Why do we feel like everyone is watching us - even when they probably aren't? In this episode of Circuit Breaker: Rewiring Your Decisions, we explore the spotlight effect - the cognitive bias that makes us believe our actions, mistakes and appearance are being noticed far more than they actually are.

Discover how we overestimate how much attention others pay to us, how this illusion can fuel embarrassment and social anxiety, and how understanding it can help you feel freer to act without the constant fear of being judged.

Studies and links:

The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One's Own Actions and Appearance   | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2000, Vol. 78, No. 2, 211-222 | Thomas Gilovich, Victoria Husted Medvec and Kenneth Savitsky | psychologyib.com amp78020211.tif

Why do we feel like we stand out more than we really do? | Decision Lab Spotlight effect - The Decision Lab