Suppose you see Mary do very poorly on a classroom test. From this you conclude that Mary not only is stupid but also has few friends, a poor personality, a difficult family life, and a hard time in everything she does. You have committed an error called:
A) the primacy effect
B) the context effect
C) the halo effect
D) the attitude heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The halo effect is the tendency to generalize about a variety of attributes based on the knowledge of one attribute of an individual. In this scenario, Mary's poor performance on the test led to the generalization that she must have other negative attributes such as a poor personality and difficult family life.

Suppose You See Mary Do Very Poorly on a Classroom