# Cognitive Bias or effect

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 24, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027 "2013-08-24T03:14:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027/1 "2013-08-24T03:14:02Z")

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There is something (that I can’t think of the name of) that states that if you suffer a moment of embarrassment or overreaction or really any negative experience, then the impact of that is magnified in your own mind. If you behaved awkwardly at a party, say, then you have a tendency to feel that everyone who was there now thinks you’re awful or weird or whatever. But in reality, most people don’t think that much about your actions, or remember, and the isolated incident that achieved such epic proportions in your mind wasn’t even a blip on any one else.

Any idea what this is called?

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027/2 "2013-08-24T03:48:04Z")

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I call it catastrophizing.

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**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027/3 "2013-08-24T09:51:47Z")

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It is the [Spotlight Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect), named by Cornell University professor of psychology Thomas Gilovich in 2000.

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**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\
**Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cognitive-bias-or-effect/667027/4 "2013-08-24T13:47:19Z")

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> [@don\_t\_ask](#):
>
> It is the [Spotlight Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect), named by Cornell University professor of psychology Thomas Gilovich in 2000.

Yes, that is it! Thank you!