Research on information dilution effects, information integration, and
prototypes suggests that the act of performing simple tasks lowers pe
rformers' evaluations even when they have demonstrated the ability to
perform more complex tasks. The literature on information dilution als
o suggests that some cognitive processes operate below the conscious l
evel. In a study using 58 American college students who evaluated acto
rs' performances of high- versus low-complexity tasks, the results sho
wed that the students were unaware of the cognitive processes they use
d to evaluate the actors and mistakenly believed that their evaluation
s were most influenced by the quality, rather than the quantity, of th
e actors' performances. However, the students did accurately estimate
the relative proportions of complex and simple tasks performed by the
actors.