Dunning-Kruger effect

[ duhn-ing--kroo-ger i-fekt ]

noun

, Psychology.

1. the theory that a person who lacks skill or expertise also lacks the insight to accurately evaluate this deficit, resulting in a persistent inflation of estimated competence in self-assessments.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Dunning-Kruger effect¹

First recorded in 2000–05; named after David Dunning (born 1950) and Justin Kruger, U.S. social psychologists, following their article “Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments” (1999), and defined by Dunning in his article “The Dunning–Kruger Effect: On Being Ignorant of One's Own Ignorance” (2011)