#1
Are men becoming too confident for their own good? Some people seem to think so, thanks to the results of a 2024 Continental Tyres survey that revealed "alarming" levels of overconfidence in Australian men.
To put it into perspective, 13% of the guys polled believed they could land an airplane with no previous experience. Yes, really... And the same percentage said they could take on an elite athlete in their professional sport and come out with a pretty good chance of defeating them.
77% of men surveyed think they are better drivers than women. No surprises there... But here's a kicker: 27% of guys genuinely believe they could fight a horse and come out the champion. 5% said they'd win against a crocodile, while 4% were confident enough to take on a gorilla.
#2
Of the 3,005 males surveyed, 77% said they were above-average drivers, with only 22% claiming to be average, and just 1% admitting they were bad drivers. But wait, there's more... 44% of those polled suggested that they could drive a semi-trailer truck if necessary.
Speaking to Australia's Channel 9, advertising executive Dee Madigan called the Continental Tyres Australia report "the least surprising survey result" she's ever seen.
#3
“Men can score higher in the illusion of control bias, which is when we overestimate our ability to control outcomes that are largely determined by external factors or chance,” said Blokes Psychology men’s psychologist Craig Hyde-Smith.
“Research has also shown that testosterone can be linked to increased risk-taking behavior," he added. "Finally, social norms and expectations can increase pressure on men to appear confident and competent, and this can translate into overconfidence.”
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#5
A separate 2025 YouGov survey found that men are more likely to say they're above average in dozens of areas, compared to women. The company focused on 60 areas when conducting the poll... It included things like time management, athletic ability, nurturing, tidiness, cooking, courage and more.
"Men are more likely than women to say they are above average in most of the 60 areas, but the differences generally are small," notes the YouGov site. "On average, 2 percentage points more men than women rate themselves as above average."
#6
The YouGov poll revealed that among the biggest differences between men and women were that 36% of men say their mechanical ability is far above average or somewhat above average, while only 17% of women said the same. 30% of men believe their athletic ability is above average and only 14% of women ticked this box.
Men also appeared more confident when it came to mathematical abilities (40% vs. 25%), self-discipline (52% vs. 37%), and intelligence (63% vs. 49%).
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#8
A 3rd survey conducted in Britain recently yielded similar results... The research from Ipsos revealed distinct gender differences in self-perceived abilities, with men coming out more confident than their female counterparts across various tasks.
All respondents were given a series of potential scenarios and were asked whether they could or could not perform certain tasks. Get this: More than a third of men believe that they could land a passenger plane if guided by air traffic control in an emergency, compared to 24% of women.
#9
Half of the men polled believe that they could score a goal against a Premier League goalkeeper, compared to 10% of women. 37% of men said they could referee a Premier League football game, but only 10% of women said the same.
The survey also found that 16% of men believe that they could complete a marathon without training, compared to 9% of women. 22% of men were confident they could compete in a Formula 1 Grand Prix without crashing, and 36% said they could get elected as an MP in their local area.
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26% of the guys considered themselves good enough to land a leading role in a Hollywood film, compared to 18% of women. And 24% of men firmly believed that they could record a number-one hit song, compared to 14% of women.
A total of 1,028 adults aged 18-75 from across Great Britain took part in the online survey, which was conducted from November 13 to 14, 2025.
#13
"What stands out in our latest research is that men consistently exhibit higher confidence in their capabilities, which raises questions about the underlying factors contributing to this disparity. Are societal norms and traditional gender roles continuing to influence self-perception?" pondered Peter Cooper, Research Director at Ipsos in the UK.
"It's intriguing to note how even in tasks traditionally perceived as gender-neutral, these differences persist," he added.
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Men's overconfidence is a global phenomenon, it would seem... A few years ago, a researcher called Kayla Jordan at the University of Waikato in New Zealand asked men whether they could land a plane in an emergency without crashing it.
"Again, the levels of over-confidence were striking," reported the BBC. "Half of the people she asked thought they had a one-in-five-chance of landing the plane successfully. And when those questioned were shown a three-minute video of a trained pilot landing a plane, they became even more confident, rating their chances at 30%. A quarter of respondents went even further saying they put their chances at 60%."
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