Intellectual humility predicts COVID‐19 preventive practices through greater adoption of data‐driven information and feelings of responsibility

Abstract

AbstractPreventive health practices have been crucial to mitigating viral spread during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In two studies, we examined whether intellectual humility—openness to one's existing knowledge being inaccurate—related to greater engagement in preventive health practices (social distancing, handwashing, mask‐wearing). In Study 1, we found that intellectually humble people were more likely to engage in COVID‐19 preventive practices. Additionally, this link was driven by intellectually humble people's tendency to adopt information from data‐driven sources (e.g., medical experts) and greater feelings of responsibility over the outcomes of COVID‐19. In Study 2, we found support for these relationships over time (2 weeks). Additionally, Study 2 showed that the link between intellectual humility and preventive practices was driven by a greater tendency to adopt data‐driven information when encountering it, rather than actively seeking out such information. These findings reveal the promising role of intellectual humility in making well‐informed decisions during public health crises.