Modeling the Dunning-Kruger Effect: A Rational Account of Inaccurate Self-Assessment

Rachel A. Jansen, Anna N. Rafferty, Thomas L. Griffiths

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Self-assessment, or the evaluation of one's ability on a task, is widely perceived as a fundamental skill, yet in most studies, people are found to be poorly calibrated to their own abilities. Some results seem to show poorer calibration for low performers than for high performers. This effect has been explained in multiple ways: it could indicate worse metacognitive ability among the low performers (the “Dunning-Kruger” effect), or simply regression to the mean. To tease apart these explanations we develop a Bayesian model of self-assessment and evaluate its predictions in two experiments. Our results suggest that poor self-assessment is caused by the influence of prior beliefs and imperfect skill at determining whether a problem was solved correctly or not, and offer only weak support for of a relationship between metacognitive ability and performance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2018
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages548-553
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780991196784
StatePublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes
Event40th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Changing Minds, CogSci 2018 - Madison, United States
Duration: Jul 25 2018Jul 28 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2018

Conference

Conference40th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Changing Minds, CogSci 2018
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMadison
Period7/25/187/28/18

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Keywords

  • Bayesian modeling
  • logical reasoning
  • metacognition
  • self-assessment

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