I'd appreciate it if you could help me
How capable do you feel you are compared to those around you? Every person has a gap between what they think they are capable of and what they objectively see. One phenomenon related to the gap is the Dunning-Kruger effect. In an experiment conducted by Dunning and Krueger, an American social psychologist, psychology students were tested on logical thinking, English grammar, and sense of humor, and then asked to predict where they would rank in a psychology class.
The results showed that those with lower test scores were more likely to judge themselves as having logical abilities. On the other hand, those with higher scores judged themselves to be either correct or modest in their abilities. In other words, competent people underestimated themselves and less competent people overestimated themselves.
This chart is the result of a study on humor. The graph is similar for English grammar and logical thinking ability. The vertical axis (PERCENTAGE) is the test score (used for both predicted and actual scores). The horizontal axis divides the graph into four groups from left to right according to the actual test scores. The leftmost group (Bottom Quartile) has the lowest actual test score and the rightmost group (Top Quartile) has the highest actual test score. The dark line (Perceived Avility) is the predicted score. The thin line (Actual ability) is the actual score.
As you can see from the graph, the least competent group on the left end predicted about 50 points above their own score. At least, the leftmost group did not think they were more capable than the rightmost group, which was the most capable. The Dunning-Kruger effect became famous when the paper on this experiment won the Ig Nobel Prize.
Earlier, we mentioned that people with high scores tend to understate their abilities. Similar to this phenomenon is the Imposter Syndrome. Impostor means a crook or a fraud, and it is a symptom of the belief that one is a fraud and does not deserve to succeed, despite objective evidence of one's ability. It is said to be more common among women (in work) and people of color (in the U.S. and Europe) and other minority statuses. People who suffer from imposter syndrome are unable to affirm their own abilities and believe that they are faking it, that they just happened to do well, or that their timing was good, and that they only got where they are by convincing others that they are more capable than they actually are.
As a result, they may push themselves to work even harder and burn out. Some say that the Imposter Syndrome is something that many people (about 70% of the population) experience as they grow up, and that overcoming it will help them move on to the next stage.
If your self-esteem is too high even though you are not that capable, you may be smothered by those around you, and if you are capable but your self-esteem is too low, you may suffer a mental breakdown. Regardless of which is higher, if the gap between your self-evaluation and your actual ability is too great, you may suffer the consequences. It would be nice if we could look at ourselves from a bird's eye view, but it is not easy.
