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MENTAL MODEL · M2213

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Dunning-Kruger Effect
Learn & MetacognitionHigh supportCognitive Psychology
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

People with low ability lack metacognition and thus cannot recognize their own incompetence, leading them to overestimate their abilities; true experts often underestimate themselves.

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The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias that describes the systematic tendency of people with low ability in a specific area to give overly positive assessments of this ability. The term may also refer to the tendency of high performers to underestimate their skills. The effect was formalized …

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Those who are incompetent tend to overestimate their own level, and because they lack metacognition, they are unable to recognize their deficiencies. Researchers attribute this to a 'double burden': they lack the skill itself and also lack the ability to recognize what good performance looks like.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effectZH · Explicit
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