ABSTRACT
Thomas Aquinas defined virtue as ultimum potentiae, or the highest potential a person could achieve (Alvarez-Segura, Echavarria, & Vitz, 2015). The positive psychology movement has long supported the promotion of virtue-based flourishing, both in the presence and absence of adversity (Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). In this chapter, we define humility and consider its role in psychopathology, making the promotion of humility of interest. Next, we review the few existing studies that explore how one might work to increase one’s level of humility and consider the extent to which the promotion of humility is adaptive. We then highlight the sparse amount of humility intervention research and propose future research directions.
