Overconfidence, Narcissism Can Work for Humans, Study Suggests

Such traits can lead to success in a variety of situations, including business and war, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of California, San Diego, said.  

Researchers used a mathematical model to play out the effects that overconfidence would possibly have over generations, Psych Central reported. The model covered different types of human competition.

Results showed that overconfidence can work when a person is uncertain about their opponent's strengths, National Geographic reported. It can also help when someone is faced with a new, unfamiliar situation, Psych Central reported, and it does not hurt when the prize in question outweighs the cost of getting it.

The model shows that overconfidence can plausibly evolve in wide range of environments, as well as the situations in which it will fail, study co-author Dominic Johnson of the University of Edinburgh told World Science.

Too much overconfidence, however, can lead to disaster.

The question now is how to channel human overconfidence so we can exploit its benefits while avoiding occasional disasters, Johnson said, World Science reported.

The study results were published in the journal Nature.