farad: (Lorency - all seven)
farad ([personal profile] farad) wrote in [community profile] mag7wrimo2012-09-18 09:40 pm

Day 259

Most of us have observed the interesting phenomena in which our favorites of the complex and often 'grey' seven become, in fanfiction, suddenly without fault.  I'm referring to the 'sanctification' of one or more of them, of course, the writing of the character that often rewrites him from what we see in canon.  Well - here's a possible explanation: "The Halo Effect: Why You Won't Believe Your Hero Has Flaws"  . 

Apparently, this theory has been around for a while and I've missed it, so sorry if it's old news, but it does seem to explain a lot of things we see in fandom (and in politics and society and pretty much everything else.)  I also wonder if the opposite is true, too . . .

solosundance: (seven - big damn heroes)

[personal profile] solosundance 2012-09-19 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
In training for recruitment panels at work it was given the shorthand 'halo or horns effect', and we were warned against the likelihood we'd respond more favourably to candidates who had the same character type as ourselves, ie. if we were basically shy (or considered ourselves shy) we might automatically apply a 'halo' to any noticeably shy candidate, and 'horns' to anyone who seemed particularly confident... interesting to speculate how the whole thing works between the seven... first impressions and all that :)