“I’m above average!”
Definition
The Lake Wobegon effect is the human tendency to overestimate one’s achievements and capabilities in relation to others.
It is named for the fictional town of Lake Wobegon from the radio series A Prairie Home Companion, where, according to Garrison Keillor, “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average”.
In a similar way, a large majority of people claim to be above average. Experiments and surveys conducted to hundred thousands people from a variety of classes and from many background, have repeatedly shown that most people believe that they possess attributes that are better or more desirable than average.
Statistics
In achivement-driven societies like the US, the percentage of people showing Lake Wobegon effect is 80%. In other countries where people are taught to be humble, the rate is 70%.
The effect is socially conditioned
The effect reflects ingroup bias and wishful thinking. In contrast, people who admit that they are worse than average are considered self-handicapped and their behavior is treated as socially false consensus.
Logical reasoning
Mean of a series
If the GDP per capita of one country is X, anyone who make more than X are above average.
Binary series
10 students take the examination which result is either 1 (pass) or 0 (fail). Assuming 1 student fails, all other 9 are automatically above average.
System contained in a system
It is possible that all MIT students are above the average of a collection of universities.
Attitude
It is easier for people to spot others’ mistakes than their own, and when the experience becomes a reflex, it creates a tendency to perceive one’s self as superior to others.
Lake Wobegon effect shows human attitude toward survival: the stronger live.
Parents can treat their children as “above average” in order to boost their self-esteem.
Last word
Dare to be Wobegonally different by admitting that you’re not above average? 
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Tags of this article: achievement,attitude,binary,capability,effect,psychology,self-esteem,series,social,survey,system.
Last update July 2, 2007
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July 2nd, 2007 at 5:10 am
Hi anh, em copy this post to my blog. Really like it!
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:13 am
@Ngoc: glad you like the topic
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:17 am
The Lake Wobegon Effect is no surprise to anyone who has taught freshmen or non-majors, dealt with incompetent (but invariably “experienced”) teachers or administrators, argued with intelligent design “experts”, or read a newspaper in the last five years. The hardest thing for many people to learn, especially in a subject that they’ve never seriously encountered before, is that they don’t know what’s going on, that their opinions are not facts, that their intuition is not proof. This is especially frustrating in math and CS theory classes, where the students have the tools to check whether their answers are correct, if only they’d think to try them. It’s almost impossible to actually learn anything if you don’t realize that you have something to learn.
July 2nd, 2007 at 5:21 am
If adults build up children’s egos with false or meaningless praise, they will never be resilient enough to live successful lives. Athletes/students are all different. Success should be measured based on realistic goals designed with the student/athlete in mind and not the scoreboard. We can’t control our talent, size, or quality of the opponent. Effort and determination are the only things a person/team can actually control. What’s important is to teach children how to establish goals, work really hard to reach them, and how to relish in the satisfaction in having completed a good day’s work.
Here’s a quote from a coach far more insightful than me: “This is your first game, my child. I hope you win. I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning’s nice. It’s a good feeling. Like the whole world is yours. But, it passes, this feeling. And what lasts is what you’ve learned. And what you learn about is life. That’s what sports is all about. Life. The whole thing is played out in an afternoon. The happiness of life. The miseries. The joys. The heartbreaks.
There’s no telling what’ll turn up. There’s no telling whether they’ll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you’ll stay for the long haul. There’s no telling how you’ll do. You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing. There’s just no telling. Too much depends on chance. On how the ball bounces.
I’m not talking about the game, my child. I’m talking about life. But it’s life that the game is all about. Just as I said. Because every game is life. And life is a game. A serious game. Dead serious. But that’s what you do with serious things. You do your best. You take what comes. And you run with it. Winning is fun. Sure. But winning is not the point. Never letting up is the point. Never letting anyone down is the point. Play to win. Sure. But lose like a champion. Because it’s not winning that counts. What counts is trying.”
August 31st, 2007 at 6:48 am
September 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
The result of the poll is highly illustrative Darren
October 4th, 2007 at 11:11 am
This one rocks,
Good to see someone get the effect right.