Citation: Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). How incompetent and ignorant self-evaluations can lead to exaggerated self evaluations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Issue 77(6): 1121
The purpose of the research was to see if those who perform poorly on grammar and logic tests overestimate or underrate their abilities. Kruger (1999) presented a compelling argument to support their study. This is due to the fact people have positive perceptions about their ability or competence in many academic and social areas. Kruger (1999) sought to prove this.
Reasonable and precise: This research adds to existing information on whether individuals have positive opinions about their ability or competence in various intellectual and social fields.
Participants: The first study involved 65 Cornell University undergraduates who were enrolled in a range of psychology courses. The second study saw 45 undergraduates from one institution enrolling in an introductory psychology course. In the third research, there were 84 undergraduates who came from the same college. 140 undergraduates were part of the final, fourth research.
Cornell University was the site of the investigation. The university specifically conducted the investigation in its psychology lab.
Participants were required to rate each joke on the 11-point scale that was used by chosen comedians in the initial survey. Participants were required to give a percentage rating of how well they perceive humor. The second test required participants to answer 20 questions about logical reasoning. They were also asked to give three evaluations about their performance and test aptitude. Participants were then required to complete a 20-item grammar test during the third trial. They were then required to test their grammar skills and grade their proficiency on the exam against their peers using a percentage scale. Participants in research 4 were asked to complete a 10 item test of logic reasoning. They also had to compare their reasoning skills with their peers on a percentage scale. Participants were also required to rate how many problems they solved successfully.
These data included results from grammar and logical reasoning exams as well as estimates of test aptitude and performance. The data were obtained by giving grammar and logic reasoning exams to the participants. This was done to ensure that all procedures were followed and the test results were as expected.
ANOVA was used for the analysis of data collected from study participants. Researchers also did regression analysis.
Study 1 found that participants tend to underestimate their abilities compared with their peers, despite having a slight correlation between their perceptions and actual ability. Kruger and Dunning (1999), also found that participants who performed poorly in comparison to peers did not know this. Study 2 tested participants’ logical thinking skills.