Assume a rater thinks all blondes are dumb. When rating a blond female and two other females who are brunettes, the rater scored the blond lower on her performance evaluations even though her results were the same as the other two. This sort of stereotype-induced bias produces a rating error called the:
A) halo and horn
B) strictness
C) primacy
D) recency
E) leniency

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The halo and horn effect occurs when a rater allows one trait (in this case, the stereotype that blondes are dumb) to influence their overall evaluation of a person. In this case, the rater's belief that blondes are dumb leads them to score the blonde lower, even though her performance was the same as the brunettes. This is an example of the horn effect, where a negative trait influences the evaluator's overall judgment.

Assume a Rater Thinks All Blondes Are Dumb