Overconfidence in Classroom

Abstract

Current theories of educational psychology and academic motivation assert that confidence of students in their own abilities and performances is an important determinant of their academic performances. In an experimental setting, we examine whether students accurately estimate or overestimate their performances. We establish that most of students exhibit overconfidence in their abilities and performances. More importantly, we find that overconfidence of students significantly decreases their academic performances. The negative relation between overconfidence and academic performance depends on the field of study and is stronger for students studying at Department of Electronic Engineering and Department of Material Science and Engineering. Moreover, our results indicate no significant gender differences in overconfident behavior. Findings of the paper suggest that in order to form effective teaching and grading strategies, teachers and pedagogues should consider effects of student's tendency to be overconfident.