Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why Does The Incompetent Believe He Or She Is Smarter Than Others?
How many times have we seen incompetent people who consider themselves superior to others? This phenomenon has a name: Dunning-Kruger effect. We tell you what it consists of.
In some cases vanity and incompetence can go hand in hand. There are people who believe they are superior to others even though they actually border on intellectual incompetence. These individuals, who tend to look down on others, often suffer from what we call Dunning Kruger syndrome
The one known as Dunning Kruger effect This is a type of cognitive bias that causes people to perceive themselves as smarter and more capable than they really are.
So much so that according to research on the Dunning Kruger syndrome suggest that it is precisely individuals with low intellectual capacity who tend to suffer from this bias. The reason is that these people do not have the necessary skills to recognize their own incompetence.
If we mix the combination of having little self-awareness and poor cognitive ability to overestimate one’s own abilities, we find a person who suffers from Dunning Kruger effect
“Ignorance breeds confidence more often than knowledge.”
Charles Darwin
As its own researchers, social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, defined, ““The overvaluation of the incompetent is born from the misinterpretation of one’s own capacity.” That is to say, the incompetent He overestimates his abilities in an effect of illusory superiority that makes him feel superior to others (more intelligent, more capable of performing a job, more skilled at carrying out a job…).
This problem of cognitive awareness is usually linked to the vanity that characterizes these subjects, so, in addition to considering themselves superior, these individuals are incapable of recognizing their error, that is, of recognize your incompetence, to accept that they do not know something or that they are not capable of doing it. What is also interesting is that, as the parents of this syndrome showed, the more incompetent a person is, the less aware they are of it.
There are a series of signs that make it more visible Dunning Kruger Syndrome and its effect People are not only incompetent but it also robs them of their mental ability to realize how inept they are. Mainly we can detect a person who believes he knows everything but is actually ignorant and suffers from this effect, through these signs.
1. They overestimate their own abilities
It is very likely that the person believes that they know everything in any field. So much so that in many cases these people tend to see themselves as very competent when in reality they have no idea and lack those skills that they boast about so much.
2. They don’t recognize genuine people
He Dunning-Kruger effect It affects the person in such a way that in many cases they tend to belittle those individuals who really do have the knowledge. Therefore, they tend to see those more capable people as worse than them.
3. They don’t see their own mistakes
Another of the traits of those individuals who are under the effects of Dunning Kruger syndrome It is precisely that they are unable to see where they fail and what their mistakes are. Therefore they lack a critical voice to tell them that they have really made a mistake.
4. Lack of metacognition
He Dunning-Kruger and its effect They are also related to the difficulties of metacognition, that is, with that ability to take a step back and observe one’s own behavior from outside oneself. Most people tend to evaluate themselves from a limited and subjective point of view. But seeing our behavior from another perspective allows us to have a more realistic view of our abilities. Therefore, the person behind this cognitive bias cannot see himself/herself from another point of view.
Having little knowledge often leads people to suffer from overconfidence. In these cases the Dunning-Kruger syndrome They usually believe that they are an expert because knowing a little about knowledge leads them to the false belief that they know everything there is to know about this topic.
People who suffer from Dunning-Kruger effect They often have problems with excessive self-esteem. In this way, sometimes this cognitive bias ends up pointing out a problem in the mental health of the person who suffers from it. In these cases, consultation with a mental health professional may be necessary.
How to overcome the Dunning-Kruger effect?
It is difficult to recognize that we are the ignorant of a group. But taking the first step is the key to solving this problem that can limit us in many aspects. Once this cognitive error has been identified in us, we can follow the following advice.
Improve your metacognition
Metacognition is the skill that psychologists call knowledge about thought processes and the ability to understand our own cognition. In this way, it refers to the ability to think about our own thinking. Having metacognition allows us to visualize our capabilities and reflect on how we can improve them.
Talk about it with others
The opinion of your friends and family can be vital to see if you are under the effects of Dunning-Kruger syndrome In this way, through their comments you will be able to validate your own skills.
Question your thoughts
Sometimes we prejudge more than we think. Therefore, it is essential to try to take control of our mind to stop being the ignorant one in a group. Questioning our thoughts gives us the opportunity to see things from a different perspective, something that will allow us to see what we really know about knowledge.
Self-knowledge is very important to be able to avoid Dunning-Kruger effect But it is not only relevant to eliminate this cognitive bias from our brain, but also to enjoy all aspects of our life. If you think you lack the skills to understand yourself inside and out, a professional psychologist can help you get to know yourself better.
The publication of the results of the study by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger took place in 1999 and earned them the Nobel Prize the following year. They did not know, at that time, that this effect would lead to the way we relate to and behave towards others today. We could even think that the effect has led in many cases to a kind of brotherhood, typical of many who talk about everything without really knowing anything.
Perhaps the clearest evidence of Dunnung-Kruger effect We can see it on the Internet. Social networks have been filled with comments in which individuals debate, reject or simply criticize everything that they do not consider to be true, considerations that, in many cases, do not arise from data or intellectual or training abilities, but from an erroneous cognitive superiority that They lead you to reject what you do not agree with and to boast about its truth.
As these researchers already presented, the Dunning-Kruger effect It feeds, it is nourished by the distrust that others express about their competences, that is, by the little security that others present about their high capabilities. In this way, some say they know a lot without actually doing so and others, who do know, are not sure what they know nor are they aware that they know it.
The difference in perception between competence and incompetence usually has effects on self-esteem and emotional dependence in both cases, both in the case of those who are unable to know their ineptitude and those who are not aware of their capacity. Transferred to real life, to the work, public or personal sphere, it considers extremely intelligent people inept and turns incompetent people into deeply overrated individuals.
We only have to take a simple look around us (read the news, attend a meeting…) to check the Dunning-Kruger syndrome It is repeated in many areas of our lives.
