self-assessment & you
29 03 2006Jon sent me a link a couple days ago to this article, which examines the phenomenon of people overestimating their abilities, and the fact that the people who tend to overestimate their abilities the most are the people who are the least skilled in said ability. Basically, people who suck at certain things often think they are much better than they are, and people who are good at them are better than they give themselves credit for.
And, of course, this is something that can be thrown in the “No shit, Sherlock” file, as I think we’ve all seen this manifested before. In a group setting, when a volunteer is needed to get something done, the first person to raise their hand is often the last person you’d really want working on it (if it’s important).
I know that I probably tend to underestimate my abilities in many areas, although it’s difficult to determine whether I am truly underestimating myself or other people overestimate me. Probably a little bit of both.
But this theory lends itself to other areas as well. For instance, I have always wondered if ugly people know that they’re ugly (please spare me the “in the eye of the beholder” nonsense, as there is a difference between not finding someone attractive and someone being ugly). Do stupid people know they’re stupid? It seems that annoying people generally don’t know that they’re annoying (or one would hope that they would KNOCK IT OFF).
I don’t really have a great conclusion for this. If nothing else, it’s something to think about you’re telling someone how great or horrible you are in some capacity.
What funny timing…we have a situation at work with a new instrutor who thinks he knows everything, and is really just an ass. My boss and I have had to have three sit downs with him now just in the course of about three months. Jack ass, 5XL guy, probably eat me if he could, all in one swallow.
I myself feel like I’m overconfident sometimes, but then there are plenty of times when I feel like I know a lot about something but won’t join in the conversation, maybe out of fear of being wrong. For example when I have learned things from pharmacy work and want to bring those up with the doctor; pharamicists are the real experts, but doctors like to argue with them, and I will get nervous trying to tell the doctor I think he’s wrong or needs to do something different, usually in regard to my kid. But I’m not a doctor, right? Nor am I a pharmicist so I feel like I could be stepping on some imaginary line that I shouldn’t be. But I must know something because I often times get my way, which should in turn alleviate the discomfort of speaking my mind, yet it doesn’t…what the hell is wrong with me? Am I a genuis and just don’t know it?
I wouldn’t worry too much about that.
For the most part, I think it boils down to things like insecurity, self-worth, whatever. Perhaps a lack of humility. Tact comes to mind as well. Personally, I rarely have 100% confidence in what I’m doing. Feel I could always do or know more. Even if I wrote the book on something I still wouldn’t consider myself an expert. Like there’s still more out there that I might have missed. Inconclusive. Too me, the kind of confidence in which we are speaking here and overconfidence in many cases is not setting an individual free from what might be self-limiting thougt lines or behaviors but restricting them from further growth in a way. The more you know the less you know…kind of. I’m sure that people who think they know everything also think that they don’t have to work as hard or study up on things because they are already so damn good.
Okay okay…one of these days I will learn how to spell “genius” right; I believe this is now the second time you have corrected me, smarty pants.