The health halo effect: Don't judge a food by its organic label
Sunday, April 10, 2011 - 13:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Some organic foods shown to be surrounded by a "health halo" that is not based on science. Psychologists have long recognized that how we perceive a particular trait of a person can be influenced by how we perceive other traits of the same individual. An example of this would be judging an attractive person as intelligent, just because he or she is good-looking. A growing literature suggests that the halo effect may also apply to foods, and ultimately influence what and how much we eat.