The Spotlight Effect

Have you ever felt like everyone was watching your every move in a crowd? Or felt eyes following you as you passed by? What you’re experiencing is called The Spotlight Effect. 

The Spotlight Effect was first introduced by Psychologists Thomas Gilovich, Victoria Husted Medvec and Kenneth Savitsky in a 2000 study which was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology called “The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgement: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One’s Own Actions and Appearance” Their research gave us the term “spotlight effect” to describe this egocentric bias or our tendency to overestimate how much other people pay attention or notice us and what we do. 

While the term “egocentric bias” is too harsh a word to describe this effect but with today’s digital age, the spotlight effect has amplified a thousandfold, making people believe that everyone’s watching but they’re actually not. Understanding this effect can help us to live a more authentic and confident life.

So, as mentioned above, the spotlight effect is an egocentric bias where people dramatically overestimate their presence in an environment thinking everyone notices them. This bias just goes to show how the human brain is wired to believe that we are the centre in social settings. The psychologists who came up with this, carried out an experiment to prove that not everyone notices you and you are not, sadly, the centre of attention. 

The experiment entailed voluntary College going participants who wore a bright yellow T-shirt with Barry Manilow’s face (American singer-songwriter and record producer), who was considered “uncool”. The participants were then asked to enter a room full of other college students and were asked to remember how many people they thought had noticed them and the t-shirt. After this, the participants were asked about how many people they thought had noticed them to which they replied that about 50% of the students in the room had noticed. But in reality when the room was asked about how many noticed, it was only about 20% of them who remembered or even noticed the shirt. 

So in this experiment, the participants greatly overestimated how much attention they were receiving and it proved that when we do something embarrassing or something that would make you stand out, we think that others notice more but it’s actually not. On the contrary they are usually focused on themselves and not scrutinizing us as much as we assume they are. 

How many times have you stopped yourself from reaching your full potential all because you thought people would judge you or because you cared too much about what people would talk behind your back? The answer could surprise even you. 

In this time and age where social media plays a very important role in the lives of people, it is easy to fall victim to this egocentric bias. Especially when we try to imitate the curated lives of Influencers or even just curate our own Instagram lives. We are always pressured to be camera-ready and there’s this constant fear of being judged for mistakes, choice of clothing/fashion, opinions, feelings, etc. 

Even in academics, students are embarrassed to stand up and give presentations let alone even ask questions on a topic they’re not clear with because of the fear of being considered “over-smart” or “over-enthusiastic” and later be called a ‘Teacher’s pet’. Even young professionals such as myself and my colleagues second-guess emails before sending them, fearing for mistakes that may have been overlooked and this often leads us to read, re-read, post re-read the emails before hitting the send button. 

What we all fail to understand is this, humans are egocentric so why not use that to our advantage? Most people are absorbed in their own thoughts, so they’re not going to waste their time watching your every move, not unless of course you’re a suspect on the run and you’ve got the police after you. We are living in this illusion of scrutiny vs reality and it is always best to step out of this bias by practicing some things.

Why not try to be more self-aware and perspective-taking, let’s not try to let thoughts of what others think of us dictate our moves. Let us try to remind ourselves that people are too busy to even notice you and let us celebrate vulnerability as to err is to be human; it makes us who we are. And as Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” 

It’s important to recognize that the spotlight effect isn’t just a quirk of psychology—it’s a barrier that can silently shape the trajectory of our lives. It convinces us to stay silent when we have something valuable to say, to hold back creativity out of fear of ridicule, and to remain in our comfort zones simply because the imagined eyes of others feel too heavy. But once we realize that most people are too caught up in their own insecurities to focus on ours, it becomes liberating. Shedding the weight of imagined judgment allows us to speak more freely, take risks, and even fail without shame. And in that freedom lies growth, connection, and authenticity—the very things we seek when we’re trying to hide.

So let us try to be confident individuals and embrace vulnerability. Challenge the illusion of constant scrutiny, step out of that spotlight your brain has placed you in and live a judgement- free life. This is but a mizzling of what we can actually achieve when we put our mind to something. So, “Don’t let the muggles get you down”.

Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editorial team includes Chubamenla, Asst. Professor, Dept. of English and Rinsit Sareo, Asst. Manager, IT, Media & Communications.

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