Special Stuckenberg Talk - “Intellectual humility in an uncertain and polarized world"

Igor Grossmann, Ph.D. University of Waterloo, Canada

ABSTRACT:

In a time of disagreements about values, politics, and cultural practices, psychological scientists have turned to possible antidotes to societal acrimony – the concept of intellectual humility Interest in wisdom has come from diverse research areas, including leadership and organizational behavior, personality science, positive psychology, judgment/decision-making, education, culture, and intergroup and interpersonal relationships. I will critically examine the diverse approaches to defining and measuring it and describe what many scientists studying intellectual humility see as common across a myriad of definitions: meta-cognitive awareness of one’s fallibility and limits of knowledge. After establishing common ground across definitions and reviewing the validity of different measurement approaches, I will highlight research that explores the role of macro- and micro-level factors – from relationship security to interdependence in social coordination – for these characteristics. Furthermore, I will review empirical evidence concerning benefits and drawbacks of these characteristics for personal decision-making, interpersonal relationships, scientific enterprise, and society writ large.