Know and combat the Dunning-Kruger effect

False perception according to Dunning and Kruger

According to Dunning and Kruger, if people are not smart enough to recognize that they are actually too stupid and incompetent, this is a fundamental error in perception. It is a distorted cognitive perception and a dysfunctional, realistic reflection.

The Dunning-Kruger effect was named after the two American psychologists D. Dunning and J. Kruger, who conducted studies asking students how they assessed their own abilities. It was found that low-performing students tended to overestimate themselves, whereas gifted and intelligent students tended to underestimate themselves.

The occurrence of this effect in connection with the individual IQ is also known as the downing effect, which describes the illusion of superiority.

Dunning Kruger's overestimation of oneself in four stages

According to Dunning and Kruger, overconfidence develops into incompetence in four different stages:

• The destructive cycle begins with an overestimation of one's own abilities.
• For this reason, the people affected are unable to recognize their own incompetence.
• Since they cannot recognize their deficits, they cannot increase their competence.
• In addition, they also tend to underestimate other people's significantly better abilities.

Symptoms of the Dunning-Kruger effect

The false self-perception according to Dunning and Kruger can often be perceived in real life through certain symptoms that are similar to those of a narcissistic personality disorder:

• Affected people tend to have a kind of megalomania, fantasies of omnipotence or they are convinced of their extraordinary intelligence.
• They are opinionated and believe that they are very special, important and talented.
• They want to be admired by others, but they tend to envy other people and are convinced that they are envied.

Examples of overestimation of oneself in everyday life

The Dunning-Kruger effect is often noticeable in people's everyday lives:

• On the Internet, many users of social media platforms tend not to make a distinction between their opinion and the truth. They are convinced that the opinion they hold is automatically true.
• Some people starting their careers believe they know a lot of things better than more experienced colleagues.
• People who are interested in politics are often convinced that they know better how to govern a country than the current government.
• Many drivers are convinced that they drive cars better than average.

It is precisely ignorance or partial knowledge that gives people an excessive sense of self-confidence that real experts with in-depth knowledge do not have.

Counteracting the Dunning-Kruger effect

People who suffer from manifest overconfidence do not notice this. If those around you point this out to them, they react with defiance, a defensive attitude or even justifications. Gaining insight into false self-perception is a painful process for those affected. However, other people can help you by giving you constructive feedback on a regular basis and not allowing yourself to be deterred. In this way, they reflect their own misjudgment to those affected and can, over time, encourage them to think.

Those affected can practice healthy self-reflection by regularly questioning themselves and allowing critical feedback.

People with symptoms of the Dunning-Kruger effect are stressful for those around them and they hinder their own development. Constructive feedback from those around you and healthy self-reflection can improve this type of overestimation of yourself.