One of the most important aspects of positive mental health is understanding oneself, which not only includes understanding the causes of behaviour but also one’s capabilities.
A lot of people who enter the therapy room as a result of work-related concerns often do so because of anxiety related to their skills, and this is something that is not always easy to understand in a vacuum. This is often more commonly known as imposter syndrome.
Whilst self-awareness is important, people tend to struggle with truly evaluating their own capabilities, and the concept of people being unable to know that they do not know enough is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, a concept that is, somewhat ironically, often misunderstood.
What Is The Dunning-Kruger Effect?
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a psychological bias where people who have limited knowledge in a particular field overestimate, often significantly, their own abilities, competence and knowledge.
It is often described as someone not knowing enough about a subject to understand how little they truly know.
The original paper on the subject, 1999’s “Unskilled and Unaware Of It”, found that people who are less competent than others will struggle to recognise their current level of ability or the ability of other people.
Whilst the most dramatic results are people who have very low knowledge of a subject believing they are better than average, there is also a smaller effect near the top of statistical studies where highly competent people believe they are less capable than they are.
Both of which can have quite dramatic effects on mental health on a holistic level. For example, a hypothetical person struggling with imposter syndrome might not believe they are capable of a career they are qualified for and choose a job that suits their skills far less.
Meanwhile, some who have demonstrated particularly dramatic levels of overconfidence may end up suffering from significant consequences, taking increasingly dangerous risks beyond their level of expertise under the mistaken belief that their decision is more reasoned than it really is.
For example, many amateur investors lose significant amounts of money due to believing that a small amount of knowledge in what is an exceptionally complex field makes them feel like an expert.
This leads them to make risky investments without the ability to distinguish between irrelevant, incorrect or inconsistent information, often leading to considerable financial losses or falling for scams that take advantage of a lack of financial knowledge such as pyramid investment schemes.
Part of the reason why this happens is what the original paper describes as a lack of “metacognition”. You need to understand a subject enough to realise what you don’t know, and it can create a state where people cannot realise where they need to improve.
Conversely, if you have average or better-than-average knowledge of a particular subject, you know enough about it to know where your knowledge may be lacking. The more you learn, the more someone needs to learn, after all.
However, the Dunning-Kruger effect does not always have negative consequences. Overconfidence often brings with it optimism and positivity, which can help people achieve goals that are otherwise unrealistic by at least trying.
