HALO EFFECT - AN ANTI-THESIS TO LOVE-AT-FIRST-SIGHT THEORY

What is Halo Effect?

Halo effect is a kind of cognitive bias. The textbook definition for Halo effect is as follows -

the tendency for an impression created in one area to influence opinion in another area. It can be both Positive and Negative.

Creatively named, if the influence is positive - its called Halo effect (Like an angel with Halo) and if the influence is negative - its called Horn effect ( Like a devil with horns).

But in simple words, its basically how your mind tends to play an assumption game. Now again, these assumptions can stem from various characteristics or attributes. For instance, you see someone all dressed exotically in a wedding and your brain automatically categorizes them into the Rich well educated family, only to realize how wrong you were after a conversation.

I bet some of you are now thinking about your tinder dates that went south ! ;p

Why should I know this?

• For Unbiased Decision Making:

Halo effect can be extremely crucial when it comes to decision making. Unconsciously, our mind tends to be biased towards a certain outcome based on an incident that occurred before. In fact, in his book – Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kaheman

substantiates Halo Effect by calling it “Exaggerated Emotional Coherence” and sights his observation of how the grading of the students essay depended on the first essay he would go through. If the first essay was a splendid one, the following essays had better grading and if the first essay was a bad one , the grades saw a downfall.

• To be aware of internal mental categorization for both animate and inanimate:

Halo effect is known by many names including “Physical attractiveness Stereotype” , which is to emphasize how physical appearance leads to a blur in judgement. This leads to racial categorization and "what is beautiful should also be good " thinking. This is also true for products. In fact, Brands rely on Halo effect to launch a new product.

• To en-cash our mind's bias :

But the Halo effect is not always the Villain of the story. Halo effect is seen bringing about a positive impact.

In the book The One Thing – the author while elaborating on the power of habit sights the evidence of Halo effect around habit creation. In a study on adopting a new healthy habit it was found that students who successfully acquired one positive habit reported less stress, less impulsive spending , and indulging in better dietary habits.

Moreover, We have been trained to utilize the Halo effect of the others to our advantage. Someone wise once said

" You never get a second chance to make a first Impression". What they basically meant was - " Let Halo effect do your job for you son".

In short:

Halo effect runs in the background of your thinking process and sometimes can go unnoticed. Hence, the bias goes unnoticed. Sometimes it leads to some regretful decisions – in case of judgements, sometimes it results in loss – of money (especially for investors). But again, except the few enlightened ones among us, we all are susceptible to this kind of cognitive bias. By being aware and more mindful, we can channel our mind to make better decisions.