The halo effect phenomenon is researched by Nisbett & Wilson (1977) and published in their experimental paper titled The Halo Effect: Evidence for Unconscious Alteration of Judgments and will be the main topic of this paper. The halo effect, also known as the physical attractiveness stereotype is a form of cognitive bias in which we assume that people who are physically attractive are also blessed with other appealing attributes such as kindness and intelligence. Limited information about the halo effect is known, and experiments conducted on the topic are even scarcer. This stereotype is portrayed to us at a young age through most Disney movies where we learn that if something is beautiful it is also good. A prime example is Cinderella and …show more content…
This helps us organize the schemas related to how we see the world despite not always being correct. Assuming that anyone who is kind is also honest and trustworthy is a prime example. That being said self-fulfilling prophecies occur when our beliefs lead us to fulfilling them. If a teacher assumes that a student is intelligent based on factors other than intelligence it can actually push the student to achieve academically. The teacher may dedicate more time to help the student, may call on them more in class, and may give better feedback. If a student believes they are intelligent and capable they are more likely to pursue their studies with greater focus and motivation. What is apparent is that the way people judge and perceive others attributes based on global perceptions and evaluations can in fact affect what opportunities a person is given in life, as well as their …show more content…
Researchers combined the data together for males and females as the results for both genders showed no significant difference. Researchers did not inform the students of the actual hypothesis (as stated above) to ensure genuine and unbiased responses. Students were informed that researchers were interested in knowing whether student’s initial evaluations of a professor were identical to evaluations students had reported after spending an entire semester with him. The independent variable of interest was the psychology professor whom was manipulated to play the role of a likeable, respectful, flexible and enthusiastic professor in interview number one, and an unlikeable, cold, untrusting and dictative professor in interview number two. To ensure a baseline for appearance in both interviews the researchers showed participants either tape one or tape two interviews without any sound. Students were asked to rate his physical appearance and only a miniscule difference was noted. Interview questions were also operationalized to be the same in both interviews to avoid inconsistency. Students were split into groups to watch one of the two interviews containing the same professor. The dependent variables used included the professor’s perceived likeability, and characteristics including physical appearance, mannerisms and accent which were measured
The human race is comprised of a plethora of shapes, sizes, colors, and figures. Some of these images are regarded as ‘distorted’ in dominant culture, but these distortions are what makes every person unique and should be celebrated. Stereotypes, whether positive or negative, take these ‘distortions’ and assign behavioral attributes to them. This assumes that all persons who meet a certain set of physical requirements behave in a similar way. Due to the diversity of the human race, this outcome is highly improbable. Despite this, stereotypes are often used to describe a group of people, usually amplifying a negative trait that may not b...
The example above took place in 1971. Philip Zimbardo, the head administrator of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California conducted this experiment with the help of some other professors at the university, and twenty four male college students from the university. The initial purpose of the experiment was to examine the effect of roles. Zi...
Many people’s assumptions are driven by appearance but in some cases the appearance can be
One of the problems with graphic rating scales that quickly became apparent after their introduction is the so-called ‘halo effect.’ When examining graphic ratings of performance, Ford (2001) found that there was a tendency for raters to give similar scores to a ratee on all dimensions of performance. Parrill (1999( To rate a worker in this manner would be the equivalent of rating the worker on one single scale, as opposed to many different scales that measure different aspects of work performance. Other researchers also discovered this problem. Parrill (1999) Soon, there was a great deal of literature documenting the problem of halo when using graphic rating scales. More current literature has also documented the issue of halo, citing that it continues to be a pervasive problem with graphic rating scales (Landy and Farr, 2000).
There is a famous saying that states, “ we should not judge a book by its cover”, but oftentimes the first thing noticed on a person is their looks. One’s “physical beauty” strongly influences people’s first impressions of them. As a whole, we tend to assume that pretty people are more likeable and better people than those who are unattractive. Around the world, we believe that what is beautiful is good. There is a general consensus within a culture about what is considered physically appealing and beautiful. “Physical beauty” is associated with being more sociable, intelligent, and even socially skilled. Society shares this common notion of who has and who does not have “physical beauty”. Thus, “physical beauty”, as seen
To test the romantic red effect, Elliot et al conducted five experiments. For experiment 3, the researchers conducted a self-report study where participants reported their level of attraction using a rating scale. The researchers operationalized the independent variable of the red and gray conditions as changing the background colors behind female photos and operationalized the dependent variable of attraction as the participant’s rating of the women. The result of experiment 3 was that men viewed women as more attractive on a red background than a
Typically, 2 people will form an opinion of others within the first 3 seconds of meeting one another. The way these opinions are formed so quickly is, generally speaking, solely because of physical appearance. All too often, in our society today, people are criticized for what material possessions they have and how much money said people have to spend on things that they do not need, but instead just want. It does not matter where you go; this can be observed almost anywhere. Sometimes, when people notice that someone has cheaper clothes or less objects of purely material value, the people who have more frown upon those who have less. Ev...
The words good and bad, were also applied to the images. The data declared that the author had a strong automatic preference for White faces, over Black faces. Based on the knowledge of what implicit bias means, the participant was surprised by these results. The results indicated that the participant had a smoldering, rotten perception of Black people, which was simply preposterous.
Human beings inherently utilise these cognitive structures in order to make immediate inferences about personality. In the 2000 study, Vrugt and Luyerink found that individuals had incorporated certain postural positions within their schematic structures for men and women, and could draw upon these to make inferences about personality and occupation. Females who posed conservatively were deemed more feminine, whilst male who sat less conservatively were deemed more masculine. Similarly, Hack (2014) ascertained that particular facial expressions had been cognitively assigned to either gender. Whereby, via the mechanism of stereotyping, the smiling females were perceived to be more likeable, communal beings, in comparison to the presented smiling male faces. Not dissimilarly, Lindwall and Ginis (2008) found that stereotypical traits existed for males who exercised regularly and those who did not. Based appearance alone, male exercisers were considered to be happy, sociable, hard working, confident and well disciplined. Furthermore, Juodvallkis et al (2003) explored the consequences of stereotyping behaviour in the job screening process. In relation to impression formation, those who displayed a gender appropriate style of communication were deemed to be more appropriate for the position than those who did not. Lastly, Okimoto (2012) extended this line of research and focused on the stereotyping
Self-referent beliefs are central to personality functioning. The human mind contains schemas, which are knowledge structures that are used to make sense of the world around us (Cervone, 2013). According to self-verification, people are motivated to be known and understood according to their firm and consistent self-perception. “Once we have developed ways of thinking about ours...
Additionally, and antithetically, consider the example of the student studying for a mathematics test the following morning whose belief is that since he is and has been studying and has a good working knowledge of the subject area, that he will do well on the test and does so the following morning. When compared to another student doing the same but is less prepared and knowledgeable in the area and additionally thinks that he will fail and did, he performed better because of his positive expectation and preparedness. Take a moment to reconsider the inclusion of the idea of preparation in the example. Here, preparation is just as important a factor to consider because it is a variable that can greatly surpass the influence of the self-fulfilling prophecy. The other student who did not prepare well and did not know the material as well would have failed anyway, despite how great of preconceived thoughts he may have had. In this case, because the concept...
...reotype. This tendency has to do with selective memory bias; remembering the information that supports the stereotype and forgetting the information that doesn’t (Floyd, 62). These self-confirming assumptions can influence how much we like a person, based on a stereotype.
The experimental hypothesis states that the participants would rate the lower class job titles lower on likeability and financial status and the higher class job titles higher on wealth and likeability. The hypothesis being that the job title of solicitor would be rated higher in all aspects of likeability than the job title of Dustbin man.
The experiment given by Aronson and Cope tested the attractiveness and punishments given by a person based on their relationship with another person. Forty male and forty female were randomly assigned to get a harsh experimenter and pleasant experimenter, harsh experimenter and harsh supervisor, pleasant experimenter and pleasant supervisor, or pleasant experimenter and harsh supervisor. The people who participated in the experiment thought they were participating in a study on creativity. The college students had to write a creative story on each picture that they were shown. The graduate student, who was the experimenter, always had a negative reaction to their stories but was either considerate about letting them know or was really harsh and rude about informing the students about their not creative stories. Then the experimenter would put his foot on the on the vent in the room and that would signal the supervisor to come interrupt the session to let the experimenter know if they had done a good job or bad job on the research that he had been conducting. This research is ba...
The first and most popular interpretation of the word “beauty” is seen as outer appearance. On that perception, “beauty” and “attractiveness” have a significant difference even though they are word cousins. A beautiful looking person may be attractive, but an attractive person does not need to be beautiful. One person may look at someone beautiful with “deep satisfaction in the mind” because that person admire how beautiful the other is. Someone, who is not striking beautiful looking, may attract other people just by how they express their personalities. The others who are attracted to that particular individual because they feel connected, happy, and comfortable around that person. While attractiveness may result in long lasting relationships, physical beauty only brings short term pleasant feeling in the mind. Yet, beauty as outer look conquers many societies around the world. For instance, American culture tends to value the way a person look. That value is transmitted from one generation to the next by families, peers, and media in the process of enculturation. Young children come to adapt ways of thinking and feeling about physical beauty from their families first. The show