I read a great journal article several years ago that showed what every teacher already knew - poorer students think they are better than they really are, and therefore are disappointed more often when they receive an appropriate score that reflects their true ability. These students then try to shift the blame for their scores to someone or something else.
Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing Ones Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Selected Article © 1999 by the American Psychological Association For personal use onlynot for distribution December 1999 Vol. 77, No. 6, 1121-1134 Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing Ones Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments; Justin Kruger and David Dunning; Department of Psychology; Cornell University
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