DOES THE HALO EFFECT OCCUR IN THE ELDERLY

This study examined whether elderly people would show the typical halo effect of attributing more desirable personality traits to those indi viduals who have attractive faces (Dion, Bercheid & Walster, 1972). It was predicted that age should bring wisdom, leading to the eliminatio n of this judgmental bias in older people. Fifty-two female subjects ( aged 65 or above) were required to match photographs of stimulus perso ns (attractive or unattractive) with descriptive paragraphs (positive or negative). Contrary to predictions, the usual halo effect occurred: positive personality characteristics were attributed more frequently to the attractive individuals, indicating that this bias occurs across the life-span, from childhood to old age. Also, female faces were jud ged more positively than male faces.