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What is the Dunning-Kruger effect? How do we know when someone is overestimating their abilities? In what contexts can the Dunning-Kruger effect occur? If you are interested in learning about the Dunning-Kruger effect, this page has what you need to get started.
Definitions and Overviews of the Dunning-Kruger Effect
If someone you know asks you, “What is the Dunning-Kruger effect?” you could point them to these web pages (or the page you’re on right now!) that define and summarize the Dunning-Kruger effect.
- Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/Dunning-Kruger-effect
- Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/dunning-kruger-effect.html
- Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect
- Verywell Mind: https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-the-dunning-kruger-effect-4160740
A Review of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, by David Dunning
In 2011, David Dunning published a chapter in Advances in experimental social psychology which provides a thorough review of the Dunning-Kruger effect, including its definition, alternative accounts of the Dunning-Kruger effect, and potential future directions for the literature. Read the review here (journal access required).
Educational Videos
More of a visual learner? Here are some videos that explain the Dunning-Kruger effect.
We Are All Confident Idiots
A piece about the DKE for the general public from Pacific Standard. “Because it’s so easy to judge the idiocy of others, it may be sorely tempting to think this doesn’t apply to you. But the problem of unrecognized ignorance is one that visits us all. … An ignorant mind is precisely not a spotless, empty vessel, but one that’s filled with the clutter of irrelevant or misleading life experiences, theories, facts, intuitions, strategies, algorithms, heuristics, metaphors, and hunches that regrettably have the look and feel of useful and accurate knowledge.” Read the article here.
Further Reading
Now that you’ve grasped the fundamentals of the Dunning-Kruger effect, you might be interested in learning more about its application to the scientific literature. To access a list of peer-reviewed papers that cite or are relevant to the Dunning-Kruger effect, click here.
