Rich People Aren’t As Secure As The Appear

It seems that wealthy people or those born into status have the world by the...tail. They are self-assured, secure and they look the part.

The researchers suggest that part of the answer involves what they call “overconfidence.” In several experiments, they found that people who came from a higher social class were more likely to have an inflated sense of their skills — even when tests proved that they were average. This unmerited overconfidence, they found, was interpreted by strangers as competence.

We have a tendency of "sizing up" people within the first "60 seconds" of meeting them. We look at how they are dressed, what they drive, and their confidence level.

"Overconfidence" is not necessarily a good thing because it fades.

Researchers said they hoped that the takeaway was not to strive to be overconfident. Wars, stock market crashes and many other crises can be blamed on overconfidence, they said.

(NY Times)