People form an opinion about an object or a person they encounter for the first time based on the characteristics of the object or person at first sight and by making use of their previous life experiences. This is called the halo effect, a cognitive bias. 

From the first encounter with a new product, a new brand, a new person, we form our own judgments. If our view of something changes or is affected by a single characteristic, we are under the influence of the halo effect. The halo effect can affect both the way we look at other people and the way other people look at us, so it is important to be aware of it.

Believing that people who are beautiful on the outside will be beautiful on the inside, buying books with beautiful covers thinking that they are beautiful, thinking that every product of a brand we like will be good are examples of the halo effect.

There is more than one reason for the halo effect. The first reason is the desire to be right. For example, if we think someone is funny and nice, even if we hear bad things about them, we try to justify our positive thoughts because we don’t want to be wrong. This is also called confirmation bias. A person tends to interpret the information they learn in line with their own beliefs.

It can sometimes be difficult to consider a part separately from the whole to which it belongs. This is the second reason for the halo effect. In other words, when people try to deal with one aspect of something, other things get involved. So they tend to take it as a whole.

The third reason why we get the halo effect is that it makes our work easier. When we’re trying to get an idea about something, if the parameters are multiplied, it’s hard to get an idea. Instead, relying on a single factor makes it easier for us. In a way, we take a shortcut.

The next reason is that we think that certain features are related to other features. This feature varies depending on our past experiences. An example is when we think a new building is sturdy.

In addition, there are some useful aspects of the halo effect when discovering new things. Sometimes when we learn something new we need to make a quick decision about it, or we don’t know enough about it yet to make a detailed decision. In these cases, it can be useful to take shortcuts. For example, if we are looking at two different products whose technical specifications we don’t yet know and we have to choose between them, we might choose the one that looks better to our eyes. However, this can also cause us to make wrong decisions from time to time. We can be manipulated by people who are aware of this situation.

The halo effect can affect our perspective on people positively or negatively. Either way, being aware of the halo effect allows us to make more rational decisions. Just as any one good trait is not enough for an overall positive outlook, any negative trait is not enough for a negative outlook. We need to be aware of the halo effect and observe as objectively as possible.

The halo effect can influence our view of other people as well as other people’s view of us. Because of this effect, people can make assumptions about other aspects of us based on a single trait we have or a single action we take. It is actually possible to turn this situation in our favor. By making very small changes in our attitudes, we can completely change the way people see us. This is how the halo effect can work to our advantage.

People encounter the halo effect in different areas of life. However, it is not always easy to determine how and in which situation the halo effect affects us. Also, not all human conclusions are based on the halo effect. Even in some cases where the halo effect can be observed, it varies from case to case.

But the halo effect affects not only our opinions about people, but also our opinions about other things, such as products and companies. For example, we may not have any positive opinion about a product we come across. But just because we have a positive opinion about the company that produces that product, we might be inclined to buy the product itself. The halo effect therefore plays an important role in marketing strategies. It can also be used to determine how valuable a brand name is.

However, people sometimes differentiate between positive and negative emotions and only refer to the halo effect when interpreting positive emotions. This is called the reverse halo effect.

Elif Akdogan

Sources:

I. Shatz, et al. Halo Etkisi Nedir? İnsanlar Neden Kitabı Kapağıyla Yargılıyor?. (10 Nisan 2022). Alındığı Tarih: 20 Ağustos 2023. Alındığı Yer: https://evrimagaci.org/s/11610