Confidence can be an attractive quality in anyone — especially when it comes to getting ahead at work. The halo effect refers to a cognitive bias that occurs when someone has a positive impression of someone or something because of another unrelated positive characteristic they associate with that person or thing. The halo effect is also known as the horned devil principle and is based on the old proverb, “The devil is not so black as he is painted”; which means that we tend to ascribe positive attributes to people based on one good quality they have instead of seeing them for who they really are. This article explores how you can recognize if your co-workers suffer from the halo effect and how this could influence your next performance review.

What is the Halo Effect?

The halo effect is a cognitive bias that occurs when someone has a positive impression of someone or something because of another unrelated positive characteristic they associate with that person or thing. The halo effect can also refer to a management style that places excessive emphasis on one or two aspects of an employees’ job performance while ignoring other important qualities. The term “halo effect” was coined in 1921 by Edward Thorndike in his article “The Influence of the Haloes of Certainty on Certainty.” The halo effect is closely related to the pragmatism concept coined by William James in 1907, which means that people make decisions based on what is known rather than what is unknown.

How the Halo Effect can impact Decision Making in Business

How can the halo effect impact the way we make decisions in business? Imagine you’re interviewing a job candidate. they're smart, charismatic and come across as very knowledgeable about marketing strategy. On paper, they're the perfect candidate. Both you and your hiring manager are very impressed with them. And, you decide to offer them the job. Unfortunately, it turns out that they're not very good at their job. It’s discovered that they don't even have the qualifications they claimed to have. How did this happen? You probably suffered from the halo effect. You were so enamoured by their confidence that you ignored other important qualities, such as their knowledge of the subject matter and thier skill set. The halo effect can be very dangerous if it leads you to make rash decisions.

The Basking-Rook Theory

The Basking-rook Theory suggests that when we encounter someone who has one positive quality, we automatically ascribe other positive qualities to them. Your hiring manager might have had a positive experience with someone who was very confident in the past, and this might have influenced his decision to hire the job candidate who was confident. If this hiring manager had the same experience with someone who wasn’t very confident, he probably wouldn’t have hired them. The Basking-rook Theory can be applied to any situation where someone has a positive experience with someone. This could be anything from visiting a restaurant they really like to talking with a salesperson who knows their product well.

The Spotlight effect

The Spotlight effect refers to the tendency for others to pay attention to a person who is attractive or who is in the spotlight. The spotlight effect can be applied to any situation in which someone is being given special attention. For example, if your company is giving a presentation and one of your co-workers is very attractive, the spotlight will probably be on them. If a very attractive person is being interviewed on television and they make a mistake, you probably won’t notice it because the spotlight will be on them. So, if someone at work is very attractive or if they’re the company spokesperson, you might be inclined to ignore their errors or mistakes because you’re paying too much attention to their good qualities.

Takeaway

The halo effect refers to a cognitive bias that occurs when someone has a positive impression of someone or something because of another unrelated positive characteristic they associate with that person or thing. This happens when someone has a positive experience with someone who has one good quality and automatically attributes other positive characteristics to them. The Basking-rook Theory suggests that when we encounter someone who has one positive quality, we automatically ascribe other positive qualities to them. The Spotlight effect refers to the tendency for others to pay attention to a person who is attractive or who is in the spotlight.

‍