The journal Psychological Reports has published two studies that shed new light on the positive mental health benefits of humility. Higher self-efficacy and a greater love of life were found in college students who were more humble, while older adults had a greater sense of well-being.
Studies show that humility has numerous benefits for mental health, making it a hot topic in the field of positive psychology. However, scientists disagree on what exactly constitutes humility.
There are two components to humility, according to researchers Lisa T. Ross and Jennifer C. Wright. They are aware of their flaws and respect others’ opinions, but they do not disparage or degrade themselves. According to Ross and Wright, humility is a trait-like quality that does not change over time, contrary to the views of some scholars.
Two separate studies were conducted in order to investigate the relationship between humility and mental health among 399 US college students and 509 older US adults. Humility and love of life, a psychological construct characterized by a pleasurable attachment to life, were examined in this study in a way not previously done.
The Dual Dimension Humility Scale was a newer measure of humility used on the two samples. We looked at five different types of humility, including other-oriented humility (e.g., “I often put the interests of others ahead of my own”), environmental humility (“We should always try to be in harmony with Mother Nature”), religious humility (e.g., “Ultimately, there is a Supreme Being who gets all the credit and glory for our individual accomplishments”), and cosmic humility (e.g., “I often find myself pondering my smallness in the face of such greatness”). Additional psychological and personality tests were also administered to the participants.
Studies in both samples showed that humility was associated with a variety of positive mental health outcomes, although the specifics varied. All five dimensions of humility were linked to a greater love of life among college students. There was a link between fewer depressive symptoms and environmental humility as well as other-oriented humility. People who were more religious, valuing, and other-oriented in their humility were more content.
Social self-efficacy, a subdomain of general self-efficacy, was found to be linked to all of the humility domains except religious humility, whereas religious humility was not. According to the authors, “these associations are a good reminder that self-efficacy does not indicate one is a braggart or possesses an unmitigated sense of worthiness.” The difference between self-confidence and self-aggrandizement is clear.”
Humility in all other domains except religious humility was linked to greater conscientious, greater openness, and less neurotic personality traits. These humility domains were also linked to a lower level of agreeableness, despite the researchers’ expectations.
Except for religious humility, higher well-being was associated with higher levels of adult humility. Adults with lower levels of anxiety were found to be more modest. As a result, those who rated themselves lower on the humility and environmental humility scales also reported lower levels of anxiety. Overall, humility was linked to a greater openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness in personality traits.
For better mental health outcomes, Ross and Wright explore the possibility of strengthening humility through intervention. Research conducted by Lavelock and associates in 2014 discovered modesty, patience, and kindness were all improved as a result of experimentally increasing humility through workbook assignments. The current study authors suggest that future research could examine whether mindfulness practice encourages humility, noting that certain meditation styles encourage a focus on others. A more accurate comparison would have been possible if the adult and college samples had completed all of the same measures, according to the authors.