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Is He a Hero or a Weirdo? How Norm Violations Influence the Halo Effect

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Abstract

First impressions are often influenced by the context in which we experience them. Many factors, such as behavior, appearance, and our own personal attitudes can affect the way that these perceptions are constructed. The present experiment sought to examine the effect of positive norm violation on females’ perceptions of male facial attractiveness. Two male faces (attractive and unattractive) with similar features were partnered with two scenarios of positive norm violation (low intensity and high intensity) while being rated on personality characteristics. Two separate halo effects were hypothesized in the experiment: attractiveness and high violation. An interaction effect in the form of a magnified halo was also predicted. Participants were 178 female college students. Results showed favorable ratings for the attractive male face and the low violation condition, with the attractive, low violation condition receiving the most positive results. Data supported a significant effect for positive norm violation, but not for male facial attractiveness. A significant interaction effect between the two variables was also observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA

    Jeremy L. Gibson & Jonathan S. Gore

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  1. Jeremy L. Gibson
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  2. Jonathan S. Gore
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Correspondence to Jeremy L. Gibson.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Gibson, J.L., Gore, J.S. Is He a Hero or a Weirdo? How Norm Violations Influence the Halo Effect. Gend. Issues 33, 299–310 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9173-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-016-9173-6

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