Why is she so attractive? It's called Photoshop......

I would completely agree with the argument that a Halo Effect is occurring in today's society of celebrities and pop culture. It has become more and more difficult to determine if what I am reading or seeing in magazines, billboards, online, etc. are even real or flabbergasted versions of the truth. One thing I have fallen into was watching the "Kardashian Family" on TV and find them to be perfect all the time. One comment from one the girls was that they weren't like this normally and it took "2 hours of hair and makeup" to look the way they do. Relieving that they even know that they aren't as so they appear, at least all the time.

I love how the Halo effect can be used against someone as well. I personally believe, and I think a lot of people would agree, that when a physically attractive person encompasses a not-so ideal personality, they start to appear to be physically unattractive. The saying 'it only matters what's on the inside' may not be 100% correct, but it certainly does have some truth to it!

The commenter before me mentioned The Kardashians as an example of the Halo effect. What a perfect example of the opposite as well! Kim, as physically gorgeous as she is, has (in my opinion) a very spoiled, diva attitude, which makes her very unappealing to me!

I'd have to agree with the comment above about the "reverse" halo effect. I've met many people that at first glance..not so attractive. So right off the bat you're thinking their personality probably isn't so great either. But then, as you get to know them(whether you find them to be humorous or just really sweet), their personality totally transforms their appearance, causing you to have a completely new and positive outlook of them.

Going along with the previous comments, I too believe the halo effect is increasingly popular in today's society, and can be potentially dangerous. Because models are being transformed and photoshopped to look better than they already do it poses a potential threat to teenage girls as they strive to look just like the model-which is fake. This striving to look perfect can go hand in hand with disregarding proper attitudes and behaviors. I believe the truly believe in the halo effect and how it can "trick" others into believing something that is not real.

This was a very interesting article and so so true. Today's society is just compelled by too much halo effect. Men and women are affected but these things do tend to target girls more. I find the comment on the reverse halo effect very intriguing and accurate on life. So what do we do to convince people about this halo effect and the lies that people are believing? Because I'll even admit this, but when I see pictures in the magazine or on TV and even though I know it's fake, I still sometimes wish I could look like that.

The person in the previous comment makes a very good point. Even though I know that a majority of models and celebrities are photo shopped in the media and in advertisements, you still can't help wanting to look like them. This is the dangerous part because many girls would love to look like some of the individuals who possess the halo effect. It’s an unfortunate idea because even though the common consensus may be that because a person is physical attractive they also possess pleasing characteristics, much too often this turns out to not be true. What’s really unfortunate is that due to photoshop and the halo effect, teenage girls especially will do anything to look that way and receive the same attention as those who possess the halo effect. Can something realistically be done to address this issue of wanting the "ideal body image"?

As what you show to us, it is a very interesting and controversial issue. The person who is in the video looks so attractive and it is a good example for advertisement in Media given that it is from the powerful photoshop! The physical attractive is a way to have shopper's attention and I have to admit this, I would like to look at this or buy this product even though I know it is made by photoshop and the product may not that truely good.

Beauty is power and is part of self-esteem in today's society. However, the body images modified by the advanced technology frequently presented by the media have brought the halo effect to the audience, which finally rooted in today's standard of beauty. As a consequence, more and more people have been diagnosed with eating disorders due to the pursuing of the perfect look and shape. At the same time, the halo effect has made emerging non-scientific based diet plans become popular among the people who have been obsessed with the perceived flaws in their appearances.

I think the Halo Effect is a great way to describe how our society views body images and first impressions. The amount of pressure that is put on teenage girls and body image is continuing to get more dangerous every day. The amount of girls with eating disorders is also greater now than it has ever been. Television shows, magazine advertisements, billboards, movies, and the internet are full of beautiful, skinny models. These models are most teenager girls role models and they would do anything to be as pretty and have as perfect of a body as these models. If models we not photoshopped I think the number of teenager girls with eating disorders would decrease. If we saw the real body of these models we wouldn't do harmful things to our bodies and we also would not focus so much on self image. I think something needs to be done to teach women that there is no perfect body and they should't focus so much on their body images.

I agree with the above comments, not only does the Halo Effect relate to how we perceive body image but it has its own mentality as well. With one great quality comes three or four more. While this may prove to be great in theory, that one "great quality" of body images causes way too many problems among girls (and even boys) in society. With Bulimia and Anorexia numbers on the rise and appearing all over the spectrum (as seen in this article: http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm) this issue is becoming more controversial every day but in my opinion, nothing is being done to change it. More treatment options are being offered, that I understand, but I personally think that prevention should be the approach taken here. Men and women have unrealistic goals and interpretations of what "beauty" really is and this is harming our society one photoshopped model at a time.

While there may be photo-shopped images used in the advertisement of products I do not find anything wrong with this practice. The sole purpose in those advertisements is to recreate the modern day image of perfect, even if it means created falsified and edited images. Regarding the comment above, I do not believe that the media is influencing eating disorders as heavily as you may believe. People have always been critical of their appearances and it is important to be attractive to the opposite sex. Looking at it from the perspective of evolution, males and females have chosen their mates by the traits they saw that they wanted in their offspring. While it may have been finding the strongest male and finding a female with the widest hips for childbirth back in the days where survival was an issue, what makes it any different now when people want to have a relationship with someone that they find attractive? Appearances really matter in this day and age and perfection will always be striven for, even if it is always out of reach.

I've seen this video several times, but I love watching it! I completely agree with what you have to say about the modeling industry (and several other big industries for that matter) and incorporation the Halo Effect. Although intentions come off poorly to the public and influential messages are made, these industries are very effective at what they are doing. Like you mentioned, many young women aspire to be like these so-called models when in reality these models couldn't be more like the common woman. It's just proof that we all have flaws and how ads can do more harm than good sometimes. Very interesting post!

I definitely agree with the Halo Effect. With such a fascination with today's celebrities, it's hard to know what people really look like. Then tabloids will show a picture of a star without make-up and everyone thinks that star is unattractive. However, even I have fallen victim to the Halo Effect; I'll admit to watching the Kardashians. They seem so glamorous and perfect, but I know that they have a team of stylists to make them look this way. Yet, knowing this I still admire them, as do millions of other girls. The Halo Effect has lasting effects on the American society today.

Great post! I've seen the Evolution of Beauty video many times. However, each time I see it, I'm reminded not to compare myself to models and actresses. It's easy to become self absorbed as we strive to look perfect. But what kind of message do we send to young girls if we too get sucked into looking perfect? Girls should have good role models that show them beauty comes from within.

I have witnessed this at its worst. I worked at an eating disorders clinic and a lot of the patients were ones that hated how they looked and wanted to be "prettier" or "skinnier." It honestly broke my heart to see so many young lives being affected so much by what "the perfect body image" is in the media. One of the main things I learned working in that industry was that you have to love who you are for who you are and not for what you think you should be.

This title definitely grabbed my attention, as I fall victim to the celebrity implied beauty. When I was younger, probably around my sophomore year of high school, I convinced myself that life would easier if my body was thinner and my hair was thicker. Like you said, this is common feeling for women in this day and age. In my junior year, I took a graphic design class, obviously orientated toward Photoshop and we watched this same video you linked us too. It is rather eye-opening. She doesn’t even appear to be the same person! In the before shot she has circles around her eyes and the occasional pimple; she’s normal. After realizing this, I stopped beating myself up over my appearance. The “Halo Effect” is an accurate way to describe my former feelings, but I realized that confidence was more important than beauty. Thanks for your post! I appreciated remembering this video and it was interesting to hear about it from a psychological stand point.

This title definitely grabbed my attention, as I fall victim to the celebrity implied beauty. When I was younger, probably around my sophomore year of high school, I convinced myself that life would easier if my body was thinner and my hair was thicker. Like you said, this is common feeling for women in this day and age. In my junior year, I took a graphic design class, obviously orientated toward Photoshop and we watched this same video you linked us too. It is rather eye-opening. She doesn’t even appear to be the same person! In the before shot she has circles around her eyes and the occasional pimple; she’s normal. After realizing this, I stopped beating myself up over my appearance. The “Halo Effect” is an accurate way to describe my former feelings, but I realized that confidence was more important than beauty. Thanks for your post! I appreciated remembering this video and it was interesting to hear about it from a psychological stand point.

Was I the only one that couldn't watch the youtube link? It said something about the content being blocked for copyright? Anyways, while reading the chapter, I found the portion on the halo effect quite interesting, not only because I am a teenage girl and highly influenced, as much as I hate to admit it, by the media, but also because it is very easy for the halo effect to carry over into every day lives. If you think about it, there may be that one person that keeps having a negative affect on your relationship or other aspects of your life, but we forgive them or make excuses for them because they are so attractive and we fail to recognize the "bad" aspects because the "good" is the only thing we think about.