Overconfident teenagers can stunt vital reading skills

Washington, July 30 (ANI): Having too much confidence is not good. And now, a new study has confirmed this by finding that overconfident teenage students can stunt crucial reading skills.

The study shows a clear connection between overconfident students and low reading comprehension.

"While some self-confidence is helpful, overconfident 15-year-olds are often below-average readers in all 34 countries we studied," says Ming Ming Chiu, the lead author of the study and a professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction in the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education.

"In contrast, under-confident 15-year-olds are more likely to be above-average readers in all 34 countries," the expert added.

The difference lies in a student's ability to accurately assess and evaluate his or her own reading level, according to Chiu. Those who can accurately gauge their strengths and weaknesses are usually in a better position to identify realistic goals and achieve them.

"If an overconfident student chooses a book that is too hard-such as 'The Lord of the Rings' rather than 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'-he or she might stop reading after a few pages and let it sit on a bookshelf," says Chiu.

"In contrast, a more self-aware student is more likely to finish an easier book and continue reading more books," the expert added.

The research was the first large-scale international study of almost 160,000 students' overconfidence and reading levels (including nearly 4,000 U.S. students).

It was co-written by Robert Klassen, associate professor in the University of Alberta's Department of Educational Psychology, and was published in the July edition of the professional educators' journal Learning and Individual Differences. (ANI)