Dr. Phil has a great way of putting it, something like you would worry a lot less about what people think of you if you realized how little they think about you at all.
good question.
my guess is the green monkey syndrome.
The observation (also seen on school playgrounds everywhere) where anyone who looks/acts different from the group is ostracised and attacked. If one looks weak, or confused then one looks different or worse. No one wants to run that risk. Hence the strong feeling of embarrassment. It helps people stay in line with the group.
{BTW-“geen monkey syndrome” means to me: a probably mthyical experiement where researchers took the alpha male head monkey of a group away, dyed the fur green and put him back with the group. The group promptly turned on their erstwhile leader and destroyed him. }
Me too. One that gets me almost every time is Michael (the boss) on The Office. When he he is obviously about to do or say something completely socially inappropriate, I cringe internally, and sometimes can’t watch the show, even though I fin all the other characters funny and non-cringe-inducing.