4) The Dunning-Kruger Effect is when someone believes they know more about a subject or are more competent than they actually are. David Dunning and Justin Kruger were two social psychologists who researched this effect. They performed four studies that tested humor, grammar, competence, and assessing competence in other people. These studies concluded that people who have a lower ability did not have the tools necessary to self-assess. It led the subjects to think their capabilities were higher than what they were in reality. They also could not accurately assess another individual’s competence. In Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self – Assessments, the authors Justin Kruger and David Dunning claim, “In essence, we argue that the skills that engender competence in a particular domain are often the very same skills necessary to evaluate competence in that domain – one’s own or anyone else’s” (Kruger and Dunning 1121). Therefore, when people believe they have a higher capability and knowledge base than they do, they display the Dunning-Kruger effect.