Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., et al. (2024).
Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
Abstract
The study of intellectual humility (IH), which is gaining increasing interest among cognitive scientists, has been dominated by a focus on individuals. We propose that IH operates at the collective level as the tendency of a collective’s members to attend to each other’s intellectual limitations and the limitations of their collective cognitive efforts. Given people’s propensity to better recognize others’ limitations than their own, IH may be more readily achievable in collectives than individuals. We describe the socio-cognitive dynamics that can interfere with collective IH and offer the solution of building intellectually humbling environments that create a culture of IH that can outlast the given membership of a collective. We conclude with promising research directions.
Highlights
- Like individuals, collectives can possess intellectual humility.
- A collective’s intellectual humility is not strictly reducible to the sum of the intellectual humility of its members.
- Collective intellectual humility is the tendency of members of a collective to attend to one another’s intellectual limitations and the intellectual limitations of their collective cognitive efforts.
- Given people’s propensity to better recognize others’ limitations than their own, intellectual humility may be more achievable in collectives than in individuals.
- Social support and institutional scaffolding are crucial to promoting collective intellectual humility.
Here are some thoughts:
The research on collective intellectual humility (IH) offers valuable insights for practicing psychologists, particularly in group settings. Psychologists can focus on fostering environments that encourage collective IH by cultivating diverse perspectives within teams, establishing norms that value open criticism, transparency, and accountability, and facilitating inclusive discussions where all members feel comfortable sharing their views.
Creating intellectually humbling environments is another critical area where psychologists can contribute. This involves scaffolding critical thinking by introducing tools and frameworks that prompt groups to consider alternative viewpoints and potential weaknesses in their reasoning. Additionally, developing reward systems that recognize and reinforce intellectually humble behaviors within the group can further promote a culture of humility.
