The Halo Effect is the transfer of goodwill or positive feelings about one characteristic (such as pleasing appearance) of a product or person to another, possibly unrelated, characteristics (such as performance).  It is a cognitive bias in which our judgments of a person’s character can be influenced by our overall impression of him or her. It can be found in a range of situations—from the courtroom to the classroom and in everyday interactions. The halo effect was given its name by psychologist Edward Thorndike, and since then several researchers have studied the halo effect in relation to attractiveness and its bearing on the judicial and educational systems.