Svenson 1981 — 93% of US drivers rated themselves above the median for skill

Claim: Svenson (1981) found ~93% of US drivers rated themselves above the median for skill. Alicke et al. (1995) and many replications confirm the robustness of the "better-than-average effect" — and crucially, the effect shrinks when comparison targets are concrete rather than abstract.

Source: Svenson 1981; Alicke et al. 1995. Foundational.

Confidence: Verified.

Why this matters for Candid: The "concrete-target moderation" is directly actionable. Instead of asking "how do you compare to your competitors?" (abstract — strong inflation), point the owner at a NAMED competitor's GBP and ask them to compare review counts (R3 — Where comparison is unavoidable, use a concrete NAMED competitor target).