The **Dunning–Kruger effect** is a cognitive bias in which people with _limited competence in a particular domain_ overestimate their abilities. It was first described by the psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers' tendency to underestimate their skills. In popular culture, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as a claim about general overconfidence of people with low intelligence instead of specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task. Numerous similar studies have been done. The Dunning–Kruger effect is usually measured by comparing self-assessment with objective performance. For example, participants may take a quiz and estimate their performance afterward, which is then compared to their actual results. The original study focused on logical reasoning, grammar, and social skills. Other studies have been conducted across a wide range of tasks. They include skills from fields such as business, politics, medicine, driving, aviation, spatial memory, examinations in school, and literacy. There is disagreement about the causes of the Dunning–Kruger effect. According to the metacognitive explanation, poor performers misjudge their abilities because they fail to recognize the qualitative difference between their performances and the performances of others. The statistical model explains the empirical findings as a statistical effect in combination with the general tendency to think that one is better than average. Some proponents of this view hold that the Dunning–Kruger effect is mostly a statistical artifact. The rational model holds that overly positive prior beliefs about one's skills are the source of false self-assessment. Another explanation claims that self-assessment is more difficult and error-prone for low performers because many of them have very similar skill levels. There is also disagreement about where the effect applies and about how strong it is, as well as about its practical consequences. Inaccurate self-assessment could potentially lead people to making bad decisions, such as choosing a career for which they are unfit, or engaging in dangerous behavior. It may also inhibit people from addressing their shortcomings to improve themselves. Critics argue that such an effect would have much more dire consequences than what is observed. ## Definition The Dunning–Kruger effect is defined as the tendency of people with low ability in a specific area to give overly positive assessments of this ability.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchl%C3%B6sserDunningJohnsonKruger2013[httpsdoiorg101016jjoep201307004_85%E2%80%93100]-2)[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMahmood2016199%E2%80%93213-3)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPavelRobertsonHarrison2012125%E2%80%93129-4) This is often seen as a cognitive bias, i.e. as a systematic tendency to engage in erroneous forms of thinking and judging.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDuignan2023-5)[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTELitvakLerner2009[httpsphilpapersorgrecLITCB_Cognitive_Bias]-6)[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGignacZajenkowski2020-7) In the case of the Dunning–Kruger effect, this applies mainly to people with low skill in a specific area trying to evaluate their competence within this area. The systematic error concerns their tendency to greatly overestimate their competence, i.e. to see themselves as more skilled than they are.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDuignan2023-5) The Dunning–Kruger effect is usually defined specifically for the self-assessments of people with a low level of competence "Competence (human resources)").[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMagnusPeresetsky2022-8)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDuignan2023-5)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9) But some theorists do not restrict it to the bias of people with low skill, also discussing the reverse effect, i.e., the tendency of highly skilled people to underestimate their abilities relative to the abilities of others.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchl%C3%B6sserDunningJohnsonKruger2013[httpsdoiorg101016jjoep201307004_85%E2%80%93100]-2)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEPavelRobertsonHarrison2012125%E2%80%93129-4)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9) In this case, the source of the error may not be the self-assessment of one's skills, but an overly positive assessment of the skills of others.[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchl%C3%B6sserDunningJohnsonKruger2013[httpsdoiorg101016jjoep201307004_85%E2%80%93100]-2) This phenomenon can be understood as a form of the false-consensus effect, i.e., the tendency to "overestimate the extent to which other people share one's beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours".[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEColman2009[httpswwwoxfordreferencecomdisplay101093oiauthority20110803095809443jsessionid0858BA7FF5DC26328A7725DC87458F92_false-consensus_effect]-10)[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTESchl%C3%B6sserDunningJohnsonKruger2013[httpsdoiorg101016jjoep201307004_85%E2%80%93100]-2)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9) > Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition. The problem with it is we see it in other people, and we don't see it in ourselves. The first rule of the Dunning–Kruger club is you don't know you're a member of the Dunning–Kruger club. David Dunning[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEResnick2019-11) Some researchers include a metacognitive component in their definition. In this view, the Dunning–Kruger effect is the thesis that those who are incompetent in a given area tend to be ignorant of their incompetence, i.e., they lack the metacognitive ability to become aware of their incompetence. This definition lends itself to a simple explanation of the effect: incompetence often includes being unable to tell the difference between competence and incompetence. For this reason, it is difficult for the incompetent to recognize their incompetence.[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDunning2011260%E2%80%93261-12)[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDuignan2023-5) This is sometimes termed the "dual-burden" account, since low performers are affected by two burdens: they lack a skill and they are unaware of this deficiency.[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9) Other definitions focus on the tendency to overestimate one's ability and see the relation to metacognition as a possible explanation that is not part of the definition.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDuignan2023-5)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9)[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMazorFleming2021[httpswwwnaturecomarticless41562-021-01101-z_677%E2%80%93678]-13) This contrast is relevant since the metacognitive explanation is controversial. Many criticisms of the Dunning–Kruger effect target this explanation but accept the empirical findings that low performers tend to overestimate their skills.[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMagnusPeresetsky2022-8)[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshFowlerLyuDella_Sala2019-9)[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMazorFleming2021[httpswwwnaturecomarticless41562-021-01101-z_677%E2%80%93678]-13) Among laypeople, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as the claim that people with low intelligence are more confident in their knowledge and skills than people with high intelligence.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScienceAlert_Staff2022-14) According to psychologist Robert D. McIntosh and his colleagues, it is sometimes understood in popular culture as the claim that "stupid people are too stupid to know they are stupid".[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMcIntoshMooreLiuDella_Sala2022-15) But the Dunning–Kruger effect applies not to intelligence in general but to skills in specific tasks. Nor does it claim that people lacking a given skill are as confident as high performers. Rather, low performers overestimate themselves but their confidence level is still below that of high performers.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEScienceAlert_Staff2022-14)[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDunning2011263-1)[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect?utm_source=chatgpt.com#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGignacZajenkowski2020-7)