The influence of halo effect on ATM's trustworthiness

Abstract

The influence of a single attribute radiating its effects on the evaluations of other attributes have been widely studied. Commonly known as the Halo Effect, this robust phenomenon is often observed in impression formations with guidance from the implicit rule that good goes with the good, and bad goes with the bad. Since extensive research on the Halo Effect is readily available, this study was particularly interested in the transferability of the Halo Effect onto objects like the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Additionally, the influence of variables like Age, Ethnicity, Gender, and Time on the transferability, was also examined. Using a non-WEIRD sample, 86 participants who identified as Asians, were tasked to rate the Aesthetics and Trustworthiness of the ATMs transposed with front-facing human faces obtained from the FFHQ database. The online procedure was completed twice, which were spaced one-week apart. Based on our findings, support was found for the transferability of the Halo Effect onto ATMs. This observation was consistent over Time, and was influenced by Age, but not Ethnicity and Gender. Thus, a Halo Effect was observed for ATMs with children faces but not for adult or elderly faces. Findings from this study illustrate possible real-world applications, in which policymakers can utilise as an effective strategy to increase people’s trust towards national ATM security. This also paves the way for future research to be conducted on contactless online platforms such as Paylah! and Google Pay, which are more relevant in a digital era facing a COVID-19 pandemic.