Sociopolitical Intellectual Humility as a Predictor of Political Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.5553

Commentary

While recent research has highlighted the link between politics and intellectual humility, there is a study that examined self-reported sociopolitical intellectual humility (SIH) in a US sample (N = 852).

This is a non-threatening perception of the fallibility of one's views on topics central to society and politics.

SIH was found to be associated with a lower likelihood of disliking/avoiding political discussions, higher political tolerance, lower social dominance orientation, and more values and behavioral intentions focused on social equality, even when managing political orientation and other related factors.

It was also associated with more positive and less negative views of individuals expressing political views. In addition, the SIH moderated the extent to which initial agreement with a political statement resulted in a change of opinion based on hearing others' arguments on the topic.

The results of this study show how SIH relates to people's attitudes toward others in society.