Psycholinguistic principles and effects for students by Dr. Wilhem Konrad von Prittwitz for the UNED and www.wilko.tv.

Psycholinguistic principles and effects.

 Dunning-Kruger effect 

1.         The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where individuals with low ability or knowledge in a specific area tend to overestimate their competence. This happens because they lack the awareness to recognize their own limitations. In other words, people who are inexperienced or unskilled often feel more confident than they should about their abilities.

On the flip side, people with high expertise in a particular domain might underestimate their skills, as they recognize how complex the subject is and the gaps in their knowledge. The Dunning-Kruger effect is often depicted in a graph where novice skill levels correlate with inflated confidence, and experts tend to have more moderate or accurate self-assessments.

The phenomenon was first described in a 1999 study by psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger. 

Peter Principle

2.              The Peter Principle is a concept in management theory that suggests that people are often promoted to their level of incompetence. It was coined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his 1969 book The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong.

The idea is that in an organizational hierarchy, employees are typically promoted based on their performance in their current role, rather than their ability to perform in the new role. Over time, they are promoted again and again until they reach a position where they are no longer competent, because the skills needed for the new role are different from those needed in the previous one.

For example, an excellent engineer might get promoted to a managerial position, but if they lack leadership or management skills, they might struggle at that level. They have reached their "level of incompetence."

This principle highlights a potential flaw in systems that rely solely on past performance for promotions, rather than considering whether the person has the necessary skills for the next level.

Parkinson's Law

3.      The Parkinson's Law (often referred to as Parkinson's Principle) is the adage that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion." In other words, the more time you have to complete a task, the longer it will take, often unnecessarily so. This principle was first articulated by British historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson in 1955, in an article for The Economist.

Parkinson observed that bureaucratic organizations tend to grow and become less efficient over time, with employees often spending excessive amounts of time on tasks that could be done more quickly if there were less time allocated. In essence, the law suggests that when people have more time to complete a task, they tend to stretch it out or overcomplicate it.

An example of Parkinson's Law in action could be a work project. If you're given a week to do something that could realistically be completed in a few hours, you're likely to end up spending far more time on the task than necessary, because the work expands to fill the available time.

Murphy's Law

4.      Murphy's Law is a popular adage that states, "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." It suggests that if something has the potential to go wrong, it probably will, often at the worst possible time. The law is often invoked when things don't go as planned, especially in situations where there seems to be no way things could have gone worse.

The origin of Murphy's Law is attributed to Edward A. Murphy Jr., an American aerospace engineer, who reportedly coined it in the late 1940s during a rocket test. There are different variations of the law, but the core idea remains the same—things tend to go wrong when least expected, especially if there’s a chance for something to go wrong.

For example, if you're running late for a meeting, you'll likely hit every red light or face some unexpected delay—this could be seen as a manifestation of Murphy's Law.

Law of Attraction

5.      The Law of Attraction is the belief or philosophy that positive or negative thoughts can bring positive or negative experiences into your life. It's often framed as a principle that "like attracts like," meaning that the energy or vibrations you emit through your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can attract corresponding energies or outcomes into your life.

The Law of Attraction is rooted in the idea that the universe responds to your thoughts and feelings, bringing opportunities, situations, or people that align with your mental state. If you focus on positive thoughts and feelings, you’re believed to attract positive outcomes, whereas focusing on negativity might attract undesirable situations.

This idea gained widespread popularity through books and films like The Secret, where it's emphasized that through visualization, gratitude, and maintaining a positive mindset, one can manifest goals such as wealth, success, or happiness.

Critics argue that the Law of Attraction oversimplifies complex situations and doesn't account for external factors like effort, circumstances, or hard work. Nevertheless, many people find value in using positive thinking as a tool for motivation or emotional well-being.