Is Trump a victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect? How about Trump supporters? How about Trump voters?
A CEO of a large insurance company, Steven, has always exhibited performance problems. His travel expenses are excessive for the small amount of business he brings the firm. His client entertaining budget is beyond belief. Additionally, he inadvertently insults potential clients and unknowingly drives away the few he does have.
Last week was his performance review by the Board did not go well. His reaction to his poor review?
“I’m one of the best CEOs in the country! What kind of rating scale are you even using if someone with my talent can get a low score? There’s no way that your performance review form is accurately assessing my abilities. Or maybe you’re just assessing a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with actually being a CEO!”
If you’ve ever dealt with someone whose performance stinks, and they’re not only clueless that their performance stinks but they’re confident that their performance is good, you are likely seeing the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect, a study by researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger, is the cognitive bias where people with low ability and intelligence mistakenly assess their cognitive abilities are much higher than then they are. These people lack the ability to accurately recognize that they are actually incompetent. As Dunning so accurately stated, “If you're incompetent, you can't know you're incompetent ... The skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is."
In a study of undergraduate students who were asked to self assess their class rank, researchers found that “The group of competent students underestimated their class ranks, while the group of incompetent students overestimated their ranks;”
There once was a criminal named McArthur Wheeler, who robbed banks with his face covered with lemon juice, which he believed would make it invisible to the surveillance cameras. This belief was based on his misunderstanding of the chemical properties of lemon juice as an invisible ink. This poor man was deluded by his stupidity.
Another common example is the relative who at the family holiday meal loudly pushes his or her views on everyone else even when it is clear to all these people have no idea what they are talking about.
Nor is this a recent phenomenon. Throughout history this Effect has been noted:
Confucius said, "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.”
Socrates interpreted a prophecy from the Delphic oracle that he was wise despite feeling that he did not fully understand anything, as his wisdom was being aware that he knew nothing.
Shakespeare said, "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool"
Alexander Pope wrote in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: "A little learning is a dangerous thing"
Charles Darwin said, "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge."
Nietzsche wrote in Human, All Too Human (aphorism 483), "The Enemies of Truth. — Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Bertrand Russell said, "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision."
So this leads us to the question asked above. Are Trump and others who supported him victimized by the Dunning-Kruger effect? That are they unable to recognize their own stupidity.
Thus we have Trump voters and supporters who continue to support Trump even when they lose jobs, businesses, and income due to his tariffs. Their stupidity will destroy this country. How sad.
I believe that Trump is also suffering from the Stalking-Home Syndrome. As opposed to the Stockholm Syndrome that his picks for his administration fall under the Cult of Trump and side with him as he tortures and oppresses them. The Donald is now under the gun of many past behaviors recorded and coming back to stalk him in his un-gilded White House. ;-)
Ron