One good trait makes a person seem better at almost everything else too

In 1920, psychologist Edward Thorndike asked military commanders to rate soldiers on traits like physique, intelligence, leadership and character. The ratings turned out oddly correlated — officers rated as physically impressive were also rated smarter and more capable leaders, far more than chance would predict. Thorndike concluded one good impression was 'haloing' judgments across unrelated traits, a bias now documented from job interviews to how attractive defendants fare in court.

— Edward L. Thorndike, A Constant Error in Psychological Ratings — Journal of Applied Psychology, 1920