Ambiguity and self-evaluation: the role of idiosyncratic trait definitions in self-serving assessments of ability

@article{Dunning1989AmbiguityAS,
  title={Ambiguity and self-evaluation: the role of idiosyncratic trait definitions in self-serving assessments of ability},
  author={D. Dunning and Judith A. Meyerowitz and A. D. Holzberg},
  journal={Journal of Personality and Social Psychology},
  year={1989},
  volume={57},
  pages={1082-1090}
}
  • D. Dunning, Judith A. Meyerowitz, A. D. Holzberg
  • Published 1989
  • Psychology
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
    • When people are asked to compare their abilities to those of their peers, they predominantly provide self-serving assessments that appear objectively indefensible. This article proposes that such assessments occur because the meaning of most characteristics is ambiguous, which allows people to use self-serving trait definitions when providing self-evaluations 
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