HRpedia: 'Halo Effect'
Halo there, sailor
Halo effect, n.
They drill into you from a young age that the early bird gets the worm. What they don’t tell you is that the really sexy bird gets worms fed to it from a golden platter, free healthcare insurance and a permanent reservation at the RSPB suite in the Ritz.
A lot of that comes down to the ‘halo effect’.
The definition goes like this: having one clear and obvious visible attribute (i.e. good looks) leads people to assumptions of similar benevolent qualities in all other aspects of your life, even without supporting evidence.
This means that neutral actions are cast in a positive light solely based on how a person looks.
So, while Prince Charming may look like he’s wistfully reflecting on the world’s sorrows and Quasimodo may look like he’s preparing to betray friends and family, the chances are they both wondering whether they locked the front door.
Despite the optimistic name, the halo effect is a fairly pernicious phenomenon (especially when you consider its counterpart, the horns effect) because it blinds us to people’s actual characteristics. This can lead to compromised decision making when hiring, promoting, or running performance appraisals.
Studies done on academic test marking have shown that those with attractive photos attached are marked more favourably than those with unattractive photos attached. Those with no photos fall somewhere in between. The same bias can be found in sentencing in criminal cases, and in perceptions of leadership qualities.
Good looks aren’t the only possible culprit either — anything we notice recently about a person has a tendency to overshadow their other actions. So, for example, being perky and enthusiastic can cover up long term underperformance, as the positive quality colours our opinions and make us more likely to give somebody the benefit of the doubt.
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