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1. What is Humility Good For? A Meta-Analysis of Humility, Health, and Well-Being

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000251352566  

   Lee, Yejin; McLaughlin, Aaron T; Bowes, Shauna M; Hook, Joshua N; Van_Tongeren, Daryl R; Owen, Jesse; Davis, Don E (August 2025, The Counseling Psychologist)

   Humility, the organizing virtue of multicultural frameworks in counseling psychology, has traditionally been framed to be positively associated with health and well-being and negatively associated with mental illness. Despite lauded benefits, however, scholars have cautioned that humility may not always be of benefit. To examine these associations, we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the magnitude of the associations between humility and physical health, mental illness (i.e., depression, anxiety), life satisfaction, and eudaimonic well-being (i.e., meaning in life, purpose in life), in addition to testing moderators. The final sample included 65 studies, with results yielding small to medium associations (rs ranged from −.06 to .20) between humility and examined outcomes. Results suggest that the size and direction of associations depend on methodological choices and cultural contexts. Implications for studying the cultural context of humility are discussed. 

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2. Vested Accomplices: Men Embracing Cultural Humility in Personal & Institutional Transformation At a Historically Black University

   https://doi.org/10.5399/osu/ADVJRNL.5.1.3  

   Owens, Allezo; Moton, Brandon; Allen_Owens, Marcia (May 2024, ADVANCE Journal)

   Abstract This paper explores the critical role of male faculty members at a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) in promoting cultural humility and using a hermeneutical lens to achieve gender equity. Cultural humility is the awareness that no gender/discipline/race/religion is the norm and that everyone belongs at this MSI. Hermeneutics is a philosophical interpretation process that may help to understand the social identity of Black women in STEM/SBS. Examining Black women in STEM/SBS at a large MSI extends the research of intersectionality by focusing on a context where Black women students are the majority, and Black women STEM/SBS faculty are the minority. The authors provide self-reflections practicing cultural humility using a hermeneutical lens to avoid contributing to the trauma Black women in STEM/SBS face at this MSI. 

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3. The effect of seeing scientists as intellectually humble on trust in scientists and their research

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02060-x  

   Koetke, Jonah; Schumann, Karina; Bowes, Shauna M; Vaupotič, Nina (February 2025, Nature Human Behaviour)

   Public trust in scientists is critical to our ability to face societal threats. Here, across five pre-registered studies (N = 2,034), we assessed whether perceptions of scientists’ intellectual humility affect perceived trustworthiness of scientists and their research. In study 1, we found that seeing scientists as higher in intellectual humility was associated with greater perceived trustworthiness of scientists and support for science-based beliefs. We then demonstrated that describing a scientist as high (versus low) in intellectual humility increased perceived trustworthiness of the scientist (studies 2–4), belief in their research (studies 2–4), intentions to follow their research-based recommendations (study 3) and information-seeking behaviour (study 4). We further demonstrated that these effects were not moderated by the scientist’s gender (study 3) or race/ethnicity (study 4). In study 5, we experimentally tested communication approaches that scientists can use to convey intellectual humility. These studies reveal the benefits of seeing scientists as intellectually humble across medical, psychological and climate science topics. 

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4. Do children value intellectual humility over intellectual arrogance?

   https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001991  

   Bowes, Shauna M; Novick, Kylee; Lourenco, Stella F; Tasimi, Arber (May 2025, Developmental Psychology)

   When making social judgments, children prefer confidence over uncertainty. At the same time, they also value calibration and accuracy. How, then, do children reason about calibrated uncertainty, or intellectual humility, versus unwarranted confidence, or intellectual arrogance? Here we examined whether 4- to 11-year-olds evaluated intellectually humble individuals as more likable, more knowledgeable, nicer, and smarter than intellectually arrogant individuals. Across two studies involving 229 children (Study 1: N = 111, 59% White, 39% girls; Study 2: N = 118, 66% White, 49% girls), we found that children, by the age of 5.5 years, preferred an intellectually humble over an intellectually arrogant individual, with this preference strengthening over development. Moreover, children preferred intellectual humility over intellectual arrogance both when an intellectually humble individual appeared to be accurate (Study 1) and when it was unclear whether they were accurate (Study 2). Altogether, these findings indicate that children do not prioritize unwarranted confidence more than calibrated uncertainty in their social judgments. We conclude by highlighting pressing directions for future research surrounding what makes children prefer intellectual humility and why. 

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5. Associations Between Intellectual Humility, Academic Motivation, and Academic Self-Efficacy

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941251351243  

   Huynh, Ho_Phi; Luo, Zhicheng; Eche, Elisa; Thomas, Jasmyne; Weatherford, Dawn_R; Lilley, Malin_K (June 2025, Psychological Reports)

   Previous research has shown that intellectual humility (IH) could predict important academic outcomes. This study explores the associations between IH, four different types of academic motivation (intrinsic motivation-to know and -to accomplish, extrinsic motivation-external regulation, amotivation) and academic self-efficacy. Undergraduate students (N= 261) from a Hispanic majority institution completed validated measures assessing these variables. Multiple regression showed that IH positively predicted intrinsic motivation-to know and -to accomplish, and academic self-efficacy. Results also showed no association between IH and extrinsic motivation-external regulation and a negative association with amotivation. These findings extend previous research by showing that IH is not only positively linked to a desire to learn for knowledge’s sake, but also to the process of learning. They suggest that intellectual humility could, with further research, be leveraged to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation and academic self-efficacy, thereby contributing to improved academic performance and well-being. 

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