Lacking adequate knowledge about one's rights could inhibit the likelihood of exercising one's rights or lead one to unwittingly violate laws that place legitimate limits on these rights. Thus, the present research examines First Amendment knowledge as well as competence to apply this knowledge in relevant circumstances. Results revealed that one-quarter of participants failed a test of objective knowledge on First Amendment rights. Furthermore, participants' belief in their ability varied depending on their level of knowledge, in line with the Dunning–Kruger effect. Participants also failed to transfer their limited objective knowledge to “real-world” situations, exhibiting impaired First Amendment competence. These findings suggest that US residents' levels of knowledge and competence related to First Amendment rights and protections could be improved to promote a safe, knowledgeable, and democratic society.

中文翻译：

---

美国居民的第一修正案知识和能力

对自己的权利缺乏足够的了解可能会抑制行使自己权利的可能性，或者导致人们在不知不觉中违反对这些权利施加合法限制的法律。因此，本研究考察了第一修正案的知识以及在相关情况下应用这些知识的能力。结果显示，四分之一的参与者未能通过关于第一修正案权利的客观知识测试。此外，参与者对自己能力的信念取决于他们的知识水平，这与邓宁-克鲁格效应一致。参与者也未能将他们有限的客观知识转移到“现实世界”的情况下，表现出第一修正案的能力受损。这些发现表明，美国居民的