Experimental manipulation of the halo effect.

To test the hypothesis that halo effect is a judgmental error rather than the effect of objective correlation of traits, one group (N = 18) rated 5 noted individuals, one individual per day on all of 5 traits, while another group (N = 18) rated all 5 individuals on one trait per day. The authors state that the results prove that halo is in part a phenomenon of judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Picture-Choice Test as an indirect measure of attitudes.

Amodified Flyer's Picture-Choice Test was given 227 male students and scored for the halo effect of "liking" on judgment of occupation. Significant differences appeared between college majors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The systematic distortion hypothesis, halo, and accuracy: An individual-level analysis.

In several social perception studies investigators have concluded that raters' semantic conceptual similarity schemata serve to guide and constrain dimensional covariance in the rating judgment process. This effect has been hypothesized to be most likely when ratings are memory based and raters lack relevant job or ratee information. Recent research that has explored the effects of conceptual similarity schemata on performance ratings and halo error has provided some limited support for this systematic distortion hypothesis (SDH). However, these studies are limited because researchers have examined this phenomenon using group-level analyses, whereas the theory references individual-level judgment processes. The present study investigated the phenomena at the individual level. The effects of varying levels of rater job knowledge (high, medium, and low) and familiarity with ratees (high and low) were examined for conceptual similarity–rating and rating–true-score covariation relations, for measures of halo, and for rating accuracy components. Results provided support for the SDH, but indicated a boundary condition for its operation and revealed some surprising findings for individual-level rater halo. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The team halo effect: Why teams are not blamed for their failures.

In this study, the existence of the team halo effect, the phenomenon that teams tend not to be blamed for their failures, is documented. With 2 studies using both real teams and controlled scenarios, the authors found evidence that the nature of the causal attribution processes used to diagnose failure scenarios leads to individuals being more likely to be identified as the cause of team failure than the team as a collective. Team schema development, as indexed by team experience, influences this effect, with individuals who have more team experience being less likely to show the team halo effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nature and consequences of halo error: A critical analysis.

The definition of halo error that dominated researchers' thinking for most of this century implied that (1) halo error was common, (2) it was a rater error, with true and illusory components, (3) it led to inflated correlations among rating dimensions and was due to the influence of a general evaluation on specific judgments, and (4) it had negative consequences and should be avoided or removed. Research is reviewed showing that all of the major elements of this conception of halo are either wrong or problematic. Because of unresolved confounds of true and illusory halo and the often unclear consequences of halo errors, the authors suggest a moratorium on the use of halo indices as dependent measures in applied research. They suggest specific directions for further research on halo that take into account the context in which judgments are formed and ratings are obtained and that more clearly distinguish between actual halo errors and the apparent halo effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

L'integration de l'information en fonction de la poly?emie des stimuli.

Those who have studied impression (formation) have often observed what is called the positive context effect. Two opposite hypotheses have been formulated to explain this phenomenon. According to one, the traits are interacting in such a way that there is a meaning shift due to the context. The 2nd hypothesis explains the phenomenon by a quite different interpretation, the generalized halo effect. Up to now it has not been possible to confirm one hypothesis or the other, so a new experiment was carried out wherein 1 of the experimental conditions, the context, was comprised of 2 traits whose evaluation was conflicting, and the test trait was polysemic (ambiguous). Ss were 120 undergraduates. Results seem to favor the generalized halo effect hypothesis, but there are reasons to think that the meaning shift hypothesis might better explain what happens when the persons perceived are not fictitious. (French abstract) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dyad rapport and the accuracy of its judgment across situations: A lens model analysis.

Ecology of rapport and its perception within 2 contexts (i.e., adversarial and cooperative) were examined from a Brunswikian perspective. A lens model analysis determined (a) which observable cues were indicative of rapport, (b) whether observer judgments covaried with such cues, and (c) whether observers could assess accurately the rapport between opposite-sex interactants. Whereas the manifestation of rapport was context specific, judgment policies used by observers were not. Rapport judgments were driven by target expressivity regardless of social context. Results suggest an "expressivity halo" in behavioral stream judgments that is analogous to the physical attractiveness halo found in judgments made from still photos. Finally, social perception accuracy was higher in the cooperative context where rapport was more strongly associated with target expressivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rater bias in performance ratings: Superior, self-, and peer ratings.

Leniency errors, halo effects, and differential dimensionality were explored in an analysis of superior, self-, and peer performance ratings of 107 managerial and 76 professional employees in a medium-sized manufacturing location, representing 95% of the managerial and professional staff. Self-ratings showed greater leniency effects than superior or peer ratings. A multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) analysis supported the presence of strong halo effect and significant convergent validity but not discriminant validity. The dimensional analysis supported the presence of strong halo effect. A statistical control procedure for the halo effect was developed that involved calculating residuals of the performance items, controlling for the "overall effectiveness" variance component in each item. The procedure did not reduce the significant halo effect, nor did it improve the nonsignificant discriminant validity in the MTMM analysis. It did, however, clarify the dimensional structure of ratings by superiors. Data from 4 previously published studies were also reanalyzed using the statistical control procedure. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does true halo affect observed halo?

The distinction between true and illusory halo is predicated in part on the assumption that true halo affects observed halo. However, there is little evidence that differences in true halo will lead to differences in observed intercorrelations among ratings. We examine the proposition that true halo affects observed halo. Subjects viewed sets of videotapes that varied widely in true halo and rated them under immediate or delayed rating conditions. Results showed that true halo has some impact on observed halo but that this impact is relatively small. In particular, extreme differences in true halo were necessary to produce reliable differences in observed halo. In addition, results suggested that the halo effect, defined as overestimating the true correlation among dimensions, occurs only when the true intercorrelations are small. Practical implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood-congruent judgment is a general effect.

Mood congruency refers to a match in affective content between a person's mood and his or her thoughts. The mood-congruent judgment effect states in part that attributes will be judged more characteristic, and events more likely, under conditions of mood congruence. Thus, the happy person will believe good weather is more likely than bad weather (relative to such a judgment in a state of mood incongruence). Three studies showed that the effect generalizes to non-self-relevant judgments with natural mood. Study 1 (N?=?202) generalized it across a variety of specific emotions, Study 2 (N?=?1,065) generalized it across a variety of tasks, and Study 3 (N?=?524) generalized it to a nonlaboratory, statewide sample. The 3 studies redefine mood-congruent judgment more broadly and thereby inform the debate about its underlying mechanisms. The relation between mood-congruent judgment and personality is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Availability of well-defined internal knowledge and the attitude formation process: Information aggregation versus self-perception.

Hypothesized that well-defined internal knowledge will be available if individuals have access to immediate sensory data. When this occurs, an information-aggregation process will guide judgment. In contrast, if individuals lack immediate sensory data, well-defined internal knowledge is unavailable and a self-perception process is used to infer attitude. These predictions were supported in 3 experiments with 276 21–60 yr old females (Exps I and II). The availability of immediate sensory data was manipulated by making either taste data (immediate sensory data) or consensual data (nonimmediate sensory data) available at the time processing was initiated. The attitude process used was detected by examining whether the presence of an incentive had an enhancing effect (information aggregation) or an undermining effect (self-perception) on attitude. Findings show that the availability of well-defined internal knowledge determined whether an information aggregation or a self-perception process guided judgment. The moderating impact of Ss' Self-Monitoring Scale scores on the findings is discussed. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of performance ratings as affected by rater training and perceived purpose of rating.

Investigated the effects of perceived purpose for rating and training type on the following dependent variables: accuracy, leniency/severity, and illusory halo. The purpose factor comprised 3 levels: a hiring purpose, a feedback purpose, and a research-only purpose. The training factor comprised 4 levels: rater error (RE) training, frame-of-reference (FOR) training, the combination of both methods, and no training. With both factors crossed, 164 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 1 of 12 conditions and viewed videotapes of lectures given by bogus graduate assistants. Heterogeneity of variance made it necessary to apply a conservative analytical strategy. Training significantly affected 2 measures of accuracy and halo such that a training condition that contained an FOR component did better than RE or no training. The conservativeness of the conservative analytic strategy made effects for the purpose factor on correlation accuracy, leniency/severity, and halo only tentative; it dissipated the 1 interaction effect of the 2 factors on distance accuracy. Discussion centers on (a) comparison of the results with those of S. Zedeck and W. Cascio (see record 1983-09102-001), (b) potential reasons for the heteroscedasticity, and (c) implications for the development of student evaluations of university instructors. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive categorization and dimensional schemata: A process approach to the study of halo in performance ratings.

Compared 2 models of the cognitive processes underlying performance ratings: a traditional model outlined by W. C. Borman (see record 1980-26801-001), and a cognitive categorization model proposed by J. M. Feldman (see record 1981-24524-001). To distinguish these 2 models, 120 college students were shown 1 of 2 videotapes of a college lecturer in which 3 of 5 dimensions of performance were manipulated to be opposite to that of the lecturer's overall performance. Ratings were made either immediately after viewing the videotape or 2 days later. Results indicate that the traditional model was appropriate for describing the rating process in both the immediate and the delayed rating conditions. However, a large halo effect was also found that was consistent with the categorization model despite conditions designed to minimize the likelihood of halo. Additional effects of cognitive categorization included a tendency to make errors in later recall of lecturing incidents consistent with Ss' general impression. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to moral judgment.

Research on moral judgment has been dominated by rationalist models, in which moral judgment is thought to be caused by moral reasoning. The author gives 4 reasons for considering the hypothesis that moral reasoning does not cause moral judgment; rather, moral reasoning is usually a post hoc construction, generated after a judgment has been reached. The social intuitionist model is presented as an alternative to rationalist models. The model is a social model in that it deemphasizes the private reasoning done by individuals and emphasizes instead the importance of social and cultural influences. The model is an intuitionist model in that it states that moral judgment is generally the result of quick, automatic evaluations (intuitions). The model is more consistent than rationalist models with recent findings in social, cultural, evolutionary, and biological psychology, as well as in anthropology and primatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature and structure of correlations among Big Five ratings: The halo-alpha-beta model.

In light of consistently observed correlations among Big Five ratings, the authors developed and tested a model that combined E. L. Thorndike’s (1920) general evaluative bias (halo) model and J. M. Digman’s (1997) higher order personality factors (alpha and beta) model. With 4 multitrait–multimethod analyses, Study 1 revealed moderate convergent validity for alpha and beta across raters, whereas halo was mainly a unique factor for each rater. In Study 2, the authors showed that the halo factor was highly correlated with a validated measure of evaluative biases in self-ratings. Study 3 showed that halo is more strongly correlated with self-ratings of self-esteem than self-ratings of the Big Five, which suggests that halo is not a mere rating bias but actually reflects overly positive self-evaluations. Finally, Study 4 demonstrated that the halo bias in Big Five ratings is stable over short retest intervals. Taken together, the results suggest that the halo-alpa-beta model integrates the main findings in structural analyses of Big Five correlations. Accordingly, halo bias in self-ratings is a reliable and stable bias in individuals’ perceptions of their own attributes. Implications of the present findings for the assessment of Big Five personality traits in monomethod studies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Psychological Price of Media Bias.

Media bias was investigated through the effects of a TV interviewer's preferential behavior on the image of the interviewee in the eyes of the viewers. Judges viewed a political interview with either a friendly or a hostile interviewer then rated their impressions of the interviewed politician, whose behavior was identical in all conditions. The preferential nonverbal behavior of the interviewer (controlling for recognition and comprehension of verbal content) systematically influenced viewers' ratings of the politician. The effect consisted mainly of damage to the politician in the hostile interviewer condition. Describing the interviewee as a professor yielded a similar preferential behavior effect. A strong halo effect was identified, but it was ruled out as the mechanism accounting for the interviewer effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the context dependency of three causal models of halo rater error.

C. E. Lance et al (see record 1994-17452-001) tested 3 different causal models of halo rater error (general impression [GI], salient dimension [SD], and inadequate discrimination [ID] models) and found that the GI model better accounted for observed halo rating error than did the SD or ID models. It was also suggested that the type of halo rater error that occurs might vary as a function of rating context. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rating contexts could be manipulated that favored the operation of each of these 3 halo-error models. Results indicate, however, that GI halo error occurred in spite of experimental conditions designed specifically to induce other forms of halo rater error. This suggests that halo rater error is a unitary phenomenon that should be defined as the influence of a rater's general impression on ratings of specific ratee qualities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A warning about the use of a standard deviation across dimensions within ratees to measure halo.

Monte Carlo data show that the unstandardized standard deviation measure of the halo effect is affected by both the intercorrelation among rating dimensions and differences among the means of the rating dimensions as used by individual raters. The relationships between 4 different halo measures are analyzed, and the results of 2 studies using the unstandardized measure are examined to determine the degree to which the problem seems to have affected published data on the halo effect. It is recommended that each rater's average observed intercorrelation among the dimensions be used as a halo measure. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Groupdrink: The effects of alcohol and group process on vigilance errors.

This research examined how group processes alter the impact of alcohol on a judgment task requiring vigilance. The authors compared two competing explanations, deindividuation and group monitoring, for the possible effects of alcohol. Two hundred and eighty-six undergraduates with normal drinking habits undertook a vigilance task alone or in four-person groups having consumed either alcohol (calculated to achieve up to .08 blood alcohol content) or a placebo. The vigilance task required them to count occurrences of the word "the" in a spoken passage. Alcohol significantly impaired the performance of individuals but not groups. Group members performed at a similar level in both conditions, making fewer errors than individuals in the alcohol condition. The fit of different decision-making models were tested. In both the alcohol and placebo conditions, group consensus was predicted by processes consistent with the group monitoring hypothesis. The evidence highlights that under certain conditions, group process can compensate for the cognitively impairing effects of alcohol on individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job knowledge, ratee familiarity, conceptual similarity and halo error: An exploration.

The results of numerous social perception studies have led researchers to conclude that raters' implicit cognitive schemata regarding trait and behavior covariance may play a crucial role in the rating judgment process. W. H. Cooper (see PA, Vol 66:9176 and 9262) proposed one such cognitive schema, semantic conceptual similarity, as a key source of halo error in job performance ratings but was unable to reproduce the results of previous social perception research. The present study, with 186 undergraduates, employed baseball players as target ratees to examine the effects of job and ratee knowledge on the relations of raters' conceptual similarity schemata with rating and true score covariance. The results are consistent with the systematic distortion hypothesis presented by R. A. Shweder (see record 1976-07240-001). The association between conceptual similarity and rating covariance was significantly greater when Ss lacked sufficient job and/or ratee knowledge. Moreover, the degree of halo was also significantly greater when Ss lacked relevant job and ratee knowledge. The advantages of using objective measures of actual performance as true score estimates in the study of rater cognitive processes are discussed. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)