For her PhD dissertation in psychology at Stanford University, Elizabeth Newton created a simple test that she regarded as an illustration of the phenomenon.
[4] Initial anxiety in a public speaking situation can cause stress that, because of the illusion of transparency, the speaker may feel is evident to the listeners.
[4] Kenneth Savitsky and Thomas Gilovich performed two experiments on public speaking anxiety in relation to the illusion of transparency.
[4] Thomas Gilovich, Kenneth Savitsky, and Victoria Husted Medvec believe that this phenomenon is partially the reason for the bystander effect.
They found that concern or alarm were not as apparent to observers as the individual experiencing them thought, and that people believed they would be able to read others' expressions better than they actually could.
[5] When confronted with a potential emergency, people typically play it cool, adopt a look of nonchalance, and monitor the reactions of others to determine if a crisis is really at hand.