How To Get Away With Murder
The Halo Effect is one of the most biased cognitive 'delusions' to ever exist, yet, we all fall for it.
The 20-year-old alleged serial killer sits comfortably, wearing a round, cheeky and unimpressive face, struggling-to-grow-beards, and a flat, almost remorse lacking expression. This killer was short and unathletic, with almost no striking feature to look at. There was an almost general consensus that this 20-year-old was definitely a killer and needed to be sentenced for his crimes.
Another killer, this time, 21-year old. The killer has a well made-up face, with the killer’s hair permed and parted at the side. This killer also has a round, cheeky face but with plump and well-fitting lips. This killer, despite being a year older than the other killer, does not have the consensus of disdain. This killer, instead, has several people saying she is young, attractive, and too harmless to be so dangerous. This killer is described as misguided.
But this is not the first time a killer would get leniency just for being attractive.
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s. Ted Bundy would have been apprehended much earlier but he was ‘too good looking’ to be deemed a serial killer.
A paper described his circumstances thus: “there were more than four people who suspected him of committing crimes and reported him. Two of them were his girlfriends who knew him very well, and the others were strangers or acquaintances who didn’t know him. Despite this, law enforcement didn’t even take him into questioning when these people reported him. Later on, when he was imprisoned for his crimes, he received numerous love letters and marriage proposals from many women who had become his fans undeterred by his atrocious crimes against many other women. All of Bundy’s victims had one thing in common: their hair. They all had dark brown hair parted in the middle. The infatuated women recognised this and dyed their hair a dark shade of brown and wore it parted in the middle, especially when they attended his court hearings.”
What helped Ted Bundy get away with murder, what has helped several people escape punishment for crimes, and what continues to impact the “blind” justice system is a faulty human conditioning named the ‘Halo effect.’
The Halo effect
Healthline explains that “The term ‘halo effect’ was coined in 1920 by Edward L. Thorndike, an American psychologist. It’s based on Thorndike’s observations of military officers during experiments that involved men ‘ranking’ subordinates.”
“Before the officers even communicated with their subordinates, Thorndike had the superiors rank them based on character traits. These included leadership ability and intelligence.”
“Based on the results, Thorndike noted that positive and negative traits formed by the officers were based on unrelated traits that had to do with physical impressions.”
“For example, a tall and attractive subordinate was perceived as being the most intelligent. He was also ranked as overall ‘better’ than the others. Thorndike found that physical appearances are the most influential in determining our overall impressions of another person’s character.”
Oftentimes when you fall in love “at first sight” before even knowing the person, it is your halo cognitive bias at work. When you are allowed to select a class representative in school and you find yourself leaning towards a taller, more handsome, prettier, more athletic person, without even knowing the person’s level of intelligence, it is the halo effect, haloing.
Beauty is not justice, it is survival
I read somewhere that “beauty is not justice, it is survival,” when someone was explaining how being pretty has given them certain privileges. People are more likely to help you, even in otherwise unsafe conditions. A pretty person stranded on a lonely road is likelier to get a lift by both men and women, compared to a less attractive person on a busy road. It is not fair but like any other privilege, the pretty person soon realises this and uses it for their survival.
While most of the Halo effect is premised on actual physical beauty which is genetically decided, people have made up for lack of over-the-top-attractiveness by dressing well, smelling well, walking in an athletic manner, and generally just developing themselves to look as good as a naturally ‘attractive’ person.
First impressions are often lasting because people are less likely to give you the chance to prove how intelligent you really are if they feel ‘disturbed’ by their perception of your attractiveness. Again, it is not fair but I can assure you that a small percentage of people know about cognitive biases, an even smaller fraction will know about the halo effect before they die and not all those who know, care.
Therefore; adapt, improvise, overcome.
Here’s a bonus from verywellmind:
“Experts suggest that the halo effect is one of the most common biases affecting performance appraisals and reviews. Supervisors may rate subordinates based on the perception of a single characteristic rather than the whole of their performance and contribution. For example, a worker's enthusiasm or positive attitude may overshadow their lack of knowledge or skill, causing co-workers to rate them more highly than their actual performance justifies.”
“The halo effect can also have an impact on income. A study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology found that, on average, attractive food servers earned approximately $1,200 more per year in tips than their unattractive counterparts.”
Again; adapt, improvise, overcome.
Watch this clip (pay attention from 0:45 secs)
Tea
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Insightful. Captivating, top to bottom. Thanks for this.
Amazing how a human can pull up such level of analysis.