Self-Perception Biases Vocabulary

the tendency for unskilled individuals to overestimate their ability

“The Dunning-Kruger effect explains why the loudest voice isn't always the most expert.”

Origin: Named after psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger who described it in 1999

persistent feelings of inadequacy despite evident success

“Despite her promotion, impostor syndrome made her feel she'd fooled everyone.”

Origin: Latin imponere `to impose upon` + Greek syndrome `concurrence of symptoms`

attributing success to oneself and failure to external factors

“Self-serving bias: 'I aced it because I'm smart; I failed because the test was unfair.'”

Origin: Old English self + Latin servire `to serve`

believing oneself less likely to experience negative events

“Optimism bias makes smokers think lung cancer happens to other people.”

Origin: Latin optimus `best` + bias from Old French biais

overestimating one's qualities relative to others

“Illusory superiority: 90% of drivers think they're above average.”

Origin: Latin illusorius `mocking` + superior `higher`

overestimating how much others notice your appearance or behavior

“The spotlight effect made him think everyone noticed his small stain.”

Origin: Middle Dutch spot `lamp` + light + Latin effectus

overweighting one's own perspective

“Egocentric bias made her assume her experience was universal.”

Origin: Greek ego `I` + Latin centrum `center`

the tendency to describe oneself more positively than warranted

“Self-enhancement in resumes is expected, but outright fabrication crosses a line.”

Origin: Old English self + Old French enhancer `to raise`

believing one sees the world objectively while others are biased

“Naive realism: 'I'm just stating facts; you're the one being political.'”

Origin: French naif `natural` + Latin realis `relating to things`

overestimating how much others share one's opinions

“The false consensus effect made him shocked that anyone could disagree.”

Origin: Latin falsus `erroneous` + consensus `agreement`