We explore two key contexts of humility, intellectual and cultural

Humility. Daryl R. Van Tongeren et al. Current Directions in Psychological Science, July 2, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419850153

Abstract: We review humility, a trait characterized by (a) an ability to accurately acknowledge one’s limitations and abilities and (b) an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented rather than self-focused. We explore two key contexts of humility, intellectual and cultural; explain why humility is important; and identify open questions for future research.

Keywords humility, humble, modest, modesty

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Research on humility has been growing rapidly (see Worthington, Davis, & Hook, 2017). Although research in social psychology has long documented the many ways in which humans are egoistic, selfishly motivated, and self-protective (Van Tongeren & Myers, 2017), recent work on humility has examined personality characteristics associated with acknowledging and owning one's biases and limitations (Haggard et al., 2018), openness (Hook, Davis, Owen, Worthington, & Utsey, 2013), and prioritizing the well-being of others (Davis et al., 2013). The purpose of this article is to review the research on humility, identify open questions for further inquiry, and catalyze future research in this important area of psychological science.

What Is Humility?

Although some lay conceptualizations of humility involve characteristics such as lowliness or self-abasement (Weidman, Cheng, & Tracy, 2018), these have not been core features of psychological conceptualizations of humility. Rather, a recent review of humility measures (McElroy-Heltzel, Davis, DeBlaere, Worthington, & Hook, 2019) revealed that most researchers conceptualize humility as involving both intrapersonal and interpersonal processes, although there is somewhat more agreement among scholars about the intrapersonal aspect of the definition. Intrapersonally, humility involves the degree to which someone seems to have a relatively accurate view of self. Expressions of this aspect of humility might include the ability to acknowledge and own one's limitations (Haggard et al., 2018), recognize the fallibility of one's beliefs, and have a clearer sense of one's strengths and weaknesses. Interpersonally, humility involves the degree to which one has an orientation toward the needs and well-being of others (Davis et al., 2011). People might judge this aspect of humility through interpersonal behaviors that indicate the restraint of the ego, modest self-presentation, and respectful interpersonal interaction.

Early research focused on potential problems defining and measuring humility (Davis, Worthington, & Hook, 2010), given concerns that self-reports of high humility might paradoxically indicate a lack of humility. Over time, several teams began to use a personality-judgment approach that treats multimethod measurement strategies as the gold standard (Baumeister, Vohs, & Funder, 2007). Using this approach, researchers have published many measures of humility, with most including both intrapersonal and interpersonal content (McElroy-Heltzel et al., 2019). Measurement approaches have included selfreports (e.g., Ashton et al., 2004; Leary et al., 2017), otherreports (e.g., Davis et al., 2011; McElroy et al., 2014; Owens, Johnson, & Mitchell, 2013), implicit measures (e.g., Rowatt et al., 2006), and behavioral measures (e.g., Van Tongeren, Stafford, et al., 2016). The vast majority of studies have focused on humility as a trait, which is the focus of this review.

Furthermore, relative to other virtues, such as forgiveness or gratitude, in which the context is more specified, humility-relevant behavior may occur in a range of situations. Measures have sometimes focused on contexts theorized to evoke egotism or defensiveness, which make the practice of humility more difficult. In the study of humility, two contexts have garnered initial attention. One context involves encountering the ideas of other people. Intellectual humility refers to humility about one's ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints (Davis et al., 2016). Within this context, intrapersonally, intellectual humility involves awareness and ownership of the limitations and biases in one's formation and maintenance of knowledge (Haggard et al., 2018) and a willingness to revise one's views in light of strong evidence (Leary et al., 2017; McElroy et al., 2014). Interpersonally, it involves regulating egoistic motives so that one can present one's ideas in a modest and respectful manner, admit when one is wrong, present one's beliefs in ways that are nondefensive, and show that one cares more about learning and preserving relationships than about being "right" or demonstrating intellectual superiority. Importantly, intellectual humility is not being ambivalent or lacking personal conviction. Rather, it is a way of holding one's beliefs, however convinced one might be.with perspective taking and respect for others, viewpoints.

A second context involves intercultural relationships. Belonging to a cultural group tends to reinforce biases related to loyalty and commitment. Cultural humility refers to humility about one's cultural beliefs, values, and attitudes. Intrapersonally, cultural humility involves an awareness of the limitations of one's own cultural worldview, curbing the natural tendency to view one's own values and culture as superior. Interpersonally, cultural humility involves an openness and willingness to learn about the cultural orientation of other people (Hook et al., 2013). Cultural humility can involve various aspects of cultural identity, including the political (i.e., political humility) or religious (i.e., religious humility) beliefs and practices of other individuals. In therapeutic settings (Hook et al., 2013), clients who rated their therapists as high in cultural humility reported a stronger therapeutic alliance and better improvement in therapy (Hook et al., 2013). Clients also reported experiencing fewer racial offenses or microaggressions when they had a therapist with higher cultural humility (Hook, Farrell, et al., 2016). In general, individuals (laypersons and counselors alike) with cultural humility are more likely to consider the importance of cultural backgrounds, understand their own cultural limits and privilege, and take a genuine interest in learning from the cultures of others.