The tragicomedy of British politics that has captured the world’s media this past week offers much material for journalists and comedians alike. As tempting as it is to take another chunk out of what remains of the Truss Memorial, I will instead use this mess as an opportunity to discuss a form of unconscious bias known as the ‘halo effect’ and it’s opposite number, the ‘horns effect’ which is present in its full splendour with respect to Prime minister Truss.
The halo effect is a form of unconscious bias. When we have a high opinion of someone, we tend to generalize that across other areas of their life. For example, when we read about someone who has raised money for charity but have no other information about them, we tend to generate a favourable opinion of them across other areas of their life; business, family, relationships, values, beliefs etc. This is an unconscious process, a convenient shortcut; it’s easier to generalize than to analyse.
In business, the halo effect can result in us being more receptive to the ideas of someone who is well respected or has a good track record even if the particular point of discussion is outside their area of expertise. When we believe others also view that person with a halo, we are far less likely to challenge them for fear of being judged as having a view contrary to the perspective of someone who is respected.
A halo bias is often always granted to people who are physically attractive. Research shows that attractive people are considered more talented and intelligent and more likely to be successful. This ‘beauty bias’ is one of the most common forms of unconscious bias and automatically confers a halo effect to attractive people if not addressed.
Hopefully by now some of the pitfalls of allowing a halo effect to guide your decision making and judgement of others is becoming apparent. As with all unconscious biases, the first step to dealing with them is to be aware of them and to slow down our thought process so that we do analyse rather than generalize. To use the terminology of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, use ‘system 2’ thinking (analysis, conscious thought) and not ‘system 1’ thinking (gut reaction, impulse) to combat unconscious bias.
All things being equal, a halo bias is a good thing to have as an individual, however the world is full of people going to extremes to create personas that do not match their reality. For example, buying bots for followers to give the impression of tens of thousands of social media followers is standard practise (and a huge business). We should build our personal brand with integrity and visibility, and make a considered opinion on others before we allow them to benefit from a halo effect.
At the end of this blog I have attached a link to an amazing article released this week in Vanity Fair about a Dubai based apparent conman who went to such extremes to create a halo effect that he secured the patronage of Prince Albert of Monaco. I actually met this individual last month at a conference and found him to be a charming, well-spoken and knowledgeable individual. It’s a long read but very interesting.
The opposite of the halo effect is the horns effect. This is when one bad characteristic or piece of information about a person impacts the way people view them across other areas of their life. A horns effect can be both very damaging and unfair.
I have a friend whose personal life was a shambles, but professionally was very capable. He qualified as a mediator but never picked up a single piece of business despite being very well qualified. The comments I heard were along the lines of ‘how can I hire someone with such a mess of a personal life to represent my interests?’. I think this was unfair however, this is how the horns effect works – unconscious biases are rarely logical or rationale.
So back to Prime minister Truss. Is it fair to say she is suffering from the horns effect currently, and that this will likely be with her for the remainder of her career. Shaking off a horns effect takes time and requires a concerted focus on building reputation in areas where previous failures will not carry too much (ideally no) weight.
In summary, build your personal brand to position yourself as an expert in your chosen field and you will likely benefit from a halo effect which will extend beyond your chosen field, however, be careful to extend this automatic benefit to others!
If you found this blog useful, please click ‘like’ below and forward to friends and colleagues to subscribe. If you disagree or have anything to add, please comment!
To catch up on previous blogs and make sure you’re not missing out on some great insights, check out the archives here.