Pratfall effect

In social psychology, the pratfall effect is the tendency for a person's likability to change after making a mistake depending on perceived competence: highly competent individuals tend to become more likable, while average individuals may become less likable for the same error.

Originally described in 1966 by Elliot Aronson, numerous studies have since been conducted to isolate the effects of gender, self-esteem, and blunder severity on change in appeal and likability. Occasionally referred to as the blemishing effect when used as a form of marketing, generalizations of the pratfall effect are often used to explain the counterintuitive benefits drawn from making mistakes.