I read an article recently called “Unskilled and Unaware of It” – it was an article published in JPSP several years ago talking about people who performed poorly yet had unusually high opinions about how they did. The authors in this study described how people performed in various skills, like identifying humor, recognizing correct grammar, and performing on logical reasoning tests. In every test, researchers found a group of people who though that they were average or slightly better than average, in spite of their actual poor performance.

Thinking about this article, I wonder if this applies to interpersonal skills as well. Are there certain people who think they do well interacting with others, despite evidence to the contrary? A friend of mine once used the term unconsciously incompetent, which seems to fit well here. It might explain the person at the bar who tries too hard or the inappropriate talker who doesn’t know when to stop. Maybe some people don’t know what they don’t know.

In their study, researchers found that when they gave participants training packets on logical reasoning, they became more accurate in judging their logical reasoning ability and their own assessments. As the researchers stated, “…the way to make incompetent individuals realize their own incompetence is to make them competent” (p. 1128). So the good news is that teaching new skills may help in making someone more aware of themselves. But perhaps it’s not the realization of incompetence that drives change, but the knowledge of how to do something right that makes one realize that they could be doing better.