Inflated Self-Assessments and Metacognitive Ability: A Demonstration of the Kruger-Dunning Effect Among Knowledge Workers

Meta cognitive Ability impacts many determinants of individual performance including learning, motivation, critical thinking and decision making. Low Meta cognitive ability has been suggested as the cause of inaccurate self-assessment among poor performers. The study uncovers the links between Meta cognitive ability, self-assessment and overall work performance. This study provides evidence of presence of the Kruger – Dunning effect in the workplace performance of knowledge workers. It also lays the foundation for studying meta-cognitive ability as a predictor of performance in modern workplaces. The study further makes a case for range bound interpretation of scores on self-report instruments measuring meta-cognitive ability.