Intellectual Humility in the Eyes of Others: Implications for Social Perception and Trust

2026/04/10 by Jonah Koetke, Karina Schumann · 2 voices
Psychology · #Cultural Differences and Values #Emotions and Moral Behavior #Forgiveness and Related Behaviors

paper · doi:10.1177/09637214261419421

openalex publication_date 2026/04/10 · openalex created_date 2026/04/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Prior research offers compelling evidence for the social, personal, and societal benefits of intellectual humility (IH). This article shifts the focus to social perception by examining the emerging literature on perceived IH—how people judge others’ awareness of their intellectual limitations. We describe how perceived IH enhances social evaluations in everyday and expert contexts and identify conditions under which high IH may backfire. We then outline key directions for future research, including the roles of identity, authenticity, and culture, in shaping how IH is perceived and socially rewarded.

Citations

• The attribution of attitudes
• The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research
• Lay Preferences for and Perceptions of Intellectual Humility Across Societal Roles
• Are There Consequences of Expressing Intellectual Humility Toward Claims Perceived as Established or Moral Truths? Implications for Judgments of Expresser’s Competence and Warmth
• Predictors and consequences of intellectual humility

Discussions

• This paper has now been published in Current Directions in Psychological Science! See here: doi.org/10.1177/0963... [bsky, 4 points, 0 comments]
• 🧙‍♀️"backfire effects occur when targets express intellectual humility about moral convictions—beliefs observers treat as absolute truths—even when they share the same moral position on the topic... [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Lay Preferences for and Perceptions of Intellectual Humility Across Societal Roles
• Are There Consequences of Expressing Intellectual Humility Toward Claims Perceived as Established or Moral Truths? Implications for Judgments of Expresser’s Competence and Warmth
• Cognitive and Interpersonal Features of Intellectual Humility
• Metacognitive and Interpersonal Intellectual Humility Are Asymmetrically Associated with Well-Being
• The Art of Being Wrong: A Systematic Review and Integrative Model for Promoting Intellectual Humility