The Halo Effect And Stereotyping

We learnt that people should not be using shortcut to judge others such as selective perception which is a perceptual filtering process based on interests, background and attitude. Another shortcut in judging others is stereotyping which is judging someone on the

Stereotyping wasn't a big problem when living in Texas. Living in Wisconsin was a whole different story. People find it offensive, and it could end up being racist. Always remember what is being said to others and how careful one has to be. Even if they know what people are saying just for fun and no harm is intended, people can take it to another measure. Nothing shouldn't be done period and we shouldn't allow it.

The connections I anticipate my group members will make as a result of this question is to experiences that they have underestimated people by how the look, not how they truly are. They might think that someone is incapable of a task until they're proven wrong. This can also relate to the quote “Never judge a book by its cover”. It means to never make something or someone feel smaller or less important than they actually are, as in this saying it is the book. You never know how the book really is, by just looking at the cover. Additionally, connections I foresee my group will create based on the critical thinking question made is to the book “Cue for Treason” by Geoffrey Trease since all group members were in that group. In the book, underestimation was one of the several themes represented. This is to the character Burbage. Burbage thought that Kit was ten

impressions made on other people weather we are in contact with them or not (194). In the book,

A considerable volume of psychological research has focused on the decision-making process in humans, from everyday decisions on what to buy in grocery stores to the global life decisions that will influence all other aspects of life. Some of these decisions involve making judgments about other individuals of our own species: what kind of a person are they? Do we like them? Are they fit for a given task? Although a lot of times humans answer those questions on a conscious level using anecdotal evidence or direct experiences, a growing number of studies have shown that subconscious ‘shortcuts’ consisting of fixed opinions about certain characteristics of individuals have dramatic influence on our perception of the people possessing those characteristics. These are referred

Asch’s(1946) data is limited and Studies tend to be artificial and lack ecological validity. Contemporary work shows individuals are more dynamic in their use of data. Impression formation has had an influence on memory. Impression formation has implications for the self fulfilling prophesies and also leads to the question Is there a link to stereotyping?

This phenomenon was called “stereotype threat”. “Stereotype threat” occurs when we sense that some aspect of ourselves seems to match the stereotype, making it appear valid. In this movie, when the two black guys walk on the street and talk about stereotype, one said that the waitress had the stereotype that black people don’t tip. However, when his partner asks if he tipped, he said “no”. Even though he knows what the stereotype is, he still does the same thing.

Research in psychology has revealed that stereotypes, when factual, are an aid to information processing and facilitate accurate judgment and smooth social interaction (1). However, such research has also revealed that, unbeknownst to the perceiver, when the stereotype is invoked it also typically triggers inaccurate beliefs about the social group that ascribes predominantly negative qualities to the group and its members (2).

First impressions, whether positive or negative, can play a critical role in someone’s judgement of other people. Stereotypes can cause a rush to judgement leading to an inaccurate conclusion. There are six common errors in judgement that can affect your critical thinking process (Bethel University, 2013).

It is a bias in which our overall impression of a person colors our judgment of that person’s character. A classic example of the halo effect would be a politician whom we trust to make good decisions because he seems warm and friendly and has great hair and a bright smile. This effect isn't just limited to the halo of saintliness, either; there is a devil-horns effect in which a generally negative impression of a person makes us judge their character negatively. Human beings naturally make these perceptual adjustments—up with a halo, down with horns—without even realizing

“When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised.” -James A. Forbes

Research suggests the “…Halo error inflates within-rater observed correlations between dimensions because the idiosyncratic part of a rater’s overall impression (the halo error) affects ratings on all other rating dimensions” (Viswesvaran, Schmidet & Ones, 2005, p. 111). For example, the avalanche of resumes received at Worldwide Panel LLC for vacancies officials rejected several applicants just by asking them “What is your greatest weakness?”(Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 202). Another clear example is when one applicant answer was “I’m a perfectionist”, this made interviewers think he was not a good enough delegator and another applicant was too confident in his ability to get the job done well, so they were not chosen for the position (Kreitner

Nisbett and Timothy DeCamp Wilson (1977) in efforts to add supporting evidence to an ideal similar to the Halo Effect. They staged two interviews with participants where the interview in both was a man that had a distinct accent (Nisbett & Wilson,1977). The interviewer in one group was as charming as he could be in his “appearance and mannerisms and accent” (Nisbett & Wilson, 1977). In the other, he was instructed to basically act more strict and harsh to the subjects. The resulting difference in ratings of the interviewer’s personality and other factors by the participants spoke to how people immediately judge someone based on how they presented themselves through multiple characteristics.

Bias and stereotyping can both be harmful for self-esteem and the developmental process in children. Bias is not only harmful for the target group since it lowers the self-esteem, but the group who feels superiority over the other is also harmed. The feeling of being superior disconnects a person from reality. Too much of self-esteem reduces the appreciation of others and may even slow down progress for the beholder. Stereotyping creates preconceived notions in the minds of children and adults due to which they fail to see others for what they actually are and rather judge them on the basis of information that is misguided and obsolete. Stereotyping results in developing strong perspectives of people who are different and causes prejudice.

Besides the above mentioned social identity and stereotyping problem, we may also see some other perceptual errors given in the case, such as false-consensus effect. It is the tendency for people to project their way of thinking onto other people, or assume that everyone else thinks the same way they do. Gilman apparently overestimated the extent to which Beauport had beliefs and characteristics similar to his own.