The Dunning-Kruger Effect

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a study of why people think the way they do. It was developed by social psychology professor Peter Dunning and his colleague Robert Kruger. The researchers found that if you gave people money to overestimate their abilities, they still did better than those who didn't give them cash. Steve Greene: We often see echoes of the effect in modern society. Medical residents, inflated assessment of patient interviewing skills, corporate executives, workplace computer users, even athletic coaches have all shown it.