Owning One’s Intellectual Limitations: A Review of Intellectual Humility

Abstract

In recent years, intellectual humility (IH) has become an emerging topic in psychological research. In general, it refers to the admission and acceptance that one’s knowledge is limited, and one’s cognitive ability is imperfect. IH has been proven to be associated with many psychological attributes, such as Big Five, rational and objective thinking, academic achievement, and interpersonal relationships, et al. This article systematically reviews the definitions, characteristics, and measurements of IH, the factors influencing it, as well as its psychological functioning. Finally, we suggest that further research should investigate the relationship among the components of IH, and the inconsistent results in this area to clarify the factors mainly influencing IH and the mechanism of IH judgment.