People are greatly influenced by a single favorable or unfavorable trait. This often forms the basis of the rater’s overall judgment of a person. This tendency is known as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Halo effect
Option (1) Neutrality — Incorrect. A neutral rater would judge each trait on its own; the question describes the opposite, one trait colouring the whole judgment.
Option (2) Halo effect — Correct. It is a bias of raters: most of us are greatly influenced by a single favourable or unfavourable trait, and this forms the basis of the rater’s judgment of the whole person.
Option (3) Extreme response bias — Incorrect. It is the tendency to place individuals at the extreme positions of the rating scale, avoiding the middle categories. It is about where on the scale ratings fall, not about one trait spreading to others.
Option (4) Middle category bias — Incorrect. It is the reverse habit: placing individuals in the middle of the scale and avoiding extreme positions.
NCERT (2025-26): “Behavioural Ratings … The method of rating suffers from the following major limitations:
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