Behaviouronomics: Dunning-Kruger Effect

Whether it’s playing poker, singing, writing short stories, or investing, amateurs are far more likely to think they are experts than actual experts are. Without Dunning-Kruger Effect, the Indian Idol auditions would never enjoy high TRPs.

One of the most popular categories of videos on YouTube is clips from reality TV competition shows where amateur participants come to show off their raw talent. Apart from a handful of participants who do have real talent, majority of them usually get insulted by the TV show judges and end up making fools of themselves. Sometimes I feel that entertainment media deliberately dramatize those horrible audition performances (not sure if you can call those acts as performance). What brings initial TRP for these reality shows are those hilarious episodes showcasing novices who believe their talent is nothing less than that of a celebrity superstar.

That’s the interesting part about these competitive reality shows. TV audience soon forgets about the eventual winners but those few episodes, during audition round where amateurs embarrass themselves, continue to garner millions of views on social media.

“What makes you think that you can win Indian Idol?” asked one of the celebrity judges.

“My singing capabilities have always been praised by my friends and family. I have even performed at my school and college multiple times,” replied the participant whose singing was horribly off-key. And to add insult to an injury, his voice was anything but melodious.

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