Hey there, Creatives!
Have you ever felt stuck? Especially when trying to explore your creativity. You see people around you create amazing things and you think to yourself: “I could never do that”. What if I told you that the problem isn’t that you lack creativity, instead you underestimate your own creative potential. There is something called a Dunning-Kruger effect which is in action here. In this edition of creative insights, I am going to share what the Dunning-Kruger effect is and how to break free from it to unlock your creative potential.
This occurs when people overestimate their abilities despite having only a small amount of knowledge. On the flip side, it also happens when individuals underestimate their skill level, even after gaining significant expertise on the subject.
The origin of this phenomenon took place after studying a bank robbery. MacArthur Wheeler attempted to rob two banks in broad daylight without wearing any mask or disguise. He was extremely confident in his abilities that he will never get caught. Later that night when police examined the surveillance cameras, he was identified and was arrested, on which he shockingly exclaimed: “But I wore the juice”. He felt so confident because he thought that rubbing lemon juice on his face would make him unrecognizable.
In 1999, this robbery inspired psychologists Dunning and Kruger to study the reasons behind Wheeler’s confidence, hence the birth of the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Interestingly, this effect is very prominent in creative work as well. Even though everyone of us is creative but we often underestimate our own potential. Have you ever worked on any creative project and thought that it was pure genius, only to look back later and think, 'What was I even doing?' This is due to the Dunning-Kruger effect.
This hypothesis of, whether Dunning-Kruger effect exists in creativity or not, was proven in a recent study. In this study researchers asked undergraduate students to come up with original uses of a cardboard box within 4 minutes. The results showed that students who were unskilled and aware of their creative abilities, rated themselves as being very creative compared to their peers. On the flip side, students who were skilled and aware of their creative potential, tend to underestimate themselves and rated themselves poorly.
But why do some people fall into this trap more than others? That’s where something called creative self-concept comes in. Creative self-concept is how we see ourselves as creative individuals. People with a high creative self-concept may think they’re more skilled than they actually are, leading to — you guessed it — the Dunning-Kruger effect. I’ve been there too. When I first started making music, I thought my tracks were the next big thing. But when I listened back to it after some time… well, let’s just say I realized I had a lot to learn!
This false belief of not having faith in our own creative abilities can lead to lack of motivation, confidence and consistency to keep exploring our creative potential.
So how can we avoid falling into this trap of the Dunning-Kruger effect?
Here are some strategies that can help you stay away from this cognitive bias.
Constantly challenge yourself. Never think that you are the person who knows everything. That might actually be impossible. Think of ways that you can prove yourself wrong and then explore ways to grow and acquire new knowledge. By putting yourself to test, you can spot areas to improve on. Think of it as a quality control but with your future self in mind.
It can be tough hearing feedback, but other people can often see things we might miss. Reach out to friends or people you trust and ask for their honest opinion on your creative work. When you open yourself to outside perspectives, you can find new ideas that you might have not seen on your own. Take feedback as a fuel to your creativity which is there to improve you.
Creativity is a lifelong journey and there is always room to grow. Learn something new every single day. Learning not only sharpen your skills but also opens up new ways to think and approach challenges. The more you know, the better you will understand your own strengths and limitations. Always keep yourself grounded because this is what’s going to help you to avoid falling into the trap of Dunning-Kruger effect.
If you found these insights helpful, don’t forget to share it with a friend to spread the creative awareness. See you next month with more creative insights. Until next time, keep creating!