Sometimes it can feel like insecurities are under a spotlight for all the world to see.

Bringing the spotlight effect into focus

Learn more about mental biases and how to overcome them as WSS shines a light on the spotlight effect.

Anna Greenlee and Ethan Tisdale

April 4, 2024

Introducing the spotlight effect

Walking down the halls of West High, it’s easy to feel self-conscious. Whether it’s a bad hair day or a stained shirt, everyone has things they can feel insecure about. But is anyone actually noticing them?

According to Cabrini University, the spotlight effect is the psychological phenomenon that leads people to think there is more attention paid to them than there actually is. This is common, especially among teens.

It can manifest in anxiety over too many stares or an embarrassing moment, even though no one was looking or would remember anything specific.

Research

Tom Gilovich conducted the effect’s most famous study in 2000. Using embarrassing t-shirts, Gilovich was able to find the discrepancy between the predicted and actual percent of people who noticed the shirts. Those who wore the shirts overestimated by 200%, assuming 50% noticed when in reality only 25% did. A test group of onlookers who weren’t wearing the shirt accurately guessed 25% would notice.

These statistics demonstrate how everyone assumes more people notice them than is accurate. An embarrassing t-shirt or moment isn’t as big of a deal as they think.

The effect isn’t always about embarrassing or negative moments, however. It can also apply to positive moments, in what can be called main character syndrome. Although it’s mainly a slang term, main character syndrome has grown to describe how people see themselves as the main character and everyone else as a sidekick.

This extreme side of the spotlight-effect-spectrum is still correlated with anxiety and insecurity but also has aspects of narcissism. The lack of empathy for others and prioritization of the self are often associated with narcissism, albeit just a few traits. Main character syndrome is still associated with or covers up vulnerabilities.

An article by Psychology Today brings up how psychological biases like the false-uniqueness effect and the illusion of transparency are what lead to the perceived notions of standing out: an egocentric bias. As demonstrated by the insecurities of the spotlight effect and the self-absorption of the main character syndrome, the egocentric bias can affect many aspects of mental and emotional health.

The spotlight effect at West

In AP Psychology, West High students can learn about the spotlight effect. Social studies teacher Camille Crossett uses examples such as carrying a lunchbox or an umbrella to demonstrate how people stress over mundane things that aren’t remembered or noticed by their peers.

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I think they are very aware that it’s happening to them. It’s a phenomenon that is particularly notable for happening to teens…because the stage of brain development that teenagers are in tends to be more self-focused. They’re very, very self-conscious.

— Camille Crossett

This knowledge alone can help teenagers cope and realize that their insecurities aren’t exposed for the world to see. Crossett said, “It’s hard to have that perspective when you’re 16 and you’re trying to imagine what it’s like to be outside of high school but…knowing that this phenomenon exists can maybe help you realize that [what you’re believing] is probably not true. But it can still be hard, regardless of whether you know that or not, to ignore it.”

Acknowledging how individual perspective differs from reality is exactly how teenagers can cope. Through both physical and mental growth, teenagers can work through their insecurities and develop their self-confidence.

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Usually as you age, either you care less about what other people say or you just don’t notice it as much. And frankly, everybody’s got enough going on in their own lives that they’re not really worried about what’s going on with other people, especially the minute details.

— Camille Crossett