Lake Wobegon Effect: a curious cognitive bias

The Lake Wobegon effect relates to the way we perceive ourselves and others.

Everyone claims to be honest and sincere, however, let's be truly honest: everyone lies, and this can be seen when it comes to describing ourselves.

No one likes to admit that they have certain weaknesses and there are more than a few people who exaggerate their strengths.

This is basically how the Lake Wobegon effect the Lake Wobegon effect works, a curious psychological phenomenon that is very common. which we will look at in more depth below.

Lake Wobegon effect: what is it?

The Lake Wobegon effect or Lake Wobegon effect is the tendency present in virtually all human beings to overestimate one's own abilities compared to those of others.

It is named after a fictitious city, invented by the writer Garrison Keillor, called the same way.named the same way. In Lake Wobegon, according to the writer, all the women are strong, all the men are handsome and all the children are above average. But it was not Garrison who gave the phenomenon its name, but University of Michigan psychology professor David G. Myers.

This effect, which is a cognitive bias, is very common. There is no one in the world who has not performed it on more than one occasion. In fact, it has been it has been addressed experimentally with age and occupational groups of all kinds, with research on drivers, students, and students of all ages.In fact, it has been experimentally addressed with age and occupational groups of all kinds, with research on drivers, university students, CEOs and many others showing how everyone thinks they are better than everyone else.

For example, in the study in which drivers were sampled, it was found that 95% of those who took part in the study believed they had better driving skills than other vehicle users. Another study, in this case with students, found similar percentages when the sample was asked about how they viewed themselves in aspects such as their learning ability, memorization, popularity on campus...

In other words, we we tend to overestimate our faculties and capabilities, we tend to overestimate our abilities.In other words, we tend to overestimate our faculties and abilities, we attribute to misfortune the fact that we failed an exam or were involved in a traffic accident, but we take credit for having obtained a good academic grade.

Is it always bad?

As crude as its definition may seem, the Lake Wobegon effect phenomenon is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, as long as it occurs within more or less healthy limits, it can be a protective factor for self-esteem and prevent psychopathologies.

It is normal that, when something bad happens to us, such as failing an exam or losing a job, many people lie to themselves saying that it is not their fault, but, in this case, the fault of the teacher or the boss. So, instead of being self-critical about the fact that, for example, they did not study or were not as responsible as they should have been, the person chooses to believe that it is the fault of the teacher or the boss, the person chooses to believe that other people are to blame for his or her misfortune..

Although we are not going to discuss how convenient it is to study or to be responsible at work, we can see that lying to oneself, in this case, is a self-esteem protection mechanism. The person has an externalized locus of control, that is, he attributes his misfortunes to the action of things he believes he cannot control.

This type of processing of what happens and thinking that one is especially better at certain qualities can prevent a situation of depression, stress and increases the desire to carry out solutions for the specific situation.

Causes of this cognitive bias

One of the explanations behind the manifestation of this very common phenomenon is that of how children are raised in most countries.. From an early age we are told that we are 'special', better than our schoolmates and other children in the neighborhood, something we end up believing and which is a very important foundation for our self-esteem. This, in turn, is raw material for forming value judgments, self-worth, stereotypes and other unconscious attitudes.

However, once we have grown up and gained a greater knowledge of others, seeing that we are stronger and weaker in a wide repertoire of skills, this belief is reduced, although it never disappears completely. In many aspects we believe that we are superior, although it is an illusion, and personal defects and mistakes are ignored.

In adulthood, the abuse of this cognitive bias may be due to the personality characteristics of the person who manifests it.. If one is insincere with others, it is quite likely that one is also insincere with oneself, although it must be said that practically no one is honest either with others or with oneself, and self-criticism is not easy.

Self-deception in this way can be a 'symptom' of being overly vain and having a genuinely pathological way of seeing one's own strengths in comparison with others. These people, taken to extremes, are unable to see their mistakes, which in itself can be a problem on a social and learning level.

Interestingly, this bias is directly related to how incompetent one is. The more incompetent you are at a given task, the less aware you are of how bad you are. This is why people who boast the most about their culture and intelligence, when it comes to demonstrating it, can look really ridiculous when they demonstrate it, can look really ridiculous when demonstrating that they know practically nothing, or that there will always be someone who knows how to do it.or that there will always be someone who knows more.

Consequences

As we were already saying in the section on the causes, it has been seen that people who possess more or less mediocre or even below-average abilities will be those who believe and claim to possess the most knowledge. In fact, this is nothing new. Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, referred to them as 'bildungsphilisters', ignorant people who boast of their knowledge and experience, even though it is actually very limited.

Interestingly, the same effect has been seen as investing in people who have slightly above-average returns. These people, far from demonstrating that they know more than normal people, seem to underestimate their true potential, becoming more hesitant and insecure in front of others, as if they really believe they are complete ignoramuses. This has been called self-sabotaging behaviors..

In the case of the Lake Wobegon effect, we can speak of two fundamental consequences in the people who carry it out. The first is making the wrong decisions, thinking that since they are experts in the field they will not make mistakes, and the second is the inability to be self-critical with respect to the field they claim to have a broad mastery of.

This translates into a blockage in the ability to grow and evolve personally.This translates into a blockage in the ability to grow and evolve personally, as long as the Lake Wobegon effect occurs to pathological degrees and the person is totally incapable of being self-critical of his or her real weaknesses and strengths.

Bibliographical references:

• Svenson, O. (1981). Are we all less risky and more skillful than our fellow drivers? Acta Psychologica, 47, 143-48.
• Myers, D. G. (1980). The Inflated Self. New York: Seabury Press.
• Zuckerman, E. W., & Jost, J. T. (2001). What Makes You Think You're So Popular? Self Evaluation Maintenance and the Subjective Side of the "Friendship Paradox". Social Psychology Quarterly, 64(3), 207-223.