Cognitive and Interpersonal Features of Intellectual Humility

Abstract

Four studies examined intellectual humility-the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong. Using a new Intellectual Humility (IH) Scale, Study 1 showed that intellectual humility was associated with variables related to openness, curiosity, tolerance of ambiguity, and low dogmatism. Study 2 revealed that participants high in intellectual humility were less certain that their beliefs about religion were correct and judged people less on the basis of their religious opinions. In Study 3, participants high in intellectual humility were less inclined to think that politicians who changed their attitudes were "flip-flopping," and Study 4 showed that people high in intellectual humility were more attuned to the strength of persuasive arguments than those who were low. In addition to extending our understanding of intellectual humility, this research demonstrates that the IH Scale is a valid measure of the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs are fallible.

Links between intellectual humility and acquiring knowledge

“…This research made use of numerous independent samples and used multiple measures to assess the predictors and outcomes. The findings replicate and expand previous studies using different measures of IH, thereby strengthening confidence in previous results and increasing understanding about the many ways IH is connected to knowledge acquisition (Alfano et al, 2017;Davis et al, 2016;Deffler et al, 2016;Leary et al, 2017). Additional work can be done to relate IH to immediate measures of knowledge acquisition.…”

“…Previous research has suggested links between IH and need for cognition (NFC; Davis et al, 2016) and curiosity (Leary et al, 2017). Further, NFC is associated with less belief in the certainty of knowledge (Kardash & Scholes, 1996), which may also promote IH.…”

Disliked but Free to Speak: Cognitive Ability Is Related to Supporting Freedom of Speech for Groups Across the Ideological Spectrum

“…Intellectual humility is defined by a person's independence of intellect and ego, openness to revising one's viewpoint, respect for others' viewpoints, and a lack of intellectual overconfidence, and is therefore argued to promote human thriving through tolerance of other's ideas, collaboration, and civil discourse (Krumrei-Mancuso & Rouse, 2016). Indeed, people with higher levels of intellectual humility are less inclined be judgmental of people with whom they disagree (Leary et al 2017). Hence, if people high in cognitive ability show more genuine openness and respect for other viewpoints compared to people lower in cognitive ability, they should display an overall stronger support for any group to exercise its freedom of speech.…”

The Emerging Role of Intelligence in the World of the Future

“…As compared to intelligence, wisdom also appears to be uniquely associated with prosocial and eudaimonic tendencies (e.g., cooperative intentions and behavior, growth orientation; [49,[101][102][103]), a willingness to forgive friends and family members one has a dispute with [57], as well as more prosocial behavior in economic transactions [104]. Moreover, and particularly pertinent to intergroup issues, wisdom is associated with reduced political bias [105], reduced intergroup attitude polarization across several heightened intergroup conflicts [106] (unpublished manuscript), and the willingness to consider diverse viewpoints during political elections in the US [107], with such aspects of wise reasoning as an appreciation of diverse viewpoints facilitating accuracy in the forecasting of geopolitical events [108].…”