Perceptions of Humility: A Preliminary Study

Do people perceive humility as a strength or a weakness? The current study examined this question in a sample of 127 undergraduates. Contrary to common dictionary definitions of humility, which often emphasize its association with self-abasement, participants reported consistently positive views of humility. When recalling situations in which they felt humble, they typically reported success experiences associated with positive emotion. Participants clearly associated humility with good psychological adjustment, although they were less decisive about whether humility was associated with confidence or leadership. Although participants viewed humility as a strength across all social roles sampled, humility was viewed most favorably as a quality of religious seekers, less favorably as a quality of close others or subordinates, and least favorably as a quality of leaders or entertainers. Positive views of humility were associated with high self-esteem and religiosity. Less favorable views of humility were associated with narcissism-particularly its exploiting/entitled dimension.