How Intellectual Humility Enhances Affective Well-Being: Daily Diary Studies on the Mediating Roles of Daily Uplift...

While intellectual humility has gained increasing prominence as a cognitive construct, its implications for affective well-being remain less understood.

The present paper draws on 7-day daily diary datasets (Study 1: N_participants = 253, N_observations = 1721; Study 2: N_participants = 485, N_observations = 3218) to examine how trait intellectual humility relates to daily positive and negative affect during uplifting and stressful events. We also tested potential mechanisms underlying the link between intellectual humility and affective well-being by examining whether intellectual humility moderates affective reactions to daily events or whether it indirectly enhances affective well-being by influencing the frequency of daily uplift and stressor exposure.

Across both studies, intellectual humility was associated with less daily negative affect. Associations with daily positive affect remained significant until Big Five personality was included. There was no evidence that intellectual humility moderated affective reactivity to daily uplifts or stressors. Instead, mediation analyses supported a pathway where intellectual humility indicated more daily uplift exposure, which predicted less daily negative affect. Daily stressor exposure showed limited indirect effects.

These findings suggest that intellectual humility supports affective well-being by influencing the frequency and nature of daily experiences. This research demonstrates how intellectual humility contributes to emotional well-being in everyday life.