Believing Everyone Else Is Wrong Is a Problem

We all know someone who is convinced their opinion is better than everyone else’s on a topic – perhaps, even, that it is the only correct opinion to have. Maybe, on some topics, you are that person.

No psychologist would be surprised that people who are convinced their beliefs are superior think they are better informed than others, but this fact leads to a follow on question: are people actually better informed on the topics for which they are convinced their opinion is superior? This is what Michael Hall and Kaitlin Raimi set out to check in a series of experiments in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

The finding that people who have belief superiority are more likely to overestimate their knowledge is a twist on the famous Dunning-Kruger phenomenon, but showing that it isn’t just ignorance that predicts overconfidence, but also the specific belief that everyone else has mistaken beliefs.

An open-minded attitude is about being open to (potentially) close-minded people and ideas – and if you’re secure with your self/values, you’re not concerned about being negatively influenced. In the journey to become the strongest version of yourself, you must be open to alter yourself & your opinions because everybody is developing mentally. Don’t restrict that development by being close-minded.