Research shows that most people believe themselves to be above average when it comes to most things. And, for some, being right has become less of a virtue and more of a defensive stance. Standing our ground on trivial issues may damage our relationships and make us more susceptible to disinformation campaigns. To discover the strategies that help us to increase our critical thinking skills and our intellectual humility, Positive Psychology Podcast Host, Lisa Cypers Kamen, speaks with two experts about their work in what motivates humans to think critically. Mark Leary, a professor emeritus at Duke, describes the three benefits to being intellectually humble, the history of the study of intellectual humility, and strategies to increase connection and creativity by increasing intellectual humility. Author and Research Fellow, Lee McIntyre, shares excerpts from his book, How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason and describes how to practice inclusion with those who absorb the information provided by disinformation campaigns.

About Lisa’s guests: 

Mark Leary is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. For more than 40 years, he’s studied the psychology of emotion and motivation, with an interest in processes that underlie human well-being and strong social relationships.

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan. Formerly Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, he has also served as a policy advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and as Associate Editor in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

This episode of Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio is sponsored by: 

Futurology Podcast — Have you ever thought about how and why thought trends lead to the innovations of tomorrow? Audible and SXSW have a new podcast, Futurology: 12 Big Questions About What's Next to explore the future of everyday activities. Listen to the first 4 episodes now on Audible at Audible.com/Futurology.