The Dunning–Kruger effect in higher education marketing course examinations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15170/MM.2023.57.KSZ.02.02Keywords:
Dunning–Kruger effect, marketing education, students, higher educationAbstract
THE AIMS OF THE PAPER
The phenomenon known as the Dunning–Kruger effect (DKE) means that less able individuals tend to estimate their own performance more inaccurately with a more significant upward bias. The present research aims to investigate this effect in Hungarian higher education marketing courses, expanding the range of subjects analyzed from this aspect so far in the Hungarian literature.
METHODOLOGY
The data collection took place in May 2021 during online examinations of 3 undergraduate marketing courses (N = 160). We asked the students to estimate their scores as the first and last questions in the test. Based on the definition of the effect, we assumed that students with higher scores tend to overestimate their results to a smaller extent and are more accurate both before and after the test. Our additional hypothesis was that better performers gain more information about their own knowledge during the examination, thus, we expected overestimation and inaccuracy in their estimation after the test to be less than before the test. We also examined whether DKE appears in the same way in females and males. The main method of analysis was multivariate linear regression.
MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
Our results confirmed that students with weaker performance are characterized by more significant overestimation and inaccuracy. Estimates by better performers were more likely to become more optimistic and inaccurate by the end of the test. Gender, however, showed no relation to the DKE.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the results of the research, the lower-performing students are less aware of their knowledge, so they do not feel the need for increased preparation. For instructors, this means that, in addition to imparting knowledge, attention must also be paid to lowering or even eliminating this effect during education, for example through joint review of corrected tests, especially since failures during education are one of the reasons for dropping out.
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