Mind Trap #2 | The Spotlight Effect

 “.. there’s no need to be obsessed with what others think of us. The reality is that everyone has greater concerns — themselves. So speak your mind. Take some risks. ..”

 

 This blog is part of our series of some advanced Mind Traps which will help you overcome difficult situations and equip you with more wisdom for daily living. These include:

  1. Cognitive Dissonance
  2. Spotlight Effect
  3. Anchoring Effect
  4. Halo Effect
  5. Gambler's Fallacy
  6. Contrast Effect
  7. Confirmation Bias
  8. Baader-Meinhoff Phenomenon
  9. Zeigarnik Effect

 

The Spotlight Effect

The Spotlight Effect is the phenomenon in which people tend to overestimate how much others are observing and judging them.

This one is easy to understand, although it may take some practice to tackle this. 


 

  • We all grow up with stories and watching movies. This makes it very easy for us to believe that we are the Hero/Heroine of the movie and everyone is sitting and watching us every minute of every day.
  • Example
    • You arrive 10 minutes late to office and you feel everyone is judging you.
  • This can usually end up in two forms: 
    • positive situations 
      • after giving a presentation we often overestimate how impressed all our co-workers must be and
    • negative ones 
      • when we feel the presentation didn't go as expected we imagine everybody must be laughing about it behind our backs.
  •  This can also be a sign of unclear or unfiltered thinking or ideas
    • We like to believe that our thoughts are our own and intelligent. But more often than not we grab ideas from our society, friends and family. And we don't question these and just fall for the inference rule "A=B & B=C so A must be = C"
      • "I'm intelligent because I'm me" 
      • "This opinion is my favorite. I've this favorite thing"
      • "This must be the best opinion or thing out there"
  • The minority spotlight effect
    • Research shows that 
      • members of minority groups experience something very similar to the spotlight effect 
      • whenever topics related to their group come in conversation. 
      • This experience is uncomfortable and unpleasant.
  • Alone in the spotlight
    • Because of the spotlight effect 
      • many people feel uncomfortable doing things alone in public. 
      • we fear public speaking

How to tackle this?

  • People are seldom interested in your actions
  • Remind yourself that everyone is feeling the same
  • Ask yourself how would you react if the roles were reversed?

 

Stay Tuned!

Next MindTrap The Anchoring Effect.

 

 

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