Intellectual humility predicts receptivity to negative feedback that supports learning

Defensive avoidance of negative feedback on one’s intellectual performance hinders learning. The authors hypothesized that intellectual humility (IH) – recognizing that one’s beliefs may be fallible or limited – will positively predict receptivity to such feedback. In Study 1, high (vs. low) IH participants were more receptive to (false) negative performance feedback after accounting for social desirability, performance motivation, and test performance. Study 2 demonstrated that this relationship is context-dependent: high-IH participants were more receptive to negative feedback only when it afforded actionable opportunities for improvement. In a conceptual replication using a more proactive operationalization of receptivity, Study 3 showed that high-IH participants preferred improvement-affording feedback over convenient but uninformative feedback. By demonstrating the interplay between individual differences in IH and aspects of the intellectual performance context, these results inform interventions aimed at cultivating IH and promoting openness to feedback as a means of supporting long-term learning and self-improvement.