Too stupid to know they're stupid.

[jinx]

Know anyone like this? Is it me?

Unskilled and unaware of it: how difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments.

Kruger J, Dunning D.
Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-7601, USA. jkruger@s.psych.uiuc.edu
Abstract

People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error. Paradoxically, improving the skills of participants, and thus increasing their metacognitive competence, helped them recognize the limitations of their abilities.

The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is (Part 1)

As Dunning read through the article, a thought washed over him, an epiphany. If Wheeler was too stupid to be a bank robber, perhaps he was also too stupid to know that he was too stupid to be a bank robber — that is, his stupidity protected him from an awareness of his own stupidity.

[Undertoad]

Good stuff!

Marichiko is the textbook example. She'd be a psychopath, but she's too dumb to pull it off.

[glatt]

Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd.

Doesn't everyone think they are roughly average and maybe just a little bit better than everyone else?

I'd love to see a chart of how everyone at each percentile point ranked themselves, on average. Not just the dummies.

[jinx]

I wondered about that too, but don't want to pay $12 to find out.

[lookout123]

I think this phenomenon can be found everywhere, not just academics.

Completely ignoring the elite players who are a world apart, you can see this happening in any soccer league you find. There are always players who are less skilled or less intelligent in their play but for the most part everyone hovers pretty close to average. Then you see THAT team that has THAT player. He/she is so unbelievably shit that it is obvious to everyone except them. They can't control the ball, they can't dribble, pass, shoot, and don't understand the concept of teamplay but they are the first first to tell you how good they are. They are the first to try to be the star. They're so shit they don't even know they're shit.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The first part, about the stupid don't know their stupid, seems self evident. Who would make bad decisions knowing they were bad?
The second part, about mediocre people who are uneducated or not smart enough to know they're mediocre, is believable too.
But when they get into anosognosia they're talking about people that are physically damaged... they were using patients with anosognosia as an example of having the same result as the first two groups. I think they should have quit there. By the time they got to the fifth part, I'm not convinced anosognosia is a good correlation. He talks about some anosognosia patients who are apparently aware of their limitations but unconsciously and selectively choose to block them.

[Cicero]

At least I am aware that at Salsa Dancing I fail. Every time. My name is Cicero and I am a excruciatingly horrible salsa dancer. What's worse than the salsa dancing of mine? The strained look of consternation at every failed attempt. Unfortunately, knowing I am a stupid salsa dancer does not make me any smarter about it. I have not reached any new cognitive abilities because of this awareness.

[jinx]

Maybe you just have bad salsa luck Cic.

[piercehawkeye45]

I like the part where he tells students to find out who the smartest professors are and see what smart really looks like. There is nothing more grounding than thinking you are a genius, or elite at anything, than have someone just blow you right out of the water.

One reasons for such inflated scores could be that mediocre people usually associate with mediocre people. Dumb people usually associate with dumb people. Smart people usually associate with smart people. If you are smartest out of a mediocre group, you will have much higher confidence than being the dumbest out of the smart group, even though the latter may be much smarter than the former. We tend to forget that there are much smarter and dumber people than the small groups we associate with.

[HungLikeJesus]

I've long felt that everyone is smarter than me in some way, though sometimes I have to look for a while to figure out what that way is.

[gvidas]

Can't remember where I read it, but somewhere the inverse idea was neatly summed up as:

I am only _______ enough to know that I am not _______ enough.

I don't like the self-deprecating aftertaste, but I guess that shouldn't be the point. (It can be an affirming idea)

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Good stuff!

Marichiko is the textbook example. She'd be a psychopath, but she's too dumb to pull it off.

Undertoad's among the veterans who remember M. He also knows more than I do about whatever it was she did that was the last straw.

[BrianR]

I have read and seen a similar phenomena regarding driving skills. Some Insurance institute did a study whose results were almost funny. Some 85% of drivers rated themselves "above average". Then they were administered a basic driving test with questions culled from written driving tests nationwide. 60% flunked. As a daily driver, I agree and might even suggest that the actual figures are even worse as some may have passed the test by guessing.

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

I've long felt that everyone is smarter than me in some way, though sometimes I have to look for a while to figure out what that way is.

I'm pretty sure everyone on this planet knows something I don't, and that includes my kids.

I must be pretty dumb if I don't know everything.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by BrianR

I have read and seen a similar phenomena regarding driving skills. Some Insurance institute did a study whose results were almost funny. Some 85% of drivers rated themselves "above average". Then they were administered a basic driving test with questions culled from written driving tests nationwide. 60% flunked. As a daily driver, I agree and might even suggest that the actual figures are even worse as some may have passed the test by guessing.

Lil' Pete turned 16 so I've made it a habit to critique the driving around us when we travel together to give her a sense of what is safe/legal etc.. My commentary is almost non-stop, people are consistently stupid behind the wheel. It is almost like they have no sense of the physical world. I've had to rat myself out a couple times as well, which has improved my habits.