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Study identifies ‘hypo-egoic nonentitlement’ as a central feature of humility

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https://www.psypost.org/2019/10/new-psyc...lity-54657

INTRO: A concept known as hypo-egoic nonentitlement might be the defining characteristic of humility, according to a new study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. The research found that humility is unrelated to downplaying your positive traits and accomplishments. Rather, what separates the humble from the nonhumble is the belief that your positive traits and accomplishments do not entitle you to special treatment.

“One of my interests for many years has involved ways in which excessive self-preoccupation and egotism can create personal and interpersonal problems for people. I published a book on this topic in 2004 called ‘The Curse of the Self,'” said Mark Leary, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and the corresponding author of the study.

“More recently, I became interested in ‘hypo-egoic’ phenomena in which people devote less attention to themselves than they typically do, and humility falls in that category (along with other hypo-egoic phenomena such as flow, mindfulness, awe, and mystical experiences).”

“In reading the small research literature on humility, I found that, although we have a good idea of what humble people are like, no one had had tried to identify the central feature of humility – the one thing that characterizes all humble people. So, that’s what piqued our interest in humility,” Leary explained.

In two studies [...] The researchers found that people who scored higher on measures of humility were less likely to believe that their accomplishments or characteristics entitled them to special treatment. But humility was unrelated to participants’ evaluations of their accomplishments and characteristics. In other words, humble people viewed their characteristics and accomplishments as special, but they did not believe they deserved to be treated differently because of their special characteristics and accomplishments.

“In our view, humility is not about underestimating or downplaying your accomplishments or positive characteristics. Everyone who has studied humility agrees that humble people probably see themselves more accurately than the average person, so they know that they’re good at whatever it is they’re good at,” Leary told PsyPost. “The central feature that characterizes humble people, in my view, is ‘hypo-egoic nonentitlement’ — they do not think that they are entitled to be treated special as a person because of their accomplishments or positive characteristics.”

“Humble people recognize that, their special accomplishments or attributes not withstanding, they are just like everybody else, with a host of shortcomings, weaknesses, hang-ups, and failures. So, they don’t expect extra attention, interest, favors, or special treatment from other people,” Leary explained. But, as with all research, the study includes some caveats.... (MORE)
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