halo effect

A cognitive bias where a positive impression in one area (attractiveness, status, first impression) influences judgement in unrelated areas — assuming that because someone is good at one thing, they must be good at others.

• (compound term)

• halo effect bias
• halo effect in hiring
• halo effect in marketing
• reverse halo effect
• suffer from the halo effect

1. 1.Attractive defendants receive lighter sentences on average — the halo effect causes jurors to unconsciously assume that good-looking people are also good people. (appearance bias)
2. 2.Apple's sleek product design creates a halo effect: consumers assume that because the hardware looks premium, the software and service must also be superior. (brand bias)

• attribution bias (ascribing qualities based on limited information)
• horn effect (the negative opposite — one bad trait colours all judgements)

coined by psychologist Edward Thorndike in 1920 — from the halo depicted around saints in religious art — a glow of goodness that radiates outward