How To Mitigate The Spotlight Effect

Dont overestimate yourself all the time.

- Pushpa Bhatia

If you wake up late and go to work with disheveled hair, you may be convinced that everyone is noticing and secretly thinking badly of you. You may blush or try to hide from your coworkers, convinced that they are pitying or mocking you.

This spotlight effect, that refers to the fact that people considerably overestimate how much attention other people are paying to them. They, tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are. As such, we experience the spotlight effect in various situations

When people wear clothes that they think are embarrassing, they tend to overestimate how noticeable their clothing is to others.

Similarily, when people wear clothes that are counterfeits of expensive brands, they tend to overestimate the degree to which other people are likely to notice or care that they are doing so.

When people participate in group discussions, they tend to overestimate how memorable their negative contributions are to other members of the group.

When people participate in a sport or play a video game, they overestimate the likelihood that their teammates will notice mistakes that they make.

The other day my friend was playing basketball against a taller, quicker, and well, younger guy. He accelerated to the basket trying to stay in front of him and lost his footing and unceremoniously fell on his butt.

He bounced a couple of times before coming to a stop. No body said anything, and his first thought was that everyone was privately laughing.