Dunning Kruger effect
🧠Psych - 85 / 100
Hey, there.
Today, we will be talking about the Dunning Kruger effect.
What is it?
A bias whereby people with limited knowledge or competence in a given intellectual or social domain greatly overestimate their own knowledge or competence in that domain.
Example -
There was an experiment done in a 1999 paper by David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University.
The pair tested participants on their logic, grammar, and sense of humor, and found that those who performed in the bottom quartile rated their skills far above average.
For example, those in the 12th percentile self-rated their expertise to be, on average, in the 62nd percentile. [1]
Where does it occur?
From professional environments to mananging finances, a lot people (including you and me) overestimate our knowledge to larger contexts.
Why do I need to know?
Because we’re quick to judge the cognitive deficits of others, it may be tempting to think the Dunning Kruger effect doesn’t apply to you. However, we all display ignorance that we don’t immediately recognize at one point or another.
This doesn’t make us uninformed, though–rather, misinformed. The problem comes when we see this in others but refuse to see it in ourselves. [2]
Takeaways: -
Accept constructive criticism whether it is good or bad. Remain a curious learner.
Remember, if you don’t know about something, that’s totally okay. Learn to accept it.
References & Studies: -
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Unskilled-and-unaware-of-it%3A-how-difficulties-in-to-Kruger-Dunning/f2c80eef3585e0569e93ace0b9770cf76c8ebabc?p2df
https://www.developgoodhabits.com/dunning-kruger/
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