A study on the delusional know-it-all types out there we all have to deal with. Some LOL worthy stuff in the abstract. Reads like an Onion story. :cool:
When Knowledge Knows No Bounds:Self-Perceived Expertise Predicts Claims of Impossible Knowledge
Stav Atir1
Emily Rosenzweig2
David Dunning1
1Department of Psychology, Cornell University
2Department of Marketing, Tulane University
Stav Atir, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601 E-mail: ssa62@cornell.edu
Abstract
People overestimate their knowledge, at times claiming knowledge of concepts, events, and people that do not exist and cannot be known, a phenomenon called overclaiming. What underlies assertions of such impossible knowledge? We found that people overclaim to the extent that they perceive their personal expertise favorably. Studies 1a and 1b showed that self-perceived financial knowledge positively predicts claiming knowledge of nonexistent financial concepts, independent of actual knowledge. Study 2 demonstrated that self-perceived knowledge within specific domains (e.g., biology) is associated specifically with overclaiming within those domains. In Study 3, warning participants that some of the concepts they saw were fictitious did not reduce the relationship between self-perceived knowledge and overclaiming, which suggests that this relationship is not driven by impression management. In Study 4, boosting self-perceived expertise in geography prompted assertions of familiarity with nonexistent places, which supports a causal role for self-perceived expertise in claiming impossible knowledge.
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early...88195.abstract
When Knowledge Knows No Bounds:Self-Perceived Expertise Predicts Claims of Impossible Knowledge
Stav Atir1
Emily Rosenzweig2
David Dunning1
1Department of Psychology, Cornell University
2Department of Marketing, Tulane University
Stav Atir, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, 211 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7601 E-mail: ssa62@cornell.edu
Abstract
People overestimate their knowledge, at times claiming knowledge of concepts, events, and people that do not exist and cannot be known, a phenomenon called overclaiming. What underlies assertions of such impossible knowledge? We found that people overclaim to the extent that they perceive their personal expertise favorably. Studies 1a and 1b showed that self-perceived financial knowledge positively predicts claiming knowledge of nonexistent financial concepts, independent of actual knowledge. Study 2 demonstrated that self-perceived knowledge within specific domains (e.g., biology) is associated specifically with overclaiming within those domains. In Study 3, warning participants that some of the concepts they saw were fictitious did not reduce the relationship between self-perceived knowledge and overclaiming, which suggests that this relationship is not driven by impression management. In Study 4, boosting self-perceived expertise in geography prompted assertions of familiarity with nonexistent places, which supports a causal role for self-perceived expertise in claiming impossible knowledge.
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early...88195.abstract