Study: Riders overestimate their knowledge

Study: Riders overestimate their knowledge

Riders think they’re more knowledgeable than they really are, ‘disturbing’ results from new study by David Marlin, Hayley Randle, Lynn Pal и Jane Williams.

The research project involved two groups. The first group consisted of riders – 128 people, in the second were people far from the equestrian world, — 123 people. Participants in both groups were asked to answer questions on a general topic and then say how many questions they thought they answered correctly.

The group of riders was also asked to additionally answer a set of questions related to equestrian topics, and evaluate how well they coped with this task as well.

Both groups were found to perform, on average, excellently on questions about general topics and accurately assessed their level of knowledge.

But as regards the questions equestrian theme, riders, regardless of qualification, “overestimated the correctness of their answers.”

“This preliminary study showed that all riders significantly overestimate their knowledge of the horse, equestrianism, and riding, indicating that people associated with the horse have only a moderate understanding of the level of their abilities,” the authors of the study say.

This is the first scientifically proven presence Dunning-Kruger effect among the riders.

Dunning-Kruger effect – metacognitive distortion, which consists in the fact that people with a low level of qualifications make erroneous conclusions, make unsuccessful decisions, and at the same time are unable to realize their mistakes due to the low level of their qualifications.

The scientists say this is an area that requires further study and research into whether riders tend to overestimate their physical skills in riding or caring for horses.

“Undoubtedly, you have come across below-average riders who are sure that they have nowhere else to improve. it Dunning-Kruger effect In action”.

«Riders are overconfident and this overconfidence can negatively affect horse welfare, rider mental health and safety.».

Source (translated by Valeria Smirnova)