The Horn Effect: A deficit overshadows everything else
Content
- Definition: why is the horn effect called that?
- Examples of the horn effect
- What does the horn effect mean for you?
Many people now know the halo effect; its counterpart - the horn effect - is largely unknown. This perception error is no less suggestive and dangerous: with the Horn effect, a single (negative) property, a single wrong word, a simple botched first impression is sufficient - we tend to assume that our counterpart has deficits in other areas as well . Each statement is then placed on the gold scales and recorded differently than it is perhaps meant ...
Definition: why is the horn effect called that?
The "horn" effect (also "Devil Horns Effect" called) takes its name from the instrument of the same name, which can overwhelm everyone else and can therefore be too dominant in an ensemble. The psycho-effect has a corresponding effect on our perception and assessment. In short, the Horn effect distorts the perceived reality and leads us to generalize singular observations. As the opposite or antagonist of the so-called halo effect, for example, a bad first impression turns into a negative overall assessment of competence or personality.
This is premature and unjust, no question about it. But what makes the perception error so dangerous is that it usually happens unconsciously. In fact, the horn effect has ruined many applications, but also a career. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to determine who originally gave the horn effect its name and when.
Examples of the horn effect
- Typing error
Typos in the application are a typical example of the horn effect: Of course, they are never good. But they happen, and if you make two spelling mistakes, many HR managers have enough. Then this is no longer a coincidence, but a condition - or rather as an indication of an otherwise sloppy way of working, motto: "If you do not write your own application carefully and conscientiously, you will do so much less with assigned tasks." What the applicant now writes or says during the interview (if he or she is invited at all) is under the general suspicion that the candidate has other deficits. The horn effect now outshines all or many other positive properties. - Application photo
The same thing happens with the application photo. Anyone who looks unsympathetic, unsuitable or dubiously dressed here rarely makes it to the job interview. The other way around, however, is the devil's horn effect: Attractive people often get a so-called “beauty bonus”: Those who look good are assumed to have nobility and talent in other areas. Just too much sex appeal will hurt again. - Unpunctuality
Or another typical case: a colleague is regularly late at meetings. Sure, that's not a good style either, impolite and mostly unnecessary. Maybe the person in question actually has a self-management problem, but maybe just a lot on his mind at the moment and can hardly say no. But one way or another: it attracts negative attention. Being late is definitely a deficit. And in the case of the horn effect, the colleague is assumed over time that he or she does not get anything else on the line, is unreliable, sloppy, confused, not resilient, and so on.
This is how a few unsuccessful meetings turn into a very fatal image. And something like this sometimes lasts longer than it does justice to those affected.
What does the horn effect mean for you?
Make yourself aware of how subtle this effect works - and try to question blanket judgments (especially your own) more critically. Often you will not notice anything of its effect because the appropriate and timely feedback is missing. That's what makes it so dangerous: Often your new image is based on only a few individual cases that have as little to do with the overall picture as many crumbs do with a cake. The horn effect is still distinctive.
