Abstract
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which individuals who are unskilled in certain domains overestimate their ability and are unaware of it. Past studies have focused on establishing the effect but have not looked into associated factors. This study aimed to see if the Dunning-Kruger effect has any influence on an individual’s narcissism, general self-efficacy and decision making styles especially in young adults in the Indian population. The Dunning- Kruger effect was established using scores from the Cognitive Reflection Task and the Rationality scale from Rational Experiential Inventory, keeping the ‘Unskilled and Unaware’ phrase under consideration, while establishing cut-offs. The participants were also divided into three groups - the group that was able to estimate their performance, the group that over-estimated their performance and the group that underestimated their performance. The dependent variables were measured using the NPI-16, General Self-Efficacy Scale and Flinders’ Decision-Making Styles Questionnaire. The Kruskal-Wallis H results showed that there is a significant difference between the group with Dunning-Kruger effect, without Dunning-Kruger effect and the group that underestimated their performance with reference to Narcissism, General Self-Efficacy, Vigilance and Hypervigilance decision-making styles. The Mann-Whitney U results further indicated a significant difference in Narcissism and Vigilance, between the groups that overestimated their performance and the group that accurately estimated their performance. However, there was no correlation between the CRT discrepancy scores of the individuals with Dunning-Kruger effect and the dependent variables.
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KIC developed the study with the help of Dr.PK and Dr.HH and was the principal investigator who collected responses and drafted the manuscript. Dr.PK and Dr.HH were both mentors who reviewed the study and participated in the data analysis and development of the manuscript.
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The authors declare that all procedures performed as a part of the study were following the university ethical guidelines. The research proposal was approved by the University Ethics Board. The participants were not at a high risk of physical or emotional distress and their participation in the study was voluntary. They had further granted consent for their responses to be used as a part of this study. A written informed consent could not be obtained since the mode of data collection had been through Google Forms. Incomplete responses and responses that did not fit the inclusion criteria were excluded from the data set. The participants were allowed to withdraw their responses at any point in the study.
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Christopher, K.I., P., P. & Herbert, H.S. Presence or absence of Dunning-Kruger effect: Differences in narcissism, general self-efficacy and decision-making styles in young adults. Curr Psychol 42, 1444–1455 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01461-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01461-9