Intellectual humility in the context of existential commitment

Abstract

We present three studies to examine intellectual humility (IH) contextualized to existential challenges across cultures. With samples (N = 1714) drawn from three regions (United States, Hong Kong, Netherlands), we explore the benefits and drawbacks of various configurations of IH and commitment to beliefs. In two studies, we created a measure of IH contextualized to existential concerns (Study 1; N = 344 adults in the U.S.), replicated its factor structure, and identified distinct profiles of belief commitment and IH (Study 2; N = 340 adults in the U.S.). Then, in our primary study (Study 3; N = 1030 adults from the U.S., Netherlands, and Hong Kong), we examined evidence for the cultural generalizability of the measure and profiles. Implications for future research on the measurement of IH, its manifestation across cultures, and its relevance to the existential domain are discussed.