Dunning-Kruger
Ignorance breeds overconfidence
Dunning-Kruger refers to a cognitive bias where people with limited competence in a subject overestimate their own ability, while experts tend to underestimate theirs.
The less you know, the less equipped you are to recognize how much you don't know: Classic Dunning-Kruger—he took one coding class and thinks he can build an app.
Named for the psychologists who described it in 1999.
Unjustified certainty in oneself
- incompetenceLack of required skill
- self-assessmentEvaluating your own performance
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- overestimationJudging something too high
illusion · misjudgment · self-deception · distortion · miscalibration
Excessive self-importance
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- overestimateJudge as greater than
- smugnessExcessive pride in oneself
- bravadoPretense of fearlessness
cocky · presumption · self-assurance · complacency · bluster · overreach · know-it-all · certainty
Lacking acquired competence
- noviceInexperienced newcomer to field
- amateurNonprofessional participant
- inexperienceLack of prior exposure
- ignoranceAbsence of knowledge
beginner · ineptitude · unfamiliarity · clueless · unqualified · deficiency · inability · unawareness
Awareness of own reasoning
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
- self-reflectionExamining one's own mind
insight · humility · expertise · learning · growth · recognition · feedback · improvement
overconfidence
Unjustified certainty in oneself
- incompetenceLack of required skill
- self-assessmentEvaluating your own performance
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
overestimation · illusion · misjudgment · self-deception · distortion · miscalibration
arrogance
Excessive self-importance
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- overestimateJudge as greater than
- smugnessExcessive pride in oneself
bravado · cocky · presumption · self-assurance · complacency · bluster · overreach · know-it-all · certainty · self-aggrandizement
unskilled
Lacking acquired competence
- noviceInexperienced newcomer to field
- amateurNonprofessional participant
- inexperienceLack of prior exposure
ignorance · beginner · ineptitude · unfamiliarity · clueless · unqualified · deficiency · inability · unawareness · naivety
metacognition
Awareness of own reasoning
- self-awarenessInsight into one's psyche
- introspectionObserving one's own mind
- calibrationAdjusting for measurement accuracy
self-reflection · insight · humility · expertise · learning · growth · recognition · feedback · improvement · self-knowledge
- cognitive biasesconfirmation bias, anchoring bias, negativity bias, framing effect, optimism bias
- biasescognitive bias, confirmation bias, implicit bias, unconscious bias, selection bias
- fallaciesstraw man, red herring, circular reasoning, ad hominem, fallacy
- perception errorsmisperception, illusion, optical illusion, visual distortion, blind spot
- Psych JokesFreudian slip, defense mechanism, free association, slip of the tongue, psychobabble
Dunning-Krugerimpostor syndrome
Feeling undeserving of success
self-doubt · underconfidence · intellectual humility · epistemic humility · self-awareness
Dunning-Krugercurse of knowledge
Assuming others share your understanding