Dunning-Kruger Effect

Finding that the least skilled performers overestimate their ability most, lacking the skill to see their errors.

Specifications & Metrics

Across tests of humor, grammar, and logic, bottom-quartile performers estimated their standing far above their actual rank.
Improving skill improved self-assessment, supporting the meta-cognitive account in the original paper.
Later statistical work debates how much of the pattern reflects regression artifacts, keeping the effect under active study.