The spotlight effect in social judgment: an egocentric bias in estimates of the salience of one's own actions and appearance

• Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology Vol. 78; no. 2; p. 211
• Main Authors: Gilovich, T, Medvec, V H, Savitsky, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.02.2000
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Gender Identity; Humans; Male; Observer Variation; Self Concept; Self-Assessment; Set (Psychology); Social Behavior; Social Perception
• ISSN: 0022-3514; 1939-1315
• DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.78.2.211

This research provides evidence that people overestimate the extent to which their actions and appearance are noted by others, a phenomenon dubbed the spotlight effect. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who were asked to don a T-shirt depicting either a flattering or potentially embarrassing image overestimated the number of observers who would be able to recall what was pictured on the shirt. In Study 3, participants in a group discussion overestimated how prominent their positive and negative utterances were to their fellow discussants. Studies 4 and 5 provide evidence supporting an anchoring-and-adjustment interpretation of the spotlight effect. In particular, people appear to anchor on their own rich phenomenological experience and then adjust--insufficiently--to take into account the perspective of others. The discussion focuses on the manifestations and implications of the spotlight effect across a host of everyday social phenomena.