There is an old clinical adage, “Have you ever met the second-best prosthetist?” You may be familiar with the classic study that 80 percent of car drivers consider themselves to be an above-average driver, with 64 percent assessing their driving ability as excellent or very good.1 They have a much dimmer view of others, rating only 14 percent of other car drivers and 25 percent of commercial drivers as above average. In another study only 1 percent admitted to being worse than average.2 This is offset by a similar study from Allstate insurance that indicates 56 percent of American drivers have been involved in an accident, 53 percent have received a moving violation, 44 percent have three or more violations, 34 percent admit to sending a text while driving, 15 percent have driven while intoxicated, and 20 percent routinely drive 20 miles over the speed limit.3
Overestimation of skills applies to other areas as well. For example, studies show most people appraise their own IQ higher than what it is. In 1977, 94 percent of college professors rated themselves above average compared to their colleagues.4 In a meta-analysis, a number of studies show that most people rate themselves above average in creativity, intelligence, dependability, athleticism, honesty, friendliness, and many other attributes.5
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