Spotlight Effect: The Storm In A Glass Of Water

The Spotlight effect is the name given to the tendency to oversize any flaw or error, however small they may be. Whoever is a victim of this problem feels observed and judged by everyone even in the face of his most insignificant errors. It is typical of teenagers, but many adults can also suffer from this disorder.

A person affected by the Spotlight effect is unable to go to work if they discover that they have pimples on their face. She believes that all co-workers or schoolmates will carefully observe that small flaw, using it as an excuse to mock her.

In these cases, two apparently contradictory situations come together: low self-esteem and feeling the center of the universe.

Advertisers are very familiar with the Spotlight Effect. Surely you will remember those commercials in which the wrong product is filmed by a multitude of characters. The protagonist of the ad is reported or rejected by others if he does not follow a particular trend or does not buy the suggested and sponsored product. It follows that those who are so obsessed with the opinion of others are more easily prey to psychological manipulations.

What is the Spotlight Effect

To give a more precise definition, we can say that the Spotlight effect is the tendency to overestimate one’s own characteristics or personal behaviors. This occurs because the data subject believes that any errors, difficulties or mistakes are extremely obvious to others. He doesn’t notice that most people don’t care about his pimples in the least.

It could be said that the Spotlight effect is one of the faces of paranoia. The paranoid person feels special, different, chosen. This is not an excess of narcissism, but rather he feels guilty about something he is not aware of. He projects the blame onto others and for this reason it seems to him that everyone judges it constantly, moreover in a severe way. In turn, he compensates for the guilt by feeling falsely superior.

These people strive to always project the best image of themselves and, therefore, end up becoming extremely dependent on the opinion of others, in two senses. On the one hand, they need to fascinate others. On the other hand, they fear their judgment, because they consider them members of an implacable jury.

A revealing experiment

An experiment on the Spotlight effect was conducted at Cornell University. The study consisted of gathering a group of volunteers and asking them to choose a shirt they considered “scandalous”. They would have to wear it for a day and then calculate how many people had noticed that ridiculous dress.

After completing this first part of the experiment, each participant was asked the number of people who had observed him with a questioning or polemical expression. At the same time, an observer survey was carried out to check the level of accuracy of the volunteers’ responses.

The result was surprising and showed how different the perception we have of ourselves can be compared to others. Many volunteers were significantly wrong in calculating the number of people who noticed them. From the data collected, in fact, it was deduced that less than half had noticed those shameful shirts.

How to overcome the Spotlight effect

The advice to overcome this difficulty, which lies in the unconscious, is to follow psychological therapy. However, there are also some measures that can be taken in the short term and that are equally effective.

Some of these alternatives are:

• Verify the validity of the hypotheses. The Cornell experiment is worth repeating, on a smaller scale, of course. Do something wrong on purpose or wear something ridiculous and then ask others what they have noticed, to see if your behaviors are really that obvious.

• Analyze the reasons for shame. It is good to understand if the error or defect is so serious that it deserves a lot of attention. What’s so terrible about a little acne? What do you care if others don’t like the shirt you wear? Be objective: a weight and a measure.

• Remember your virtues. If you have the feeling that someone is judging you, try to list your virtues and your strengths: surely you have so many to silence any rumor. What makes you important? Are a couple of pimples or a quirky logo on a shirt really enough to discredit you?

It would be interesting to examine the reasons for this insecurity. The Spotlight effect takes root in those who have not been able to accept it. Maybe you feel deeply guilty about something, but you still haven’t been able to figure out what it is. Reflect, dig into your memory, not with the intention of punishing yourself, but to know yourself in a profound and sincere way.