Researcher Paper
Sample student A
What is The Halo Effect
The halo effect is a result of the impact of the overall impression of something (a phenomenon, a man, a thing) on the perception of its particular features. An example is the impression that people with good look have great mental capacity.
In the management of personnel, halo effect is a source of error in the assessment of the individual. The observer uses a first impression or a memorable feature in the assessment of personality.
Edward Thorndike
Edward Thorndike’s first experimental evidence led to the halo effect.
The Halo Effect (Plous S.,) takes its name from the researcher Edward Thorndike, who found that the highest-ranking military officers who received the task to evaluate their officers on different characteristics, such as intelligence, physique, leadership and character, gave them ratings that often highly correlated. Thorndike also found that there is a positive correlation between teacher’s assessments used to determine their salaries and career advancement. For example, in one case, the overall contribution of teachers was highly correlated with their ratings in appearance, health, speed, intelligence, honesty and sincerity. In another case, the ratings of teachers’ voices were highly correlated with ratings of their intelligence and “interest in public affairs”.
Other Researchers
The halo effect in the field of business analysis, Phil Rosenzweig described in the book of the same name (The Halo Effect: and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers, 2007)
The Quintessence of the Halo Effect and its Impact to Society
Aronson’s Classification
The halo effect may occur in the perceiving person based on previously obtained information or based on the distortion of information on the status, reputation, professional, personal characteristics or qualities of another person.
F. Aronson notes that what we learn about the man in the first place is critical to our opinion of him. Formed specific installation serves as a “halo” in obscuring the real subject of the features, advantages and disadvantages of the object of perception.
The halo effect occurs in the following cases:
- Lack of time. The person does not have time to thoroughly get acquainted with the other person and carefully consider the quality of personality or situation in which he found himself.
-Information overloading. The man is so overloaded with information about the various people that he does not have time to think about the opportunities and details about each individually.
-Insignificance of the other person. Accordingly, there is a vague, indefinite idea of the other, his “halo”.
-Stereotype, which arose on the basis of a generalized view of a large group of people to which the person is on certain parameters belonging.
-Brightness, originality of personality. One kind of personality trait catches the eyes of others and sets off into the background all his other qualities. Psychologists have found that physical attractiveness is often just such a feature.
Positive and Negative Aspects of Halo Effect
The effect of the “halo” may appear in both positive and negative ways.
Exaggerating the virtues of object perception leads them to the delight and total disregard of its real qualities. Accordingly, the behavior of the person taking over the positive halo is characterized by certain features. To maintain this aura he is constantly striving to be the center of attention, says a lot, trying to show awareness and activity, to take the lead.
A detailed study of the psychological aspects of the effect of the “halo” is very important to create the image of a politician to the people around them. It is known, for example, that in the preparation of the campaign it is important to create the image of a politician, that is, things work the effect of the “halo”.
In a negative sense, this effect appears to belittle the merits of object perception, which leads to prejudice against him from perceiving people.
Prejudice is a specific installation of subject based on the information about the negative qualities of the object. Such information is usually not checked for validity and reliability, as perceived by faith. The study of prejudice has a value in the field of ethnic psychology, as people’s perception of other ethnic groups, people tend to draw conclusions about psychological aspects of the entire community and this kind of prejudice is very stable ethno-psychological education. But biases are possible not only in ethnic psychology.
Negative information about the qualities of the individual new employee is able to cause prejudice members of the personnel in relation to it, which greatly complicate the process of adaption in a team.
The Examples of the Halo Effect in Business
One well-known example of the halo effect in business is the iPod. His incredible popularity has influenced the increase in sales of other products of Apple.
In the automotive industry even has a term <halo vehicle>-this is a car that is designed specifically to raise the profile and increase the sales of all brands of cars in general. These models are, for example, Dodge Viper and Ford GT.
Consumer Theory from the Halo effect Point of View
Perfect Customer
Psychologically, the halo effect is closely related to the psychology of the consumer.
Classical theory to explain the behavior of consumers is based on the belief that people make their choice of goods or services deliberately. They weigh the options and choose the most suitable to them.
The very process of making the decision to purchase is divided into five stages. First, a person is aware of its need. Then, the person begins to search for information about using which is possible to satisfy. Defining products of the category he wants, he starts to compare them.
American economist George Loewenstein devoted himself to the study of the influence of emotions on decision-making. As a result, he identified two types of emotions: those that a person is experiencing at the moment and those that it expects to experience in the future. The main emotion in the future is the fear of error, loss, the consequences of wrong decision, not an anticipation of pleasure from the correct choice. Emotions of this affect how quickly and deliberately people will decide how much risk they are willing to take. So, people who are in the state of mild sexual arousal, angry or hungry, make decision faster. Happy people do not take risky decisions. Frightened and frustrated people refuse to accept the decision at all. So, for example, the seller will not sell the car if it is to talk about her safety, because that would make the buyer mentally survive the accident.
Bitter Regret
Psychologists say, that at the moment to buy, people usually experience strong positive emotions (the desire to possess anticipation of pleasure and new feature). After the purchase on the contrary, they become vulnerable and often feel a sense of remorse. The more effort, time and money spent on the purchase of a person, the greater his sense of desolation. Psychologist Barry Swartz in his book “The Paradox of Choice” writes that the main reason for this state is the feeling of missed opportunities.
While most manufacturers believe that they must provide the consumer with the widest possible range of products, in fact they only complicate the process of selecting them. The man who must choose from 100 varieties of cheese is under stress from inability to figure out all the “pros” and “cons”. He does not bear the thought that his final choice costs him not two or three, but 99 missed opportunities.
References
Thorndike, E. L. (1). "A constant error in psychological ratings.". Journal of Applied Psychology 4 (1): 25–29. doi:10.1037/h0071663.
Aronson, Elliot; Bridgeman, Diane (1979), "Jigsaw Groups and the Desegregated Classroom: In Pursuit of Common Goals", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 5 (4): 438–446, doi:10.1177/014616727900500405,
Plous, S. (1993). The psychology of judgment and decision making. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-050477-6
Plous, S. (Ed.). (2003). Understanding prejudice and discrimination. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-255443-4
Rosenzweig, Phil (February 2007). "The Halo Effect and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers". McKinsey Quarterly (McKinsey & Company). Retrieved 2009-07-03.
Kurt W. Mortensen, "Maximum Influence: The 12 Universal Laws of Power Persuasion", AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2004
