Confidence and Consequences

By way of Work in Progress comes word of an interview in Newsweek with the British psychologist Adrian Furnham, who conducted a study that revealed that men’s egos are generally bigger than their IQ’s, while women’s egos are often smaller than their IQ’s. His study found that women also (wrongly) believe that men are brighter than women.

The findings are significant because confidence (or a lack thereof) can have real consequences in the workplace, as anyone who has ever been on an interview can attest, Furnham told the reporter, Joan Raymond:

Men aren’t more clever or smarter. But since they think they are, they are more confident about their abilities. These self-beliefs, however, may be highly adaptive. Who gets a job? A bright woman who doesn’t think she’s smart, or a not-so-bright man who believes he’s capable of anything? Arrogance and hubris are not attractive qualities, but confident self-belief may be. Certainly, underestimating abilities might hurt you. There’s a good quote from one of your countrymen, Henry Ford. He says: “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.” And that is what is troublesome. Beliefs may be more important than actual ability in certain settings.

Thoughts?