Department of Psychology, University of Toronto.
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2018 Feb;114(2):258-269. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000109. Epub 2017 Aug 31.
Humility is a foundational virtue that counters selfish inclinations such as entitlement, arrogance, and narcissism (Tangney, 2000). We hypothesize that experiences of awe promote greater humility. Guided by an appraisal-tendency framework of emotion, we propose that when individuals encounter an entity that is vast and challenges their worldview, they feel awe, which leads to self-diminishment and subsequently humility. In support of these claims, awe-prone individuals were rated as more humble by friends (Study 1) and reported greater humility across a 2-week period (Study 2), controlling for other positive emotions. Inducing awe led participants to present a more balanced view of their strengths and weaknesses to others (Study 3) and acknowledge, to a greater degree, the contribution of outside forces in their own personal accomplishments (Study 4), compared with neutral and positive control conditions. Finally, an awe-inducing expansive view elicited greater reported humility than a neutral view (Study 5). We also elucidated the process by which awe leads to humility. Feelings of awe mediated the relationship between appraisals (perceptions of vastness and a challenge to one's world view) and humility (Study 4), and self-diminishment mediated the relationship between awe and humility (Study 5). Taken together, these results reveal that awe offers one path to greater humility. (PsycINFO Database Record
谦逊是一种基本美德，可以抵制自私倾向，如权利感、傲慢和自恋（Tangney，2000）。我们假设敬畏体验可以促进更大的谦逊。受情绪评价倾向框架的指导，我们提出当个体遇到一个巨大的、挑战其世界观的实体时，他们会感到敬畏，这导致自我贬低，从而产生谦逊。为了支持这些说法，敬畏倾向的个体被朋友评为更谦逊（研究 1），并在两周的时间内报告了更高的谦逊度（研究 2），同时控制了其他积极情绪。敬畏感使参与者向他人展示了更平衡的关于自己优缺点的观点（研究 3），并在更大程度上承认外部力量对自己个人成就的贡献（研究 4），与中性和积极的控制条件相比。最后，与中性观点相比，敬畏感引起的扩展观点引发了更高的谦逊感报告（研究 5）。我们还阐明了敬畏感导致谦逊的过程。敬畏感在评价（对广阔性的感知和对自己世界观的挑战）和谦逊（研究 4）之间的关系中起中介作用，自我贬低在敬畏和谦逊之间的关系中起中介作用（研究 5）。综上所述，这些结果表明，敬畏感提供了一种通向更高谦逊感的途径。
