horn effect
/ˈhɔːrn ɪˌfekt/
letting one negative trait overshadow overall impression
horn effect in a sentence
“One mistake created a horn effect, making everything else she did seem incompetent.”
Origin of horn effect
Old English horn projection (alluding to devil's horns) + Latin effectus
Related Words
actor-observer bias
attributing own actions to situations but others' actions to personality
affinity bias
favoring people who are similar to oneself
fundamental attribution error
overemphasizing personality and underemphasizing situations when judging others' behavior
halo effect
letting one positive trait influence overall impression of a person
in-group bias
favoring members of one's own group over outsiders
out-group homogeneity
perceiving members of other groups as more similar to each other than they are