Are the Unskilled Really that Unaware? An Alternative Explanation

CERGE-EI Working Paper No. 325

27 Pages Posted: 30 Mar 2008

See all articles by Marian Krajc

Marian Krajc

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Andreas Ortmann

UNSW Australia Business School, School of Economics

Date Written: April 1, 2007

Abstract

In a series of articles and manuscripts (e.g., Kruger & Dunning, 1999, Dunning et al., 2003, Ehrlinger et al., 2005), Dunning, Kruger and their collaborators argued that the unskilled lack the metacognitive ability to realize their incompetence. We propose that the unskilled-and-unaware problem - rather than being one of biased judgements - is one of unbiased judgements based on biased information.

Keywords: calibration, judgement errors, unskilled, unaware, metacognition

JEL Classification: C46, C91, C93, D01, D81, D83, D84

Suggested Citation

Krajc, Marian and Ortmann, Andreas, Are the Unskilled Really that Unaware? An Alternative Explanation (April 1, 2007). CERGE-EI Working Paper No. 325, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1114332 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1114332

Marian Krajc (Contact Author)

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences ( email )

Politickych veznu 7
Prague, 111 21
Czech Republic

HOME PAGE: http://www.cerge-ei.cz

Andreas Ortmann

UNSW Australia Business School, School of Economics ( email )

High Street
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia