I am currently supporting a freshman high school basketball player who expects to have a significant role on his varsity basketball team this season. We are working on techniques to build sustainable confidence, given the challenges he’s expected to face in a new and highly competitive environment.
In one of our recent sessions, we watched a YouTube video by a former Division I college basketball player reflecting on how he built his confidence over time. I often use videos like this to help my young clients relate to the concepts I’m teaching, and to bring a bit of entertainment into the coaching process.
In that video, former Colgate University athlete Tucker Richardson (2023) describes a psychological concept called the spotlight effect: the idea that others pay far less attention to our behavior than we believe they do. Richardson explains how his confidence often dropped after missed shots because he was so focused on what everyone was thinking about him.
I’ve talked to young athletes about the idea that the people around them don’t notice as much about their performances, like when they make mistakes, as they think they do. Some internalize the message that others don’t dwell on their mistakes nearly as much as they do, and it really helps downplay poor performance. Others continue to struggle with what people think of them, and their confidence goes up and down like a roller coaster depending on their results.
Before writing this article, I was generally unfamiliar with the phrase “the spotlight effect.” The purpose of this article is to dig deeper into the concept and help you learn how to mitigate the spotlight effect so you can perform better going forward.
What Is the Spotlight Effect?
One definition describes the spotlight effect as “a cognitive (i.e., thinking) bias that causes people to overestimate the extent to which others are paying attention to them” (Loker, 2023).
The term comes from a well-known study by psychologist Thomas Gilovich and his colleagues (2000). College students walked into a room wearing an embarrassing T-shirt, then guessed how many people noticed it. They predicted about half the room would. In reality, only about a quarter did.
In other words, the spotlight we feel is roughly twice as bright as the real one.
The spotlight effect is a result of a natural tendency toward egocentrism, meaning we think we are the center of the universe. We think everyone is watching us and judging us. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
How the Spotlight Effect Hurts Athletes’ Performance
We’ve all been there. We make an error, turn the ball over, commit a foul or penalty, or trip over our own feet. We feel like all eyes are on us, judging us, thinking about how we hurt the team, thinking that we suck. We can’t stop thinking about that mistake, and we wear the embarrassment and regret that come with it.
However, dwelling on the mistake, and the thoughts and feelings that come with it, is a distraction. We focus on what’s going on inside of us rather than what’s actually happening right now in front of us.
So what’s the likely result? More distractions, more mistakes, more shame and embarrassment, poor performance.
Rinse and repeat.
That’s how the spotlight effect turns one mistake into a bad game.
Why Overcoming the Spotlight Effect Takes Practice
Learning HOW to reduce your focus on what others are thinking about you while performing under pressure is important. If you’ve followed any of my content, then you’ll know the solutions for de-emphasizing what others think about us will require PRACTICE.
Trying to use a new mental skill in a high-pressure situation, like a game, without building it into your training may actually make things MORE stressful when you can least afford it!
In the YouTube video, Richardson talks about how he trained himself over many months to improve his self-talk as a way to build his confidence. He “forced” himself not to react to missed shots in training and heaped praise on himself as an “elite” player when he made shots.
I give Tucker a great deal of credit for having the awareness to take this step, and then the discipline to put it into his basketball training. Consistent practice is often the missing ingredient when athletes are trying to adopt new, more constructive ways of thinking.
However, based on my experience, Tucker Richardson is the exception, not the rule. It is often very difficult for athletes to pinpoint their mental challenges, then develop and apply a new mental strategy completely on their own.
Further, athletes may not have an objective voice in the process. Coaches and parents are emotionally invested in their athletes’ success, and trying to build a mental skill without proper guidance and an objective voice can be extremely difficult.
3 Ways to Reduce the Spotlight Effect in Sports
Knowing this, how can athletes diminish how the spotlight effect impacts their performance? Here are three ideas.
1. Try Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation is one of my favorite practices to suggest to athletes because it helps build what I call their “mindfulness muscle.” Being mindful can help you recognize in real time that your thinking may be irrational, and allow you to take action to shift your thoughts accordingly.
Research supports this, too. In one study, a brief mindfulness meditation helped people shift to a third-person perspective, observing themselves from the outside rather than seeing everything through their own eyes, and it reduced how much they believed they stood out to others (Golubickis et al., 2016). In other words, it shrank the spotlight effect.
New to meditation? Here’s why young athletes resist meditation, and how to get started.
2. Develop a Gratitude Practice
Making a short gratitude list every day can help you develop the habit of taking the focus off yourself. Think about the people and things in your life, like your teammates, coaches, and parents, that help you develop and compete as an athlete, rather than emphasizing your deficiencies or what you’d like to be different.
3. Ask Yourself One Simple Question
Would you ever talk to a teammate the way that you talk to yourself?
When I ask young athletes this question, the answer is always a resounding NO.
So when you are beating yourself up over a mistake or a poor play, think about the way you’d treat a teammate in the same situation. Pat yourself on the back, tell yourself to shake it off, and keep going.
And if your mind jumps straight to the worst case, try flipping the question. I wrote more about the power of “what if” here.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Spotlight Effect
What is the spotlight effect in sports?
It’s the tendency for athletes to believe that teammates, coaches, and fans notice their mistakes far more than they actually do. That belief pulls attention away from the game and onto what others might be thinking.
Why do athletes feel like everyone is watching their mistakes?
We experience every moment from our own point of view, so our mistakes feel huge to us. Everyone else is busy with their own performance, and most errors fade from their minds quickly.
How can athletes overcome the spotlight effect?
Practice skills that move your focus off yourself and back to the present: mindfulness meditation, a daily gratitude list, and talking to yourself the way you’d talk to a teammate. Like any skill, these work best when you build them into training before you need them in a game.
Is mental performance coaching for you?
If the spotlight effect is shaking your athlete’s confidence, a short conversation is the best place to start.
👉 Schedule a free 30-minute consultation now
References
Gilovich, T., Medvec, V. H., & Savitsky, K. (2000). 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, 78(2), 211–222.
Golubickis, M., Tan, L. B. G., Falben, J. K., & Macrae, C. N. (2016). The observing self: Diminishing egocentrism through brief mindfulness meditation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(4), 521–527.
Loker, E. (2023, June 2). 6 ways to overcome the spotlight effect. Retrieved from https://www.myndlift.com/post/6-ways-to-overcome-the-spotlight-effect
Richardson, T. (2023). Watch this if you lack confidence in basketball. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/31NrCvSB3a4
Michael Huber, MA, CMPC® holds a master’s degree in sport psychology. He helps young athletes ages 14 to 22 be themselves when everyone is watching, including learning how to navigate overthinking under pressure. Learn more about Michael