Cognitive biases are part of the most studied psychological phenomena from cognitive sciences and most taken into account in Marketing Psychology.
They are evidence that human beings are tremendously prone not to interpret reality based on rational analysis, calm and based on valid reasoning from the point of view of logic. Among these cognitive biases, one of the best known is the halo effect, which explains some of the irrational aspects that make us judge a person, a product or a place more positively or more negatively.
Related article: "The 10 most important psychological effects"
What is the Halo Effect?
The halo effect is a cognitive bias by which we tend to make our opinion and global assessment of a person, organization, product or brand arise from the way in which we judge and value specific properties and characteristics of that person, organization, product or brand. The term is based on the idea that if we clearly identify a positive aspect in someone we do not yet know well, that fact increases the chances that we will generally see that person with good eyes.
Thus, the halo effect is based on the idea that we show a propensity to use our assessment of a very specific characteristic of something or someone to "manufacture" from it a global assessment of that person, organization or abstract element: we extend our opinion of that property to the entire item we are judging, and we make this impression interfere with the way we interpret many other properties of the item.
