How does the Dunning-Kruger effect happen in creativity? The creative self-concept matters

Abstract

The Dunning-Kruger effect refers to the tendency of unskilled individuals to overestimate their abilities while skilled individuals tend to underestimate themselves. The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of the Dunning-Kruger effect in creativity and identify its key determinants. Using the cue-utilization framework, we explored how inaccurate metacognitive judgments result from creative self-concept, compared to those who can accurately evaluate themselves. Two hundred and ten university students completed an Alternative Uses Task (AUT) and evaluated their performance with self- and comparative judgments, then they reported the creative self-concept. The study conducted a two-step clustering analysis based on individuals' creative performance, judgments, and Bias Index of metacognitive judgments, and identified four distinct groups: 'skilled but underestimate' (SU group), 'unskilled but aware' (UA group), 'skilled and aware' (SA group), and 'unskilled and overestimate' (UO group). The SU and UO groups were typical examples of the Dunning-Kruger effect. Using binary logistic regression analysis, we found that high creative self-concept enabled skilled individuals to assess their creativity accurately, while it caused unskilled individuals to overestimate their creativity. This study identified the Dunning-Kruger effect in creativity while also offering new insights into the underlying mechanism of the Dunning-Kruger effect.