The halo effect

The halo effect influences how you judge others. Just because someone has a single positive trait doesn't mean you should form a favourable opinion of them. Conversely, just because they have a single negative quality doesn't mean you should form a negative impression.

The sequence in which we observe something matters as the halo effect increases the weight of the first impression.

One study presented two descriptions of a person. Both had identical traits. Description A opens with positive traits ( intelligent, industrious) and end...

Psychologist Edward Thorndike first wrote about the halo effect in his 1920 paper "A Constant Error in Psychological Ratings". He notes that people tend to think of a person in general as relatively good or rather inferior and to judge the qualities of a person by this g...

You can take advantage of how other people view you and the things you make.

For example, we can take into account how our traits and behaviours in one area will influence how other people perceive us in different areas and how they will observe us overall.

• The halo effect in marketing: The halo effect can also influence how we judge things, such as products and companies. For example, if you have a positive impression of a specific brand, you're more likely to buy products from that brand.
• The horns ...