What is the term for a rating bias that affects judgments across multiple dimensions based on a general evaluation?

The term that describes a rating bias affecting judgments across multiple dimensions based on a general evaluation is the halo effect. This cognitive bias occurs when a person's overall impression of someone influences how they feel and think about that person's character or properties. For example, if someone perceives a person as likable or attractive, they may also rate that person more positively on unrelated characteristics, such as intelligence or competence.

The halo effect highlights how our general perceptions can cloud our judgment and lead us to make biased evaluations across various domains. It is particularly relevant in situations like performance reviews, where one's overall impression of an employee can unfairly impact scores in specific areas.

In contrast, other concepts such as stereotyping, confirmation bias, and fundamental attribution error focus on different aspects of human judgment and social perception. Stereotyping involves applying generalized beliefs about a group to individuals within that group; confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that supports pre-existing beliefs; and fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to overemphasize personality-based explanations for others' behavior while downplaying situational factors. These concepts do not encompass the broad influence of a general evaluation as effectively as the halo effect does.