Ever made a verbal gaffe in a presentation at work and thought to yourself, "I must have looked stupid"? Or had a date who burped loudly in a classy restaurant and you thought, "Great, I'll never be able to show my face here again"?

In social psychology, the "spotlight effect" refers to our tendency to overestimate the amount of attention people pay to our actions--especially the embarrassing ones. Oftentimes it's all just in our mind. So don't fret over the mismatched socks.