Do people really believe they are above average?

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

Volumn 44, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 1121-1128

  Williams, Elanor F ^a   Gilovich, Thomas ^a  

^a Cornell University ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

Above average effect; Calibration; Self enhancement

Indexed keywords

EID: 44549085006     PISSN: 00221031     EISSN: 10960465     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2008.01.002     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Alicke M.D., Klotz M.L., Breitenbecher D.L., Yurak T.J., and Vredenburg D.S. Personal contact, individuation, and the better-than-average effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 (1995) 804-825
2. Armor D.A., and Sackett A.M. Accuracy, error, and bias in predictions for real and hypothetical events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91 (2006) 583-600
3. Armor D.A., and Taylor S.E. Situated optimism: Specific outcome expectancies and self-regulation. In: Zanna M. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 30 (1998), Academic Press, New York 309-379
4. Bem D.J., and McConnell H.K. Testing the self-perception explanation of dissonance phenomena: On the salience of premanipulation attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 14 (1970) 23-31
5. Camerer C., and Lovallo D. Overconfidence and excess entry: An experimental approach. American Economic Review 89 (1999) 306-318
6. Carroll P., Sweeny K., and Shepperd J.A. Forsaking optimism. Review of General Psychology 10 (2006) 56-73
7. Colvin C.R., and Block J. Do positive illusions foster mental health? An examination of the Taylor and Brown formulation. Psychological Bulletin 116 (1994) 3-20
8. Ditto P.H., and Lopez D.F. Motivated skepticism: Use of differential decision criteria for preferred and nonpreferred conclusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65 (1992) 568-584
9. Dunning D., Griffin D., Milojkovic J.D., and Ross L. The overconfidence effect in social prediction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58 (1990) 568-581
10. Dunning D., Heath C., and Suls J.M. Flawed self-assessment: Implications for health, education, and the workplace. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 5 (2004) 69-106
11. Dunning D., Meyerowitz J.A., and Holzberg A.D. Ambiguity and self-evaluation: The role of idiosyncratic trait definitions in self-serving assessments of others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57 (1989) 1082-1090
12. Edwards W., Lindman H., and Savage L.J. Bayesian statistical inferences for psychological research. Psychological Review 70 (1963) 193-242
13. Ehrlinger J., Gilovich T., and Ross L. Peering into the bias blind spot: People's assessments of bias in themselves and others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 31 (2005) 680-692
14. Fischhoff B., Slovic P., and Lichtenstein S. Knowing with certainty: The appropriateness of extreme confidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 3 (1977) 552-564
15. Gigerenzer G. On narrow norms and vague heuristics: A reply to Kahneman and Tversky (1996). Psychological Review 103 (1996) 592-596
16. Gilovich T. How we know what isn't so: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life (1991), Free Press, New York
17. Gilovich T., and Griffin D. Heuristics and biases: Then and now. In: Gilovich T., Griffin D., and Kahneman D. (Eds). Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment (2002), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1-18
18. Gilovich T., Kerr M., and Medvec V.H. Effect of temporal perspective on subjective confidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 (1993) 552-560
19. Heath C., and Tversky A. Preference and belief: Ambiguity and competence in choice under uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 4 (1991)
20. Kahneman D., and Tversky A. The psychology of preferences. Scientific American 246 (1982) 160-173
21. Kahneman D., and Tversky A. On the reality of cognitive illusions. Psychological Review 103 (1996) 582-591
22. Klar Y., and Giladi E.E. No one in my group can be below the group's average: A robust positivity bias in favor of anonymous peers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73 (1997) 885-901
23. Krueger J. Enhancement bias in description of self and others. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 24 (1998) 505-516
24. Krueger J., and Funder D.C. Towards a balanced social psychology: Causes, consequences, and cures for the problem-seeking approach to social behavior and cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27 (2004) 313-327
25. Kruger J. Lake Wobegone be gone! The "below-average effect" and the egocentric nature of comparative ability judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77 (1999) 221-232
26. Kruger J., and Dunning D. Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77 (1999) 1121-1134
27. Lerner J.S., and Tetlock P.E. Accounting for the effects of accountability. Psychological Bulletin 125 (1999) 255-275
28. Lord C.G., Ross L., and Lepper M.R. Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37 (1979) 2098-2109
29. Moore D.A., and Small D.A. Error and bias in comparative judgment: On being both better and worse than we think we are. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 (2007) 972-989
30. Pronin E., Gilovich T., and Ross L. Objectivity in the eye of the beholder: Divergent perceptions of bias in self versus others. Psychological Review 111 (2004) 781-799
31. Sedikides C. Assessment, enhancement, and verification determinants of the self-evaluation process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65 (1993) 317-338
32. Sedikides C., Herbst K.C., Hardin D.P., and Dardis G.J. Accountability as a deterrent to self-enhancement: The search for mechanisms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83 (2002) 592-605
33. Seligman M.E.P. Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life (2006), Vintage Books, New York
34. Shepperd J.A., Ouellette J.A., and Fernandez J.K. Abandoning unrealistic optimism: Performance estimates and the temporal proximity of self-relevant feedback. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70 (1996) 844-855
35. Slovic P., and Lichtenstein S. Preference reversals: A broader perspective. American Economic Review 73 (1983) 596-605
36. Svenson O. Are we all less risky and more skillful than our fellow drivers?. Acta Psychologica 47 (1981) 143-148
37. Tversky A., and Thaler R.H. Anomalies: Preference reversals. Journal of Economic Perspectives 4 (1990) 201-211
38. Williams, E.F., & Gilovich, T. (in preparation). Take the best: The impact of typical and extreme performances in self-assessments and the assessments of others, Cornell University.
39. Yeh W., and Barsalou L.W. The situated nature of concepts. American Journal of Psychology 119 (2006) 349-384