How the Halo Effect Concerns All of Us

If there’s ever been a time you felt mistreated or misunderstood by someone else whether it be an employer, a mutual friend, or a stranger, you may have been the victim of the halo effect.

It’s known as the halo effect because those we tend to form better first impressions of are more likely to fit our requirements for likability simply because we judged them prematurely.

Although it is out of our control for people to form opinions on us as soon as we meet them, if we understand the effect, we can prevent others from being treated differently than they may normally be used to.

What is the halo effect?

The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which our impressions of people influence how we feel and think about their character before truly getting to know them.

However, the effect can stay with someone we have a better relationship with as this is our way of sticking to what we know and who we trust.

It’s similar to the anchoring effect which I wrote about and you can view here.

The anchoring effect is when we form opinions on topics before we know everything about it as we want to feel we understand it before we fully do.