Why incompetent ones think they are awesome? Study Explained

You would have definitely dealt with this kind of situation, maybe in school or work: Working with a person who hardly has some knowledge on a particular subject but thinks he/she is the best. It seems awkward to socialise with such a person. You tend to meet them in all walks of life. You see them defending the ideas that are against their belief, or giving a wrong answer to a question with such nerve!

Their behaviour might look annoying, making you judge them as a windbag or a bluffer, but it's not their fault. Surprising?


How would you react when I say this phenomenon has got a name? Psychologists describe it as the Dunning-Kruger effect, named to honour two American psychologists- David Dunning and Justin Kruger, for publishing an Ig Nobel winning scientific study.
Dunning and Kruger published a study called "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Competence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments" in 1999.

They analysed a group of students' self-assessments of their skills in areas like English grammar, logical reasoning and their sense of humour. In the end, they asked the students to guess their rank in each field. The research showed that the incompetent students overestimated themselves and the students who actually excelled underestimated.

Dunning and Kruger argued that people lacking knowledge in particular areas suffer double curse:
  1. They make mistakes and end up making poor decisions.
  2. Their knowledge gaps prevent them from realising the errors. 
In a nutshell, they fail to self-analyse themselves. They do not try ways to recognise their strengths and weakness or ask feedback from people they are close to. Poor performers are less likely to accept criticisms or care about self-improvement.
Dunning-Kruger effect is more than self-esteem. It is not a disease or a mental disease as you think. It is present in everybody (yeah, admit it!) to some extent, and only in recent years, this is studied and documented. 

Empty vessels make the most noise
If you are trapped in this phenomenon (you would turn a blind eye, I know), the following could be done:
  • Often, your closer ones- be it a friend, colleague, or a workmate- know you better than what you know about yourself. Try seeking their advice and never take a defensive route. Criticisms come along the way and you must take them into consideration, though it might be a bitter pill to swallow.
  • Keep learning! The more knowledgeable you are in a particular area, the less likely you find a black spot on it. You will attain the capacity to have a clear focus on the subject you were once poor at.
Self-awareness is one of the valuable traits one could have and this helps in your personal growth.
You will begin to realise how to sculpt yourself with perfection only if you try to understand your calibre.

Ps. This writing does not have any intention in criticizing a particular politician.








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