Reduced Susceptibility to the Dunning-Kruger Effect in Autistic Employees

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Organizational behavior

Background:

• Autistic individuals often exhibit reduced susceptibility to social influence and cognitive biases.
• The Dunning-Kruger effect (DKE), a cognitive bias where low-ability individuals overestimate their competence, has not been studied in autism.
• Understanding metacognitive differences is crucial for workplace inclusivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the Dunning-Kruger effect in autistic versus non-autistic employees.
• To compare self-assessed performance with objective performance on an analytic thinking task.
• To explore the implications of metacognitive awareness in autism within an organizational context.

Main Methods:

• Participants included autistic and non-autistic employees.
• Objective performance was measured using the cognitive reflection test (CRT).
• Participants estimated their CRT performance and relative standing without feedback.

Main Results:

• Autistic employees demonstrated asymmetric calibration of performance self-assessment.
• In lower performance tiers, autistic individuals overestimated their abilities less than non-autistic individuals.
• In higher performance tiers, autistic individuals underestimated their abilities more than non-autistic individuals.

Conclusions:

• Autistic employees may be less prone to overconfidence bias (DKE).
• This reduced susceptibility to DKE could offer advantages in professional settings.
• Findings highlight the importance of metacognition in understanding autistic traits and workplace dynamics.