Psychoblog

Dear All,

The RTG 2906 „Curiosity“ invites to a Guest Talk: „The Epistemic and the Social: How Intellectual Humility Develops and Why It Is Hard to Practice„. The talk is delivered by Samuel Ronfard from the University of Toronto. Scheduled for June 2nd, 12:15 pm to 1:30 pm in Waldweg 26 (high-rise building), room 2.111.

What is the lecture about?

As children encounter diverse perspectives and evolving knowledge, they must learn to weigh information and revise their beliefs appropriately. Nurturing intellectual humility (IH)—recognizing we might be wrong, that others have valuable knowledge, and that our beliefs should change in response to evidence—offers a pathway for developing these skills. Yet we know surprisingly little about how IH develops or why, despite recognizing its value, people often fail to practice it. In this talk, I present a program of research examining the development of IH from its behavioral origins in early childhood to its emergence as a measurable trait and discuss its expression, and suppression, in social contexts.

About the speaker

Samuel Ronfard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga, where he directs the Childhood Learning and Development Lab. His current research examines the social forces that shape whether children and adults seek out and engage with information that challenges their beliefs and on the development of intellectual humility. His research has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the John Templeton Foundation. He completed his dissertation at Harvard University with Paul L. Harris.

No registration necessary, all are welcome.