David Dunning, U of M Psychology

David Dunning is Professor at the University of Michigan and a social psychologist focusing primarily on the psychology underlying human misbelief. His most cited work shows that people hold flattering opinions of their character and competence that cannot be justified from objective evidence, work supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Templeton Foundation. An author of over 150 journal articles, book chapters, and general interest pieces, he is half of the team responsible for describing the infamous Dunning-Kruger effect, in which ignorance fails to recognize itself. He has served as president of both the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the Society for the Science of Motivation. In 2016 we was awarded the Distinguished Lifetime Career Award from the International Society for Self and Identity, and has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, the BBC, CBC, This American Life, and the Australian Broadcasting Company, and even in a Doonesbury cartoon. He holds a BA from Michigan State University and a PhD from Stanford University, both in psychology.