Halo Effect

A tall, well-dressed, articulate man applies for a loan, a job, or your trust. Before he has finished his first sentence, the verdict is half-written: capable, honest, reliable. One visible virtue has been quietly multiplied into all the others.

This is the halo: the mind dislikes mixed portraits, so it paints from a single colour. Attractive people are judged kinder; confident people are judged more competent; the student with neat handwriting is judged more intelligent. One good trait casts light over the whole character.

It runs dark too — one flaw can shadow everything, which is the same machinery with the bulb reversed.

The discipline: judge traits separately, on separate evidence, ideally on separate days. The question "is he honest?" must not be answered by the fact that he is charming. Character is not a soup where every flavour spreads. It is a basket of separate fruits, and each must be inspected on its own.