halo effect

The halo effect (or halo error) is a cognitive bias in which our judgments of a person’s character can be influenced by our overall impression of him or her. In tech speak, it refers to the phenomenon of people taking you seriously because a big-name venture capital firm has chosen to finance your company. It also refers to investors, for example, who are more inclined to trust well-dressed advisors with prestigious degrees, so much so that they may neglect to do a background check.