There are no stupid questions, only ones we think are stupid: The accuracy of self-assessed question asking ability

Question-asking is a crucial yet understudied skill with significant implications for learning and information-seeking. Prior research identifies question complexity as a key predictor of question creativity and problem-solving ability. However, little is known about how accurately individuals assess their own question complexity. Across three studies, participants generated questions and self-rated their complexity and creativity. We then compared their self-ratings to objective computational model scores. In Study 1 (N = 100), self-rated question complexity showed a weak correlation with model ratings (r = .151). Study 2 (N = 100) replicated and strengthened this relation (r = .206), revealing a stronger correlation for question creativity (r = .321). We also found bias effects for complexity: participants underestimated the complexity of their high-level questions and overestimated their low-level ones. In Study 3 (N = 101), participants read a training brief before rating, which significantly improved accuracy in self-assessing complexity (r = .453) and creativity (r = .487) and eliminated overestimation. Our study highlights the challenges in self-assessment of questions and prominent cognitive biases. Crucially, our study also shows that brief explanations of question complexity substantially improve self-assessment accuracy, highlighting practical implications for educational strategies aimed at enhancing metacognitive awareness of question-asking ability.