Abstract
Gilovich, Medvec, and Savitsky document the spotlight effect — people overestimate how much others notice their appearance and behaviour — egocentric bias in social judgment.
Gilovich, T., Medvec, V. H., & Savitsky, K. (2000). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 211–222. DOI
Key findings
- Spotlight effect — You feel on stage; observers are less attentive than you assume.
- Egocentric anchor — Your own perspective anchors social estimates.
- Appearance worries — Bad hair day feels public — audience barely registers.
- Social anxiety ease — Correcting the bias softens performance fear modestly.
Limits
College-age social judgments — spotlight effect is robust in lab; magnitude in your workplace may differ.