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Original Article

Reducing the Halo Effect by Stimulating Analytic Thinking

Published Online:June 16, 2020https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000418

Abstract

Abstract. The halo effect is one of the most common threats to interpersonal evaluation. In the present study, we examined the role of an alternative approach to reducing the halo effect, namely by stimulating analytic thinking. In Study 1, we established the validity of the current paradigm in inducing the halo effect. In Study 2 and Study 3, we investigated whether the halo effect could be reduced when analytic thinking was activated either with Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices or with a writing task. Results of both studies showed that participants were less biased by the irrelevant central trait when analytic thinking was activated compared to the control group, suggesting that priming analytic thinking ahead of a judgmental task can reduce the halo effect.

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