# Dunning-Kruger Effect

<figure><img src="https://2905879428-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MS2xefUFfUTrhwFW_o3%2Fuploads%2FgnqBUUMnZyuZtwvaG4EY%2Fdunning-kruger-0011.jpg?alt=media&#x26;token=24ce1cb1-0b88-424a-b38b-a4a8e058507c" alt=""><figcaption><p><a href="https://understandinginnovation.blog/2015/07/03/the-dunning-kruger-effect-in-innovation/">https://understandinginnovation.blog/2015/07/03/the-dunning-kruger-effect-in-innovation/</a></p></figcaption></figure>

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low competence in a particular area overestimate their own abilities, while experts tend to underestimate their competence. This happens because the very skills needed to be competent in a domain are also the skills needed to recognize one's own shortcomings or the competence of others. The effect was first described by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. How it works

* **For the incompetent:**&#x50;eople with limited knowledge or skill in a subject lack the awareness of their own gaps. Because they don't know what they don't know, they tend to believe they know more than they actually do.&#x20;
* **For experts:**&#x48;ighly skilled individuals often underestimate their own competence. They may assume that a task is as easy for others as it is for them, leading them to believe their abilities are not exceptional.&#x20;

The four stages of competenceT

he Dunning-Kruger effect can be understood in the context of four stages of learning:&#x20;

1. [**Unconscious incompetence**](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0341e61adf0435df\&rlz=1C5CHFA_enSG951SG953\&sxsrf=AE3TifNMsMY5gi_WoLvYyzIW93xyp6oYsQ%3A1756734170013\&q=Unconscious+incompetence\&sa=X\&ved=2ahUKEwj6kKzh2LePAxX3SWwGHQmVBOMQxccNegUIlwEQAQ\&mstk=AUtExfB66_eTkjv3u7mNeXMkZ6yDfApAHoex000x8ClpKNceGNQquTWKbyxKWMpmx1CsZgflJlz-2QY492bagcDPjwc2mm6rk9vX--qNtm8SIE1FR0O6tW4yKgs_FgaA2CVIrOU1TLsnrlI9y92LjcR3LE1MK5jPsLWXpdpj3gqnIiaHf_EpnIa6f3XTnbvOykCjmfoxtM4CahphVzQeA2BanQTD1hAQH4eLtrDKUszwn315NUPcxyknDHVUupVxZfqCjJlboH_tewqQLiYkDCzkg5Jp\&csui=3)**:** You are unaware of the knowledge or skills you lack.
2. [**Conscious incompetence**](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0341e61adf0435df\&rlz=1C5CHFA_enSG951SG953\&sxsrf=AE3TifNMsMY5gi_WoLvYyzIW93xyp6oYsQ%3A1756734170013\&q=Conscious+incompetence\&sa=X\&ved=2ahUKEwj6kKzh2LePAxX3SWwGHQmVBOMQxccNegUIlgEQAQ\&mstk=AUtExfB66_eTkjv3u7mNeXMkZ6yDfApAHoex000x8ClpKNceGNQquTWKbyxKWMpmx1CsZgflJlz-2QY492bagcDPjwc2mm6rk9vX--qNtm8SIE1FR0O6tW4yKgs_FgaA2CVIrOU1TLsnrlI9y92LjcR3LE1MK5jPsLWXpdpj3gqnIiaHf_EpnIa6f3XTnbvOykCjmfoxtM4CahphVzQeA2BanQTD1hAQH4eLtrDKUszwn315NUPcxyknDHVUupVxZfqCjJlboH_tewqQLiYkDCzkg5Jp\&csui=3)**:** You become aware of the skill or knowledge you are missing.
3. [**Conscious competence**](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0341e61adf0435df\&rlz=1C5CHFA_enSG951SG953\&sxsrf=AE3TifNMsMY5gi_WoLvYyzIW93xyp6oYsQ%3A1756734170013\&q=Conscious+competence\&sa=X\&ved=2ahUKEwj6kKzh2LePAxX3SWwGHQmVBOMQxccNegUImAEQAQ\&mstk=AUtExfB66_eTkjv3u7mNeXMkZ6yDfApAHoex000x8ClpKNceGNQquTWKbyxKWMpmx1CsZgflJlz-2QY492bagcDPjwc2mm6rk9vX--qNtm8SIE1FR0O6tW4yKgs_FgaA2CVIrOU1TLsnrlI9y92LjcR3LE1MK5jPsLWXpdpj3gqnIiaHf_EpnIa6f3XTnbvOykCjmfoxtM4CahphVzQeA2BanQTD1hAQH4eLtrDKUszwn315NUPcxyknDHVUupVxZfqCjJlboH_tewqQLiYkDCzkg5Jp\&csui=3)**:** You can perform the skill but with a lot of focus and effort.
4. [**Unconscious competence**](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0341e61adf0435df\&rlz=1C5CHFA_enSG951SG953\&sxsrf=AE3TifNMsMY5gi_WoLvYyzIW93xyp6oYsQ%3A1756734170013\&q=Unconscious+competence\&sa=X\&ved=2ahUKEwj6kKzh2LePAxX3SWwGHQmVBOMQxccNegUImQEQAQ\&mstk=AUtExfB66_eTkjv3u7mNeXMkZ6yDfApAHoex000x8ClpKNceGNQquTWKbyxKWMpmx1CsZgflJlz-2QY492bagcDPjwc2mm6rk9vX--qNtm8SIE1FR0O6tW4yKgs_FgaA2CVIrOU1TLsnrlI9y92LjcR3LE1MK5jPsLWXpdpj3gqnIiaHf_EpnIa6f3XTnbvOykCjmfoxtM4CahphVzQeA2BanQTD1hAQH4eLtrDKUszwn315NUPcxyknDHVUupVxZfqCjJlboH_tewqQLiYkDCzkg5Jp\&csui=3)**:** You can perform the skill easily and naturally without much conscious thought.

Implications of the Dunning-Kruger effect

* **Overconfidence:**&#x49;ncompetent individuals may take on tasks they are unprepared for, leading to mistakes.&#x20;
* **Underconfidence:**&#x48;ighly skilled individuals might doubt their abilities, holding back from opportunities.&#x20;
* **Communication issues:**&#x4F;verconfident individuals may dismiss advice, while experts may struggle to explain concepts they find obvious.&#x20;
* **Cultural influence:**&#x53;ome research suggests cultural factors, such as a greater emphasis on self-promotion in Western cultures, may play a role in amplifying the effect.&#x20;

***

> #### Ignorance and Self-Awareness
>
> If you're very, very stupid, how can you possibly realize That? You're very, very stupid. You'd have to be relatively intelligent to realize how stupid you are. There's a wonderful bit of research by a guy called David Dunning at Cornell who was a friend of mine, I've tried to say who's pointed out that "*in order to know how good you are at something requires exactly the same skills as it does to be good at that thing in the first place*". Which means, this is very funny that if you're absolutely no good at something at all than you lack, exactly the skills that you need to know that you're absolutely no good at it. And this explains not just Hollywood, but almost the entirety of Fox News.&#x20;
>
> — John Cleese

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