Consecuencias del Efecto Dunning–Kruger en los estudiantes: una revisión sistemática (2021 – 2025)

Barreda-Medina, Remy-Felipe, Ubillús-Reyes, Jeessikha, Cevallos-López, Guillermo-Enrique and Chocobar-Reyes, Emilio-José Consecuencias del Efecto Dunning–Kruger en los estudiantes: una revisión sistemática (2021 – 2025). Ciencia y Reflexión, 2025, vol. 4, n. 2, pp. 1828-1854. [Journal article (Paginated)]

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English abstract

The Dunning–Kruger Effect (DKE) is a cognitive bias that leads individuals to make misguided decisions that compromise both their present and their future. Against this backdrop, the overarching aim of the study is to describe the consequences of the DKE in students at different academic levels. Adopting a qualitative, interpretive, exploratory, and descriptive approach, the research follows a non-experimental, cross-sectional design and applies the PRISMA (2020) protocol to conduct a systematic review of the scientific literature. To address the research question and objective, 20 scholarly articles published between 2021 and 2025 were analyzed—seven indexed in Scopus and thirteen in Web of Science. The study identifies nine categories that elucidate how the DKE affects students: (1) metacognitive miscalibration and the illusion of competence; (2) difficulties in self-regulated learning; (3) affective-motivational impacts; (4) behavioral repercussions; (5) cognitive effects; (6) academic outcomes; (7) academic and professional trajectories; (8) social and contextual dimensions; and (9) pedagogical and institutional factors. The principal conclusion is that the DKE undermines students’ learning processes, compelling educational leaders to devise strategies to prevent and mitigate its influence. The main limitation lies in the restricted access to only two databases—Scopus and Web of Science—highlighting the need to expand future research by incorporating additional databases.

Spanish abstract

El efecto Dunning-Kruger (EDK) es un sesgo cognitivo que hace que las personas tomen decisiones erradas que afectan su presente y futuro. En ese contexto, la investigación tiene como objetivo general describir las consecuencias del EDK en los estudiantes de diferentes niveles académicos. La investigación es cualitativa, de enfoque interpretativo, exploratoria y descriptiva, diseño no experimental y corte transversal, empleando el protocolo PRISMA (2020) para realizar la revisión sistemática de la literatura científica, con la finalidad de responder la pregunta y objetivo de la investigación, analizado 20 artículos científicos de las bases de datos Scopus (7) y Web of Science (13) entre el 2021 y 2025. El estudio permite identificar nueve categorías que explican las consecuencias en los estudiantes del EDK: 1) descalibración metacognitiva e ilusión de competencia, 2) dificultades en la autorregulación del aprendizaje, 3) afectivo-motivacionales, 4) conductuales, 5) cognitivas, 6) académicas, 7) trayectoria académica y profesional, 8) sociales y contextuales, y 9) pedagógicas e institucionales. La conclusión principal está referida a que el EDK afecta el proceso de aprendizaje de los estudiantes, donde los líderes educativos deben elaborar estrategias para prevenirlo y evitarlo. Las limitaciones son por el acceso restringido sólo a dos bases de datos Scopus y Web of Science, debiendo ampliarse la investigación incluyendo otras bases de datos.

Item type: Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords: Dunning–Kruger Effect; DKE; miscalibration; metacognition; self-regulation; learning; descalibración; metacognición; autorregulación; revisión sistemática; estudiantes
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information
G. Industry, profession and education. > GH. Education.
Depositing user: Emilio Chocobar
Date deposited: 11 Nov 2025 16:58
Last modified: 11 Nov 2025 16:58
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/47317

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