Scientific Definition
One negative trait taints judgment of everything else about a person or company.
Plain-English Definition
One negative trait taints judgment of everything else about a person or company.
Feynman Explanation
The opposite of the halo. Equally lazy.
Core Principle
One negative trait taints judgment of everything else about a person or company.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
One negative trait taints judgment of everything else about a person or company.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Hiring, vendor selection, and brand recovery all suffer from horn effects.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The opposite of the halo. Equally lazy.
Examples
- A rough first interview erases a stellar work portfolio.
- Hiring, vendor selection, and brand recovery all suffer from horn effects.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Score on dimensions independently before forming an overall view.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Score on dimensions independently before forming an overall view.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
A color appears different depending on adjacent colors.
The ability to focus on one voice in a noisy environment.
Evaluations are warped by what came immediately before.
We spend less when holding large bills than small ones — same money, different behavior.
One new possession spirals into a cascade of complementary purchases.
Selling winners too early and holding losers too long.
We overweight one aspect of an event when predicting its impact.
Evaluated separately, the smaller-but-complete option beats the larger-but-flawed one.
Goals become the focus, sometimes at the expense of the underlying purpose.
'Free' is a different psychological category — disproportionately attractive.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.