Logical Fallacy of Halo Effect

The logical fallacy of halo effect occurs when an one or more desirable traits of a person influence opinions of that person for traits that are not actually known. There is also a reverse halo effect or a devil effect. Appearance is very powerful at creating the halo effect, but it could be any trait. Good actors and actresses are often used to promote political agendas because of the halo effect. It is irrational, but it works because people are easily fooled.

Examples of the Logical Fallacy of Halo Effect

When the Muslims began their jihad against the U.S., the majority of sources in the news media began to use the same word, fundamentalist, for Christians who believe the Bible as written and for violent Muslim terrorists. Often, they run two stories back to back, one that mentions a fundamentalist Christian group and another that uses the same word, "fundamentalism," to describe terrorists.

The word, fundamentalist, was coined by Curtis Lee Laws of the unofficial Baptist publication, Watchman-Examiner, as a term for those who believe the fundamental truth of the Bible. It later came to refer to anyone who believes what God is saying through Scripture. During the period from 1910-1920, two separate movements, known as fundamentalism, were developed. Both of them attempted to bridge denominationalism (the separations in the Church) by identifying the fundamental elements of the faith in Scripture. These fundamental elements were then presented as the basic theologies that one must believe to be born again. People who identified themselves are fundamentalists opposed modernism's attempt to disconnect the Church from Biblical truth. They also unsuccessfully tried to oppose the indoctrination into the dogmas, such as evolutionism, of Secular Humanist religion through the public schools. It was a way to try to discern who was part of the Church Universal and who was not, without reference to the confusing denominational lines.

A 1972 study by Dion and Berscheid revealed that people who are more physically attractive are evaluated higher for unrelated traits after seeing a photograph without meeting the people. This study was for 27 traits that included altruism, conventionality, self-assertiveness, stability, emotionality, trustworthiness, outgoing personality, kindness, and sexual promiscuity, and evaluators predicted that the more physically attractive would have more likely to stay married, be a good parent, have social happiness, and experience life fulfillment.

This is a human tendency, and it is a fallacy.

"Morgan Freeman is a very spiritual person and a great actor. He appears to be very level-headed and intelligent, so he can be believed. He says that evolution is a fact of science."

This is an example of the halo effect. There is no reason to believe that Morgan Freeman is an expert in science. Even if he were, his claims would need to be evaluated on their own merit. In other words, scientists or scholars can benefit from the halo effect and avoid having anyone examine their ideas on the merit of their ideas alone.