The halo effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when a general positive or negative impression of a person, object or company influences our judgment on specific characteristics of that person, object or company. In other words, when we have a favorable opinion of a person or object, we tend to perceive their specific traits in a positive light, and vice versa.
Various academic studies have been run on this cognitive bias. We summarize three of them in this article.
“A constant error in psychological ratings” by Thorndike in 1920
The first study on the halo effect was conducted by Thorndike in 1920, it was entitled “A constant error in psychological ratings.” In this study, army officers were asked to rate the personal qualities of their subordinates.
During his analysis, Thorndike presented various personality traits, such as “intelligent,” “honest,” and “kind” to participants, asking them to evaluate several individuals based on given descriptions.
Each individual was described as having either an attractive or unattractive physical appearance.
The results revealed that participants tended to attribute positive personality traits to individuals with an attractive physical appearance, while those with an unattractive physical appearance were associated with negative personality traits.
This study was essential as it was the first to highlight the halo effect and demonstrate its impact on psychological evaluations. It opened the way for numerous other research studies on this topic, which have helped to better understand this cognitive bias and propose ways to correct it.
“What is beautiful is good” by Dion, Berscheid and Walster in 1972
Another study was conducted by Dion, Berscheid and Walster in 1972, it was entitled “What is beautiful is good.”
In this study, the experts used men to participate in a romantic dating analysis. The experts
showed them photos of women, categorized by their physical appearance: beautiful, ordinary or
unattractive.
The participants were asked to evaluate each woman based on several criteria, such as intelligence, kindness, honesty, morality and ability to succeed in life. The results showed that women deemed beautiful were rated more positively on all criteria than women deemed unattractive.
Furthermore, the participants were also invited to interact with a woman of their choice. The women presented as beautiful received more date proposals than women presented as unattractive.
This analysis highlighted the importance of the halo effect in social interactions and demonstrated that social judgments can be influenced by physical appearance. However, this study has been criticized for its lack of diversity in the samples used and for its focus on the male perception of female appearance.
“The effect of physical attractiveness on teacher expectations” by Clifford and Walster in 1973
This study was conducted by Clifford and Walster in 1973, it was entitled “The effect of physical
attractiveness on teacher expectations.” Its main goal was to examine the halo effect in an educational setting. To do this, the researchers showed photos of student faces to six teachers from two different schools, who then evaluated their academic potential.
The study’s results showed that teachers had higher expectations for students they judged to be
physically attractive, regardless of their actual academic potential. Moreover, teachers spent more time interacting with students they considered attractive.
This study demonstrates the existence of a halo effect in the school context, as teachers’ expectations and treatment of students depend on their physical attractiveness.