Can reasoning make you humble? Experimental tests to improve intellectual humility

In the present study, we tested whether inducing people to reflect on their knowledge may increase their intellectual humility. We hypothesized that asking participants to answer knowledge tests would prompt them to recalibrate their perception of their own knowledge, thereby fostering intellectual humility. Study 1 demonstrated a significant increase in intellectual humility following the intervention, whereas Study 2 replicated and extended these findings in a larger sample, confirming the effect despite its small magnitude. The observed increase may be due to the activation of analytical reasoning style or to the acknowledgement of one’s knowledge limitations. However, further research is needed to corroborate these conjectures and explore the long-term effects of interventions to enhance intellectual humility.