He was also ranked as overall “better” than the others. These included leadership ability and intelligence.īased on the results, Thorndike noted that positive and negative traits formed by the officers were based on unrelated traits that had to do with physical impressions.įor example, a tall and attractive subordinate was perceived as being the most intelligent. It’s based on Thorndike’s observations of military officers during experiments that involved men “ranking” subordinates.īefore the officers even communicated with their subordinates, Thorndike had the superiors rank them based on character traits. The term “halo effect” was coined in 1920 by Edward L. In turn, you may alter your thinking habits and make more informed decisions without passing ill-informed judgments on other people. Read on to learn more about the halo effect to get a better understanding of how you form opinions about others. In a nutshell, a person’s perceived negative or positive trait creates a “halo” of an overall impression of that same person. This can work positively or negatively in another person’s favor, and it can apply to multiple situations. It’s a psychology term that describes an error in reasoning based on one single trait you know of another person or thing. The above example illustrates how the halo effect can work. You’ve heard that first impressions count. You subconsciously form these opinions despite the fact you really don’t know if Dave would actually be a good team leader at all. These include leadership and intelligence. This is because your positive thoughts about Dave’s looks influence how you think of him in other positive terms. You don’t know Dave well, but you consider Dave a tall and attractive person. You’re at work, and your boss asks your opinion about whether your co-worker, Dave, would be a good team leader for an upcoming project. Share on Pinterest Illustration by Ruth Basagoitia
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