The Art of Being Wrong: A Systematic Review and Integrative Model for Promoting Intellectual Humility

ABSTRACT

In an era of rising affective polarization, intellectual humility (IH)—the non‐threatening awareness of one's own intellectual fallibility—is gaining increasing importance. In light of fragmented evidence on how IH can be cultivated, we conducted a systematic review of 24 empirical studies to identify psychological competencies underlying IH and effective interventions to promote it. We identify a set of competencies and interventions, organized along a framework distinguishing between cognitive, emotional and motivational dimensions. Key competencies include cognitive flexibility, emotional resilience and sustained motivation, while key interventions involve practices like reflective writing and self‐affirmation tasks. We propose an Integrative Ecosystem Model of Intellectual Humility where IH is enacted through a core psychological process we term Regulated Self‐Awareness , a dynamic process of monitoring and regulating one's internal states in relation to an intellectual matter. This core process is supported by a set of enabling conditions consisting of cognitive flexibility, emotional resilience and sustained motivation. The model conceptualizes IH not as a single trait but as a dynamic, whole‐person capacity enacted within an ecosystem. This core argument challenges a purely cognitive view, emphasizing that without foundational emotional and motivational competencies, the process of Regulated Self‐Awareness remains superficial or is blocked by defensiveness. The model offers educators and practitioners a roadmap for designing programmes that effectively cultivate intellectual humility to address societal challenges such as affective polarization. Please refer to the section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.