User:Valerieantico/sandbox

The halo effect, also called the halo error, is a perception distortion (or cognitive bias) that affects the way people interpret the information about someone that they have formed a positive gestalt (way people form impressions of others) with. An example of the halo effect is when a person finds out someone they have formed a positive gestalt with has cheated on his/her taxes. Because of the positive gestalt, the person may dismiss the significance of this behavior. They may even think that the person simply made a mistake. The person would justify the behavior and connect it with your positive gestalt. The halo effect refers to the tendency we have of evaluating an individual high on many traits because of a shared belief.

The cognitive bias is a pattern in perception, interpretation, or judgment that consistently leads to the individual misunderstanding something about themselves or their social environment, making a poor choice or acting irrationally. Cognitive bias connects with the halo effect because the halo effect is a perception error that distorts the way you see someone, and cognitive bias is a perception error that distorts the way that you see yourself.

A study made in the University of Michigan where they evaluate 118 students. In this experiment they are interviewing a psychology professor (he has an accent and speaks English very well) twice. In one interview he was cold and not sociable, and in the other one he was warm and appealing. They found that the students liked the looks of the professor and the accent when he was being the warm and sociable professor. On the other hand, when he was being the cold professor, they found the accent and looks to be annoying. This proves that the halo effect acts only on certain occasions and in specific cases. This being because going back on what the halo effect is, this case doesn’t apply to this error.

The horn effect, also called the devil effect, is when people have the tendency of negatively interpret the behavior of people whom they have formed a “negative” bond. This is the result of a negative “first impression”. This term and the halo effect are connected because the are both a type of bias. An example of the horn effect is when someone finds out that a person that they can’t stand has cheated on his/her taxes; there is a big chance that the person will talk badly about that other person and say that they have a lack of values or bad character. The halo effect as mentioned above is the perception distortion that affects the way you interpret the information about someone you have formed a positive bond with.