Follow
I've noticed that it's common for people on social media to assume that:
a) people are very good at things simply because they are well known
b) furthermore, that their competence extends to areas outside of their purported wheelhouse
c) conversely, that there aren't a whole loads of very competent people unknown to them
This mindset plays into the development of cults of personality, leading to the deeply problematic grift culture that's dominating society right now.
@johode Wow, TIL!
Yeah, there's nothing new under the sun, but I suspect that social media creates a positive feedback mechanism for the halo effect. I can see a bunch of other people reflecting back that same cognitive bias, deepening my own.
@acjay Tbf, the problem goes beyond just people on social media. The psychological effect of the "halo effect" has been known for quite a while (Thorndike et. al, 1920).
Your point is still valid though, and I'm not quite sure how we as a society can counter these fallacies.. Strengthening education?
https://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/biases/4_J_Applied_Psychology_25_(Thorndike).pdf