Article

Dunning-Kruger Effect
Dunning–Kruger Effect
The dunning-Kruger effect occurs when a person's lack of knowledge and skills in a certain area causes them to overestimate
their own competence. By contrast, this effect also causes those who excel in a given area to think the task is simple for
everyone and underestimate their relative abilities.

Where this bias occurs

 Most of us work & live in environments that need to be optimized for solid decision-making.
 Our ignorance of how far others, like yourself, have come, keeps him thinking he's excelling when he is actually learning
at the below-average speed

Individual Effects
 You may not know what you're good at because you assume that what comes naturally to you also comes easily to
everyone else
 Thinking you are better than you are at something can cause you to miss out on opportunities to learn from others, who
truly are more skilled or more knowledgeable
 Think you are average at something when you really have great skill

Systemic Effects
 Unfortunately, those who are the most ignorant also overestimate themselves the most.
 The Dunning-Kruger effect preys on a lack of information rather than an abundance of misinformation
 It spreads misinformation and ill-informed views throughout our social worlds, causing us to miss real learning
opportunities we could gain from one another.

Why it happens
 People who don't know much about a subject don't have the knowledge or skills to spot their own mistakes or
knowledge gaps
 They can't see where they're going wrong, and they, therefore, assume they're doing great
 On the contrary, people who are at the top of their game in a certain subject area do not have the ability to notice their
specialty because their work comes so naturally to them
 The ease with which they pick up these skills or knowledge areas blinds them to the fact that the work is more
challenging for others
Why it is important
 The Dunning-Kruger effect makes us aware of our own blind spots and lends us the opportunity to adjust our self-
perceptions.
 Because it is most invisible to those experiencing it, it requires taking a step back to realize that your own self-
assessments are largely biased and likely incorrect.

How to avoid it
 Avoid being ignorant of your own performance by listening and gaining insight into the performances of others
 Thinking you're bad at something likely puts you in the middle of the pack
 If you believe you are exceptional at something, you likely have a lot of learning to do
 Be open to feedback
 Low performers consistently do not receive criticism well

How it all started

 The Dunning-Kruger effect was first discovered and written about in 1999 by researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger
at Cornell University
 They found that people who ranked in the bottom 25% of any of these test scores tended to predict themselves to be at
the top of the pack
 On the flip side, people in the top 25% predicted their scores to be slightly lower than they actually were
 Self-awareness of employees' performances can have a large impact on company growth and development
 If the real top 5% don't have a good grip on how special their talents are, they may miss leadership opportunities

What it is
 The Dunning-Kruger effect is the phenomenon by which those least competent in a certain subject area overestimate
their skills the most
 This occurs because those who lack knowledge and skill at something lack the insight they need to know that they could
do better
 For those at the top, the effect occurs because something comes so easily to them that they don't realize it is challenging
to others and therefore downplay the extent to which they stand out

Findings
 The lack of self-awareness at many corporations can have huge effects on companies
 For example, 42% of employees predicted they would be ranked in the top 5% at a software engineering company
 This causes employees to miss learning and teaching opportunities they may take from one another
 Having less than six months of experience as a driver makes you eight times more likely to get in an accident
 Your own ignorance makes you overconfident, causing you to make reckless decisions and quick turns
 Seek feedback from others who can help you improve, rather than staying stuck in your inflated self-perceptions