Trego's Mountain Ear

I’ve been sharing pdf versions of Dunning and Kruger’s study “Unskilled and Unaware” for the past twenty years.  After the hurricane damage to my relatives’ Appalachian home areas, I started following the NCrenegade blog.  He has posted an abbreviated explanation of Dunning-Kruger on his blog at

https://ncrenegade.com/  that is very well done.  Click the link for his entire commentary – but the nuts and bolts are printed here:

“from Grok:

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a specific area tend to overestimate their knowledge or competence, while those who are highly competent might underestimate their own abilities or assume tasks that are easy for them are also easy for others. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Overestimation by the Incompetent: Individuals who lack skill in an area often fail to recognize their own incompetence. This leads them to rate their ability as much higher than it actually is. They might feel overly confident in making decisions or judgments in that area.
2. Underestimation by the Competent: Conversely, people who are highly skilled might assume that everyone else can perform tasks at their level of expertise, leading them to underestimate their own abilities relative to others. They might think, “If this is easy for me, it must be easy for everyone.”

Key Points of the Dunning-Kruger Effect:

• Misjudgment of Ability: People who are unskilled in a domain are not only prone to making errors but also lack the very expertise needed to recognize how bad their performance is.
• Double Burden: According to Dunning and Kruger, the incompetent suffer from a dual burden: not only do they reach mistaken conclusions and make regrettable errors, but their incompetence robs them of the ability to realize it.
• Illusory Superiority: This is closely related to the effect where many people think they are above average, even when statistical norms would suggest that’s not possible for everyone.

Example:

• In a study, students who performed very poorly on a test of grammar and logic often believed they did well above average. Conversely, students who scored in the top quartile often underestimated their performance relative to others.

Implications:

• This effect can lead to significant errors in various domains, from everyday decision-making to professional settings, where overconfident individuals might take on tasks they’re not qualified for, or conversely, where highly competent individuals might not take on leadership roles or fail to recognize their own value.
• It underscores the importance of self-awareness, continuous learning, and seeking feedback, particularly in areas where one lacks expertise.

The Dunning-Kruger effect highlights a fundamental human flaw in self-assessment which can impact learning, decision-making, and social interactions. Awareness of this bias can foster more critical self-evaluation and encourage seeking out education or expertise in areas where one’s knowledge is lacking.”

Again, if you want the complete story, click https://ncrenegade.com/