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Kruger and Dunning proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:
1. tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
2. fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
3. fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
4. recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they can be trained to substantially improve.
1. tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
2. fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
3. fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
4. recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they can be trained to substantially improve.
It should be noted that competence doesn't mean intelligence.
I bring this up because well it's something we all fall into, at least here in the US. Recognizing that we all have this natural bias is especially useful for research and self-development.
This effect is evident in many non-debate issues like "Wicca" and "Creationism" which often rely on appeal to emotions since they lack to competence to understand the depth of the subjects they are debating. It's also noticeable in the American Idol auditions. Why do you think these people go on to make fools of themselves during the auditions? Well it's because they don't know how badly they lack skill.
The 4th stage is kinda sad. If an incompetent person can be adequately trained, then can they accurately assess their incompetence. Some people don't ever get to this fourth step. They are self-declared experts and thus don't seek training. (I've been studying Paganism for 20 years, you can't tell me Silver Ravenwolf is an awful source. You can't tell me that Buckland is wrong in his history.) Misinformation spreads because incompetent people won't acknowledge their own incompetence, or in worst cases, intentionally distort information to deflect away their incompetence.
Alright I don't know where I was going with this now to be honest. Now I'm just rambling. Hope you find this interesting too.
