Humility facilitates higher self-control

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Highlights

  • We hypothesize that humility enhances self-control.

  • Recalling humility experiences improved performance in a handgrip task (Studies 1 and 4), food abstinence task (Study 2), and tracing task (Study 3) than recalling other experiences.

  • In Studies 3 and 4, reported self-control was higher in the humility condition compared to the low and high self-esteem conditions.

  • We discuss how the findings might be relevant to understanding outcomes associated with humility.

Abstract

Prior evidence and existing theories imply that humility engenders intra- and inter-personal attributes that facilitate self-regulatory abilities. Four experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that humility predicts enhanced self-control. Participants who recalled humility experiences were found to be better able at sustaining their physical stamina in a handgrip task (Studies 1 and 4), resisting indulgence in chocolates (Study 2), and persevering in a frustrating tracing task (Study 3) than those who recalled neutral experiences. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that the effect of humility was distinct from that of self-esteem, which did not affect self-control. Study 2 ruled out two alternative hypotheses concerning achievement and compliance motives. We discuss how the findings might relate to outcomes associated with humility as evidenced in past studies.

Section snippets

Humility

Research on humility remains thin, but the available literature suggests that humility is associated with several intra- and inter-personal qualities. In the intrapersonal domain, theorists have posited that humble people have a balanced view of themselves (e.g., Emmons, 1999, Exline et al., 2004, Owen et al., 2013, Peterson and Seligman, 2004, Tangney, 2009). Specifically, they are able to acknowledge their failures and imperfections without self-deprecation, and view their achievements and

Humility and self-control

Self-control involves volitional engagement of physical or psychological resources in order to attain desired goals or overcome impulses (Baumeister, 2005, Carver and Scheier, 1981). It is instrumental for generating adaptive personal and social responses, and predicts important life outcomes such as higher grades, better social relationships, and health-promoting behaviors (e.g., Funder et al., 1983, Hagger et al., 2009, Tangney et al., 2004). In contrast, the lack of self-control has been

Overview of state humility manipulation

In all studies, participants in the humility condition recalled an incident in which they felt humble. They were asked to describe their experiences vividly, aided by question prompts (e.g., “What happened?”, “what did you do?”). Those in the neutral condition recalled a mundane day in which nothing happened (Studies 1, 2 and 4) or a routine household activity (Study 3), aided by similar question prompts. A third condition was introduced in Studies 3 and 4, in which participants recalled an

Study 1

In Study 1, self-control was measured by how long participants could compress a handgrip for. The handgrip task requires sustained exertion and is widely used for measuring control of physical stamina (e.g., Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998). We expected that those in the humility condition should compress the handgrip longer than those in the neutral condition.

We conducted several secondary analyses. We examined whether prior experience of using the handgrip and previous hand injury might

Study 2

Study 2 was designed with three main objectives in mind. First, it was aimed at replicating the results of Study 1 but using a different indicator of self-control, the ability to resist food indulgence (e.g., Winterich & Haws, 2011). We presented participants with a bowl of M&Ms, and tested whether those in the humility condition consumed fewer chocolates than those in the neutral condition. Second, there was a possible methodological shortcoming in Study 1. It could be unclear whether the

Study 3

In Study 3, self-control was operationalized as persistence in a frustrating task (e.g., Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998). Participants undertook a tracing task which, unknown to them, was unsolvable. We predicted that humility would lead to higher persistence, measured by the amount of time spent on the task.

Studies 1 and 2 showed that humility does not entail lower self-esteem relative to baseline. However, the question of whether humility and LSE would produce differentiated effects on

Study 4

Conceptual replication was obtained across Studies 1 to 3, but direct replication was lacking. Hence, in Study 4, the effect of humility on handgrip performance was re-examined. Also, we examined whether humility would affect self-control differently from HSE. Thus, HSE was manipulated in addition to humility and a neutral state. Again, self-control was predicted to be higher in the humility condition relative to the neutral condition. No prediction was made with regard to the effect of HSE on

General discussion

We hypothesized that humility predicts higher self-control, and found support for our hypothesis over four studies. Participants were asked to recall personal experiences of humility (or other states) before engaging in standard self-control tasks. Those who recalled humility experiences were better able to sustain their grip on a handgrip (Studies 1 and 4), resist appetizing chocolates (Study 2), and persevere in a frustrating task (Study 3), than those who recalled neutral experiences.

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