A new study provides evidence that intellectual humility is related to how people perceive their political opponents. The research, published in the Journal of Personality, indicates that Americans who are humble about their level of knowledge are less likely to view people who disagree with them as morally or intellectually inferior.
“Social media and news media have made it clear that so much of American politics is personal and vitriolic. Many people seem to assume that those on the other side are unintelligent and morally corrupt,” said study author Matthew L. Stanley, a PhD candidate at Duke University.
“It seems particularly important to understand why people assume that the other side is unintelligent and morally corrupt, especially since these assumptions stifle fact-based and open discussion over issues that actually matter. Derogating opponents and being unwilling to befriend them might also create echo chambers of people, with the same views, who collectively seek out and share information that reinforces their shared realities.”
In six studies of 2,494 American residents in total, the researchers found that intellectual humility was associated with attitudes towards political opponents.
“People who are less intellectually humble are more likely to derogate the intellectual capabilities and moral character of their political opponents, less willing to befriend those opponents, and less willing to ‘friend’ and ‘follow’ an opponent on social media,” Stanley told PsyPost.
In other words, those who agreed with statements such as “I accept that my beliefs and attitudes may be wrong” were less likely to believe that those who disagreed with their views on issues such as abortion, concealed carry of firearms, immigration, drone strikes, and standardized testing were unintelligent, irrational, and ignorant.
“By believing that opponents are unintelligent and unethical, it may become easier to dismiss others’ views and to believe in the superiority of one’s own views,” the researchers noted. They added that the findings “may have significant implications for social extremism and political polarization.”
“Disagreements over sociopolitical issues can be useful and fruitful. Such disagreements offer the potential for understanding the perspectives of others, generating creative solutions to significant problems, and growing intellectually. However, the extent to which disagreements are useful depends on the willingness of opposing sides to try to understand opposing positions.”
However, it is unclear how to increase intellectual humility.
“Intellectual humility is, on my view, an incredibly important virtue. A valuable future project is to figure out how to get people to cultivate this virtue. In other words, how do you encourage people to become more intellectually humble?” Stanley said.
The study, “Intellectual Humility and Perceptions of Political Opponents“, was authored by Matthew L. Stanley, Alyssa H. Sinclair, and Paul Seli.
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