A little knowledge can make us overestimate our true understanding. When students learn the basics of a topic, they may think they’re experts. This is the “Expertise Illusion” — confusing familiarity with true expertise. Real expertise means deep understanding, seeing connections, and applying knowledge critically. Example: A student watches a few videos about artificial intelligence and believes they fully grasp it. When faced with a complex assignment, they realize their knowledge is very limited.
Dunning, D. (2011). The Dunning–Kruger effect: On being ignorant of one’s own ignorance. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 247–296.
Fisher, M., & Keil, F. C. (2014). The curse of knowledge in reasoning about false beliefs. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1307–1313.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134.