Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T05:00:18.759Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

49 - Self- and Other-Estimates of Intelligence

from Part IX - Folk Conceptions of Intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2019

By
Aljoscha C. Neubauer  and
Gabriela Hofer
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Get access

Summary

It is a widely held view that “nobody knows you better than yourself.” However, the low validity of self-estimates of intelligence and other abilities indicated by a considerable body of research does not support this notion. Individuals overestimate themselves and do so particularly for domains in which they perform poorly (the so-called Dunning-Kruger effect). Interestingly, intelligence estimates given by others are equally accurate or sometimes even more accurate than self-estimates. This chapter provides an overview of research on self- and other-estimates of intelligence and potential moderators of their accuracy. It also aims to bring the research lines on self- and other-estimates of intelligence together within the framework of the self-other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model proposed by Simine Vazire. The ability to predict for which intelligence subfactors one of the two perspectives might provide more accurate estimates has implications for both research and practical fields like vocational counseling.

Keywords

self-knowledgeself-estimatesother-estimatesoverconfidenceself-other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA)Dunning-Kruger effectintelligence
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence , pp. 1179 - 1200
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackerman, P. L., & Wolman, S. D. (2007). Determinants and validity of self-estimates of abilities and self-concept measures. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 13, 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.13.2.57Google ScholarPubMed
Alicke, M. D., & Govorun, O. (2005). The better-than-average effect. In Alicke, M. D., Dunning, D., & Krueger, J. I. (Eds.), The self in social judgment (pp. 85–106). New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrick, M. R., Mount, M. K., & Judge, T. A. (2001). Personality and performance at the beginning of the new millennium: What do we know and where do we go next? International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 9, 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468–2389.00160Google Scholar
Beus, J. M., & Whitman, D. S. (2012). The relationship between typical and maximum performance: A meta-analytic examination. Human Performance, 25, 355–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2012.721831CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollich, K. L., Johannet, P. M., & Vazire, S. (2011). In search of our true selves: Feedback as a path to self-knowledge. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00312CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borkenau, P., & Liebler, A. (1993). Convergence of stranger ratings of personality and intelligence with self-ratings, partner ratings, and measured intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 546–553. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.65.3.546CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borkenau, P., & Liebler, A. (1995). Observable attributes as manifestations and cues of personality and intelligence. Journal of Personality, 63, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467–6494.ep9504261446CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borkenau, P., Mauer, N., Riemann, R., Spinath, F. M., & Angleitner, A. (2004). Thin slices of behavior as cues of personality and intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 599–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.86.4.599CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burson, K. A., Larrick, R. P., & Klayman, J. (2006). Skilled or unskilled, but still unaware of it: How perceptions of difficulty drive miscalibration in relative comparisons. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 60–77. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.90.1.60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Camerer, C., & Lovallo, D. (1999). Overconfidence and excess entry: An experimental approach. American Economic Review, 89, 306–318. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.1.306CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Chiappe, D., & MacDonald, K. (2005). The evolution of domain-general mechanisms in intelligence and learning. The Journal of General Psychology, 132, 5–40. https://doi.org/10.3200/GENP.132.1.5–40Google Scholar
Cogan, L., Conklin, A., & Hollingworth, H. (1915). An experimental study of self-analysis, estimates of associates, and the results of tests. School and Society, 2, 171–179.Google Scholar
Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (2002). Unraveling the enigma of human intelligence: Evolutionary psychology and the multimodular mind. In Sternberg, R. J. & Kaufman, J. C. (Eds.), The evolution of intelligence (pp. 145–198). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Davies, G., Tenesa, A., Payton, A., Yang, J., Harris, S. E., Liewald, D., … & Deary, I. J. (2011). Genome-wide association studies establish that human intelligence is highly heritable and polygenic. Molecular Psychiatry, 16, 996–1005. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.85Google Scholar
Deary, I. J. (2012). Intelligence. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 453–482. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710–100353CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deary, I. J., Weiss, A., & Batty, G. D. (2010). Intelligence and personality as predictors of illness and death: How researchers in differential psychology and chronic disease epidemiology are collaborating to understand and address health inequalities. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 11, 53–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100610387081Google Scholar
Denissen, J. J. A., Schönbrodt, F. D., van Zalk, M., Meeus, W. H. J., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2011). Antecedents and consequences of peer-rated intelligence. European Journal of Personality, 25, 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.799CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dufner, M., Denissen, J. J. A., van Zalk, M., Matthes, B., Meeus, W. H. J., van Aken, M. A. G., & Sedikides, C. (2012). Positive intelligence illusions: On the relation between intellectual self-enhancement and psychological adjustment. Journal of Personality, 80, 537–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467–6494.2011.00742.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dufner, M., Gebauer, J. E., Sedikides, C., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2018). Self-enhancement and psychological adjustment: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 23, 48–72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868318756467CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunning, D. (2005). Self-insight: Roadblocks and detours on the path to knowing thyself. New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Dunning, D. (2011). The Dunning–Kruger effect: On being ignorant of one’s own ignorance. In Olson, J. M. & Zanna, M. P. (Ed.) Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 44, pp. 247–296). San Diego, CA: Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385522-0.00005-6Google Scholar
Dunning, D., & Helzer, E. G. (2014). Beyond the correlation coefficient in studies of self-assessment accuracy: Commentary on Zell & Krizan (2014). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 126–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614521244Google Scholar
Dunning, D., Meyerowitz, J. A., & Holzberg, A. D. (1989). Ambiguity and self-evaluation: The role of idiosyncratic trait definitions in self-serving assessments of ability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1082–1090. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.57.6.1082Google Scholar
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256Google Scholar
Ehrlinger, J., & Dunning, D. (2003). How chronic self-views influence (and potentially mislead) estimates of performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 5–17. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.84.1.5Google Scholar
Ehrlinger, J., Johnson, K., Banner, M., Dunning, D., & Kruger, J. (2008). Why the unskilled are unaware: Further explorations of (absent) self-insight among the incompetent. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 105, 98–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2007.05.002Google Scholar
Ehrlinger, J., Mitchum, A. L., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Understanding overconfidence: Theories of intelligence, preferential attention, and distorted self-assessment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 63, 94–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JESP.2015.11.001Google Scholar
Farwell, L., & Wohlwend-Lloyd, R. (1998). Narcissistic processes: Optimistic expectations, favorable self-evaluations, and self-enhancing attributions. Journal of Personality, 66, 65–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.00003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feld, J., Sauermann, J., & de Grip, A. (2017). Estimating the relationship between skill and overconfidence. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 68, 18–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOCEC.2017.03.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freudenthaler, H. H., & Neubauer, A. C. (2007). Measuring emotional management abilities: Further evidence of the importance to distinguish between typical and maximum performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 1561–1572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.031Google Scholar
Freund, P. A., & Kasten, N. (2012). How smart do you think you are? A meta-analysis on the validity of self-estimates of cognitive ability. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 296–321. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furnham, A., Moutafi, J., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2005). Personality and intelligence: Gender, the big five, self-estimated and psychometric intelligence. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 13, 11–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0965-075X.2005.00296.xGoogle Scholar
Furnham, A., Zhang, J., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2005). The relationship between psychometric and self-estimated intelligence, creativity, personality and academic achievement. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 25, 119–145. https://doi.org/10.2190/530V-3M9U-7UQ8-FMBGGoogle Scholar
Gabriel, M. T., Critelli, J. W., & Ee, J. S. (1994). Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness. Journal of Personality, 62, 143–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467–6494.1994.tb00798.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goncalo, J. A., Flynn, F. J., & Kim, S. H. (2010). Are two narcissists better than one? The link between narcissism, perceived creativity, and creative performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1484–1495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167210385109Google Scholar
Grijalva, E., & Zhang, L. (2016). Narcissism and self-insight: A review and meta-analysis of narcissists’ self-enhancement tendencies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 42, 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167215611636Google Scholar
Haier, R. J. (2017). The neuroscience of intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Herreen, D., & Zajac, I. (2018). The reliability and validity of a self-report measure of cognitive abilities in older adults: More personality than cognitive function. Journal of Intelligence, 6, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6010001Google Scholar
Horrey, W. J., Lesch, M. F., Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., & Lee, J. D. (2015). Calibration of skill and judgment in driving: Development of a conceptual framework and the implications for road safety. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 76, 25–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AAP.2014.12.017CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacobs, K. E., Szer, D., & Roodenburg, J. (2012). The moderating effect of personality on the accuracy of self-estimates of intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 744–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.12.040CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koellinger, P., Minniti, M., & Schade, C. (2007). “I think I can, I think I can”: Overconfidence and entrepreneurial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28, 502–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2006.11.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krajč, M., & Ortmann, A. (2008). Are the unskilled really that unaware? An alternative explanation. Journal of Economic Psychology, 29, 724–738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2007.12.006Google Scholar
Krizan, Z., & Suls, J. (2008). Losing sight of oneself in the above-average effect: When egocentrism, focalism, and group diffuseness collide. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 929–942. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JESP.2008.01.006Google Scholar
Krueger, J., & Mueller, R. A. (2002). Unskilled, unaware, or both? The better-than-average heuristic and statistical regression predict errors in estimates of own performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 180–188. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.82.2.180Google Scholar
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). 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, 1121–1134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022–3514.77.6.1121CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, A. J., Hibbs, C., Wright, M. J., Martin, N. G., Keller, M. C., & Zietsch, B. P. (2017). Assessing the accuracy of perceptions of intelligence based on heritable facial features. Intelligence, 64, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2017.06.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luft, J., & Ingham, H. (1955). The Johari window: A graphic model of interpersonal awareness. In Proceedings of the Western Training Laboratory in Group Development. Los Angeles: UCLA.Google Scholar
Mabe, P. A., & West, S. G. (1982). Validity of self-evaluation of ability: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 280–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021–9010.67.3.280Google Scholar
McGrew, K. S. (2009). CHC theory and the human cognitive abilities project: Standing on the shoulders of the giants of psychometric intelligence research. Intelligence, 37, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2008.08.004Google Scholar
Mezulis, A. H., Abramson, L. Y., Hyde, J. S., & Hankin, B. L. (2004). Is there a universal positivity bias in attributions? A meta-analytic review of individual, developmental, and cultural differences in the self-serving attributional bias. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 711–747. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033–2909.130.5.711Google Scholar
Miller, T. M., & Geraci, L. (2011). Unskilled but aware: Reinterpreting overconfidence in low-performing students. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 37, 502–506. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021802Google Scholar
Neubauer, A. C., Pribil, A., Wallner, A., & Hofer, G. (2018). The self–other knowledge asymmetry in cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, and creativity. Heliyon, 4, e01061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e01061Google Scholar
Neubauer, A. C., Wammerl, M., Benedek, M., Jauk, E., & Jaušovec, N. (2017). The influence of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on fluid intelligence: An fMRI study. Personality and Individual Differences, 118, 50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.016CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paulhus, D. L., & Harms, P. D. (2004). Measuring cognitive ability with the overclaiming technique. Intelligence, 32, 297–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2004.02.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paulhus, D. L., Harms, P. D., Bruce, M. N., & Lysy, D. C. (2003). The over-claiming technique: Measuring self-enhancement independent of ability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 890–904. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.890Google Scholar
Poropat, A. E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 322–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014996CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, D. J., & Gifford, R. (2001). The sounds and sights of intelligence: A lens model channel analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201272005Google Scholar
Ross, S. (1998). Self-assessment in second language testing: A meta-analysis and analysis of experiential factors. Language Testing, 15, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/026553229801500101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, B., Becker, N., Romeyke, S., Schäfer, S., Domnick, F., & Spinath, F. M. (2015). Intelligence and school grades: A meta-analysis. Intelligence, 53, 118–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2015.09.002Google Scholar
Sanchez, C., & Dunning, D. (2018). Overconfidence among beginners: Is a little learning a dangerous thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000102CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schlösser, T., Dunning, D., Johnson, K. L., & Kruger, J. (2013). How unaware are the unskilled? Empirical tests of the “signal extraction” counterexplanation for the Dunning–Kruger effect in self-evaluation of performance. Journal of Economic Psychology, 39, 85–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOEP.2013.07.004Google Scholar
Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. (2004). General mental ability in the world of work: Occupational attainment and job performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 162–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.1.162Google Scholar
Sedikides, C., & Alicke, M. D. (2012). Self-enhancement and self-protection motives. In Ryan, R. M. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 303–322). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sedikides, C., & Alicke, M. D. (in press). The five pillars of self-enhancement and self- protection. In Ryan, R. M. (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of motivation. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976). Self-concept: Validation of construct interpretations. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407–441. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543046003407CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheppard, L. D., & Vernon, P. A. (2008). Intelligence and speed of information-processing: A review of 50 years of research. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 535–551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2007.09.015Google Scholar
Shipstead, Z., Redick, T. S., & Engle, R. W. (2012). Is working memory training effective? Psychological Bulletin, 138, 628–654. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027473Google Scholar
Soh, L., & Jacobs, K. E. (2013). The biasing effect of personality on self-estimates of cognitive abilities in males and females. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 141–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.02.013Google Scholar
Sommer, U., Fink, A., & Neubauer, A. C. (2008). Detection of high ability children by teachers and parents: Psychometric quality of new rating checklists for the assessment of intellectual, creative and social ability. Psychology Science Quarterly, 50, 189–205.Google Scholar
Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613–629. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.6.613Google Scholar
Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797Google Scholar
Steinmayr, R., & Spinath, B. (2009). What explains boys’ stronger confidence in their intelligence? Sex Roles, 61, 736–749. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9675-8Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 607–627. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.607Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., Conway, B. E., Ketron, J. L., & Bernstein, M. (1981). People’s conceptions of intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 37–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.41.1.37Google Scholar
Syzmanowicz, A., & Furnham, A. (2011). Gender differences in self-estimates of general, mathematical, spatial and verbal intelligence: Four meta analyses. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 493–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.07.001Google Scholar
Vazire, S. (2010). Who knows what about a person? The self–other knowledge asymmetry (SOKA) model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 281–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017908Google Scholar
Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2008). What makes you think you’re so smart? Measured abilities, personality, and sex differences in relation to self-estimates of multiple intelligences. Journal of Individual Differences, 29, 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001.29.1.35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, P. G., Rau, H. K., Suchy, Y., Thorgusen, S. R., & Smith, T. W. (2017). On the validity of self-report assessment of cognitive abilities: Attentional control scale associations with cognitive performance, emotional adjustment, and personality. Psychological Assessment, 29, 519–530. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000361Google Scholar
Zebrowitz, L. A., Hall, J. A., Murphy, N. A., & Rhodes, G. (2002). Looking smart and looking good: Facial cues to intelligence and their origins. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 238–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202282009Google Scholar
Zell, E., & Krizan, Z. (2014). Do people have insight into their abilities? A metasynthesis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9, 111–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613518075Google Scholar
Zippert, E. L., & Ramani, G. B. (2017). Parents’ estimations of preschoolers’ number skills relate to at-home number-related activity engagement. Infant and Child Development, 26, e1968. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1968Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×