Illusory superiority
Illusory superiority is the tendency to overestimate your qualities relative to others — to rate yourself above average on skill, ethics, and judgement. Statistically most people can’t be above average, yet most people believe they are.
Why it happens
We have privileged access to our own good intentions, judge ourselves on those while judging others on results, and define ambiguous traits in self-flattering ways.
'Above average' is a claim about half the population being below you — and they think the same.
Examples
- Most drivers rating themselves safer than average.
- The majority rating themselves above-average in honesty and intelligence.
- Teams where nearly everyone believes they contribute more than their share.
How to counter it
- Seek objective benchmarks and external feedback, not self-rating.
- Assume you’re closer to average than you feel on most traits.
- Judge yourself by results, the way you judge others.
The deeper point
It’s the engine behind Dunning–Kruger but broader: not just the unskilled overrating themselves, but nearly everyone, on nearly every desirable trait. "Above average" is a claim about half the population being below you — and they think the same.
Frequently asked
- What is illusory superiority?
- The tendency to overrate your own abilities and qualities relative to others — most people believe they’re above average on skill, ethics, and judgement, which is statistically impossible.
- What is the Lake Wobegon effect?
- A nickname for illusory superiority, from the fictional town "where all the children are above average" — capturing how nearly everyone rates themselves above the mean.
- How is it related to the Dunning–Kruger effect?
- Dunning–Kruger is illusory superiority concentrated among the least skilled, who can’t see their own gaps; illusory superiority is the broader tendency across almost everyone.
Related
Keep reading
Preferential attachment
Equally good latecomers stay obscure; the early lead does the compounding.
The books behind better thinking
Listen to any of these free. Start a free Audible trial and get your first audiobook on the house.
Prefer to read? The canonical picks:
- Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman
- The Art of Thinking Clearly — Rolf Dobelli
- The Great Mental Models, Volume 1 — Shane Parrish
- Poor Charlie’s Almanack — Charlie Munger
- Super Thinking — Gabriel Weinberg & Lauren McCann
- Seeking Wisdom — Peter Bevelin
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Cite this page
ReadGlobe. (2026). Illusory superiority. https://readglobe.com/bias/illusory-superiority/
"Illusory superiority." ReadGlobe, 29 May 2026, readglobe.com/bias/illusory-superiority/.
Primary source: Wikipedia
Editorial synthesis © ReadGlobe 2026, drawing on Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow, the Tversky–Kahneman research program, and the primary cognitive-science literature. · Last reviewed 2026-05-29.