on the perception of a single characteristic rather than your entire functions. In addition, our physical attractiveness can also play a very relevant role in hiring.
Marketing: As you can imagine, marketers take advantage of the halo effect to sell your products and services. That is why we keep seeing how photographs of models who are culturally considered authentic beauties are used in advertisements.
There are many occasions in which our physique and attractiveness can play a role in first impressions. Even so, these traits can be improved not only through physical exercise, but also by enjoying good mental health. Therefore, it is crucial to have a psychologist to improve not only our interior but also your exterior.
How can we prevent the Halo and Horn effect from dominating us?
Human nature is determined to prejudge others. Even so, these instincts can be replaced by realistic judgments towards others. In this way we can make the halo effect be towards the interior of a person (since we know their real virtues) and not towards the exterior.
Don’t make value judgments: We cannot avoid making value judgments, all humans do. What we can do is analyze ourselves, that is, see what emotions the people we have just seen for the first time arouse in us and avoid getting carried away only by the negative or positive aspects, that is, if you focus above all on the good in them. people, focus on finding their flaws. And if you’re only looking at the negative, look for any positive aspects it may have.
Don’t trust the first impression: Another thing we can do to not get carried away by these effects is not to trust the first impression too much. That is, wait to see more experiences with that person to see if the same opinion is maintained, trying to be as objective as possible. To do this, try to relive the encounter at home (through your imagination) as if you were watching it from a television screen as a spectator and not the protagonist of the scene.
Comment your impressions: Finally, another thing that can go very well is to talk to someone you trust about what impression the same person has given you. Sometimes it is surprising how a person that you judge positively has been judged negatively by the other person and vice versa. Talk to other people and have them explain their impressions to you. That way you can discover things that perhaps you had not seen or interpreted.
Getting carried away by cognitive biases such as Halo or Horn effect It can cause us to miss the opportunity to meet great people. So much so that these perceptions often take a toll on us as we trust people that perhaps we shouldn’t just because of their appearance. Learning to separate what one is from what one reflects is vital to not only stop judging others, but to accept ourselves as we are.
