Four Surprising Ways the Halo Effect Influences You Unconsciously

Even if you've never heard of the Halo Effect, chances are you are unconsciously influenced by it every day. The Halo Effect refers to the psychological phenomenon where a positive impression (for example, about someone's appearance) automatically leads us to judge unrelated matters positively (for example, someone's intelligence).

 The Halo Effect has been studied for decades years and appears in numerous contexts. Initially, much research focused on the Halo Effect of attractiveness. Here are some suprising side effects of physical attractiveness, some with far-reaching consequences:

• We perceive attractive people as more intelligent, an effect that even colours our judgement of young children (Murrone & Gynther, 1989)
• Attractive professors receive higher course evaluations on RateMyProfessors.com (Felton et al., 2008)
• Unattractive suspects are significantly more often found guilty (Efran (1974))

Do not underestimate the Halo Effect; physical attractiveness can, quite literally, be a lifesaver.

The Halo Effect isn't limited to attractiveness; it can arise from numerous attributes. A similar effect is observed with height. Someone standing head and shoulders above the crowd also benefits from the Halo Effect.

Research has shown the following:

• Tall people earn more. Each extra inch in hight tanslates to an average of $1000 more income annually.
• And did you know that in 90% of US presidential elections, the taller candidate wins? Clearly, the Halo Effect is powerful.

1- How the Halo Effect Makes Your Brand, Channel, or Yourself More Popular

Imagine you are starting a new podcast channel and want to entice as many potential listeners as possible to tune in. Phil Agnew did this with the following experiment to promote his NUDGE podcast on marketing. Instead of the standard promotional screenshot with his podcast logo, he placed it on a background with various popular podcasts among his audience.

The results were overwhelmingly positive: where the standard image attracted only 6.4% listeners, the clever application of the Halo Effect resulted in an increase to 15.8%.

2- How the Halo Effect Makes Products More Attractive

A product never stands alone. Whether you encounter a product in a physical store, online category page, or old-fashioned catalogue; it is almost always surrounded by other products. These neighbouring products have a significant impact on the success of their neighbours.

Firstly, a product gains visibility simply because popular products draw more attention to nearby items. But not only that: the image also flows into the neighbours. When a new beer brand stands next to Amstel, it becomes a bit more sociable. Place it next to Heineken, and it becomes slightly more worldly.

This effect not only occurs between brands but can also be effectively utilised within a product family. When Apple's iPod changed how we consumed music, other Apple products quickly gained popularity, helping the brand grow into the tech giant it is today.

3- The Country-of-Origin Effect

From technically perfected cars "Made in Germany" to refined olive oil directly from Italy – the country of origin of a product significantly influences its attractiveness. Here too, the Halo Effect is at play: a country automatically activates associated stereotypes in our brain, both positively and negatively. These stereotypes then colour our perception of products from these countries.

When a product is developed or produced in a country that carries positive attributes for that category, marketers do well to emphasise this strongly.

On a more personal level, you can also benefit from the country of origin effect: traveling to a country can enhance your image with its perceaved quality's of your destination country. A holiday to Italy enhances your culinary and cultural image, while a trip to Germany gives a positive twist to your technical know-how and reliability. So, don't shy away from small talk about holidays during a business meeting, as you might miss the chance to cast yourself in an extra positive light. 

4- The Healthy Halo Effect

Which fast-food chain is the best choice for your health: McDonald's or Subway?

The Halo Effect even influences what – and how much – we consume. When a food item carries a health claim ("contains vitamins and minerals"), our brain automatically labels this product as 'healthy' and we tend to consume a lot of it (Chandon & Wansink, 2012).

In itself, this is a fine heuristic for vegetables, but we enter problematic territory when particularly questionable products display their singular health claims. The average breakfast cereal is a true sugar bomb, but when "Rich in iron" is on the packaging, the brain feels free to indulge without guilt.

Now back to the question: is McDonald's or Subway better for your health? Although you could objectively argue that you would get more healthy ingredients and nutrients at Subway, the Halo Effect throws a spanner in the works. The healthy image unconsciously results in ordering larger portions, more side dishes, and soft drinks (Chandon & Wansink, 2007) – meaning you end up consuming more calories than at that unhealthy chain.

references

Chandon, P., & Wansink, B. (2007). The biasing health halos of fast-food restaurant health claims: Lower calorie estimates and higher side-dish consumption intentions. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(3), 301-314.

Chandon, P., & Wansink, B. (2012). Does food marketing need to make us fat? A review and solutions. Nutrition reviews, 70(10), 571-593.

Felton, J., Koper, P. T., Mitchell, J., & Stinson, M. (2008). Attractiveness, easiness and other issues: Student evaluations of professors on ratemyprofessors. com. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(1), 45-61.

Felton, J., Koper, P. T., Mitchell, J., & Stinson, M. (2008). Attractiveness, easiness and other issues: Student evaluations of professors on ratemyprofessors. com. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(1), 45-61.

Murrone, J., & Gynther, M. D. (1989). Implicit theories or halo effect? Conceptions about children's intelligence. Psychological reports, 65(3_suppl2), 1187-1193.