The Dunning-Kruger Trap

The Dunning-Kruger effect is usually summarized as this: low performers often overestimate their ability because they lack the skill needed to judge their own performance accurately. That core pattern has support, but the dramatic curve and the exact metacognitive explanation are debated.

High performers can also underestimate their relative rank, often because they assume others are doing better than they actually are. The practical lesson is humility: confidence is not proof of competence, and self-doubt is not proof of incompetence.