Humility reduces anger and promotes more benign interpretations of conflict
Research published in Personality and Individual Differences suggests that humility—both as a trait and as an experimentally induced state—was associated with lower levels of anger and reduced hostile attributions in ambiguous social situations.
Anger can be a destructive and difficult-to-regulate emotion, often linked to interpersonal and societal conflicts. Existing research suggests that humility—a psychological construct characterized by openness, accurate self-assessment, low self-focus, and appreciation of others—might serve as a protective factor against anger and aggression. Eddie Harmon-Jones and colleagues conducted this study to explore these associations further.
The research consisted of three studies designed to examine the relationship between humility and anger. Studies 1 (n = 166) and 2 (n = 112) employed a correlational approach to assess whether trait humility, as measured by various scales, was associated with reduced anger-related responses. In these studies, participants completed multiple questionnaires, including the Brief State Humility Scale, HEXACO Honesty-Humility subscale, and an intellectual humility scale. [Continue reading…]