February 3, 2026
by Stephen T. Messenger
“You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you.”
John Wooden
We’ve all been told by our moms to “Never judge a book by its cover” or “Things aren’t always what they seem.” These sayings were ingrained in us from a young age, yet we’re often so quick to dismiss this great advice. Why?
The psychological effects of the halo and the horn have much to do with it. In the halo effect, we observe other people and knight them as angelic when we see things we like. With the horn effect, we’re immediately turned off by what we see and label them as having metaphorical devilish horns. These observations affect the way we treat people, good or bad, without knowing who they really are.
Snap judgments are dangerous by nature and run the risk of mislabeling others. This halo and horn bias results in misplaced trust, missed talent, or lost opportunities. A better way to approach this bias is to judge a book by its content and thoughtfully assess with intent, discovering not what others appear to be, but who they actually are.
The Tab Check
On a soldier’s uniform, the left side is reserved for the unit patch. But when they attend and pass a difficult school, they earn a tab that goes above their patch. The major ones are sapper, ranger, or special forces schools. There are also badges to rest upon the chest of the soldiers who graduated from other coveted schools, have proved expertise in their skills, or have been in combat. Each service has these symbols of accomplishment on their uniforms: Air Force has pilot wings, Navy has the SEAL Trident, and the Marines have the Marine Special Operator Insignia.
These are all important and amazing accomplishments! But no single school automatically defines someone. When soldiers in the infantry community first introduce themselves, there’s sometimes a “tab check” to ensure that they attended and graduated Ranger School, a rite of passage for infantrymen. A successful tab check and you’re in the club (halo). A not-so-successful check and one of the first questions is: “So when are you going to Ranger School?” (horn).
No matter who we meet, the question is whether we have enough information to judge based on what we see rather than who they are.
One of the First Lessons
As a young infantry lieutenant, my initial assignment was Fort Benning, Georgia, at the Infantry Officer Basic Course. We had a team of seasoned cadre to mentor and coach us young, mostly tab-less and badge-less officers. The Army sends the best instructors to mold newly commissioned second lieutenants, and their halos were on full display, minus our staff sergeant. The captain and sergeant first class each angelically strutted around with seemingly every tab and badge known to man on their uniform.
But the staff sergeant, his uniform was as tab-less as could be, with only the bare minimum on display: name, rank, U.S. Army, and his unit. To us young lieutenants, his horns were practically showing. The first Friday, he taught a course, and while we were previously wowed by our multi-tabbed and badged instructors all week, this instructor was a bit of a letdown. After all, this guy couldn’t teach us much when he hadn’t been to combat, let alone any schools.
Monday morning brought him back to the podium and in a new uniform. His horns had disappeared, and a halo was on full display as his uniform suddenly sported every badge, tab, and patch I could imagine, far exceeding the other instructors.
He knew exactly what was happening, and his opening comments went something like this: “Last week, you thought I had zero experience and nothing to share. In your mind, I was the lowest-ranked and least experienced instructor. In my Friday class, you all checked out.
“But today, I can see it on your faces. You think I now know a lot more than I did last week and can offer you knowledge to be successful in your career. But I’m not smarter today. Nothing changed but some cloth sewn on my uniform.
“You’re going to meet people for the rest of your career. Some will have visibly done impressive things. Some accomplishments will be harder to see. Your job is not to judge them on day one. But to listen and give everyone a chance.
“It’s not in what others wear that makes them worthy of your attention. It’s their competence, character, and commitment to team success.”
What he exposed that morning wasn’t just a bias we held as young lieutenants, but a leadership failure we were already rehearsing.
It’s Not about the Patch
It’s not just our officer class that does this, it’s science. Edward Thorndike conducted the initial Halo Effect Experiment in 1920, seeking to understand how physical attractiveness influences perception by other people. Thorndike presented military officers with photos of people along with their biographies. The officers then evaluated each person on physical traits and personality.
Of course, there’s no way the officers could have known anything beyond their physical appearance, but it didn’t stop them from judging. They rated personality traits higher on the photos with more physically attractive people.
This study provided empirical evidence for the halo and horn effects, where superficial qualities change the perception of unknown traits. Many studies have validated this since.
I see this all the time. People dismiss others because they’re too old or they don’t know the other person’s background. I’ve seen military students practically ignore civilian instructors before learning of their PhDs in leadership or 20+ years of military experience and rank far beyond the student. I’ve seen older guests be relegated to the back, only to find out they were World War II vets. I’ve also seen people with all the tabs gain instant credibility only to struggle with their task.
Level the Playing Field
Just because we have biases does not mean all is lost. These strategies can help us reduce or overcome the halo and horn effect.
1. Focus on content. We wouldn’t buy a car just because it looks good. We would first take a test drive. When we meet others, don’t form initial impressions based on looks, but focus on their behaviors, actions, and words.
2. Do some research. Find evidence to validate or refute initial impressions.
3. Collaborate with others. Seek out different opinions and perspectives from those around us.
4. Know what we’re biased by. If our first inclination is to judge someone based on their military badges or civilian dress, know that’s an issue going in, and actively work to combat it.
Using these strategies can help prevent us from making value-judgments based on little information. This allows us to accurately assess others regardless of our first opinions.
Angels and Demons
We all see halos and horns, whether we admit it or not. They’re shortcuts our brains take when information is incomplete and time feels compressed. But the people we meet demand better than shortcuts.
The uniform, the resume, the title, or the tab may tell part of a story, but never the whole one. Our job is to dig deeper than the surface and get to what really matters: competence to do the job, character to do the right thing, and commitment to helping others.
We owe people more than first impressions. When we meet someone new, pause the judgment, observe performance, and listen long enough to separate appearance from ability. When we do, we stop chasing outward show and start recognizing substance. And that is where real learning, trust, and leadership begin.
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