I Thought I Got an A! Overconfidence Across the Economics Curriculum

Clifford Nowell and Richard M. Alston

The Journal of Economic Education, 2007, vol. 38, issue 2, 131-142

Abstract: Students often exhibit overconfident grade expectations and tend to overestimate the actual course grade at the completion of a course. Current theories of student motivation suggest such overconfidence may lead students to study less than if they had accurate grade perceptions. The authors report the findings of a survey of students enrolled in economics and quantitative courses at a large public university. They analyze the difference between a student's expected and actual grade and how teacher pedagogies can influence student overconfidence. They find male students and those with lower GPAs exhibit greater overconfidence. Students in lower division classes have a greater tendency to be overconfident than do those in upper division classes. The findings also indicate that grading practices influence overconfidence.

Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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DOI: 10.3200/JECE.38.2.131-142

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