Our Gemara on Amud Beis rells us about King Yoshiyahu’s repentance that was aroused after hearing the words of rebuke in the Torah, which can be found in II Kings 22). Chovos Halevavos (Gate III, Avodas Elokim:10) discussed the virtue of humility, which Yoshiyahu displayed, and allowed him to take the rebuke fully to heart.

Let us study the virtue of humility from a psychological perspective. According to researchers  Hendijani & Sohrabi (2019) The effect of humility on emotional and social competencies: The mediating role of judgment, Cogent Business & Management, 6:1, 1641257.  Link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2019.1641257 ):

Humility can have a significant effect on building emotional and social competencies...Humility has proved to have a significant effect on individuals’ effort for learning and personal improvement. Without humility, individuals are unable to understand and learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others and use that understanding to improve themselves (Seijts, Gandz, Crossan, & Reno, 2015). Humility results in better self-awareness which is the first step in continual learning and personal development (Crossan, Mazutis, Seijts, & Gandz, 2013a; Crossan, Vera, & Nanjad, 2008).

High levels of humility can have a significant positive effect on judgment and decision-making. Based on the decision-making literature, personal biases can negatively affect judgment and decision-making. Among different types of biases, overconfidence bias has been widely discussed as one of the most dangerous ones (Moore & Healy, 2008).

I will add a comment here.  If you ask most people if they are above average intelligence, they will say, “yes, of course”.  Now, we must consider that it is mathematically impossible for most people to be above average, as then the new average would change.  Average by definition is the area where most people cluster.  How do we explain this?  People tend to emphasize the value of their strengths while minimizing the impact of their deficits.  For example, if I have an anger management problem, I will likely say to myself, “But I am generous and quick to forgive, so that’s what really counts.” And, the reverse, if I silently simmer in my anger and bear grudges for a long time, I will say to myself, “Well at least I am a gentleman.”

The researchers Hendijani & Sohrabi go on to say: Overconfidence bias is generally related to lack of humility. Humility results in a realistic and proper estimation of one’s self, personal abilities, and knowledge. Overconfidence bias, however, is an overestimation of one’s personal self, abilities, performance, or success probabilities compared to others (Moore & Healy, 2008). Overconfidence bias has been proposed as one of the main predictors of catastrophic phenomena such as wars, business failures, and stock market bubbles (Camerer & Lovallo, 1999; Glaser & Weber, 2007; Johnson, 2004; Moore & Healy, 2008). Thus, overconfidence bias can negatively impact judgment and decision-making. On the other hand, higher levels of humility can control the level of personal confidence and prevent from falling into the trap of overconfidence bias which results in hubris and arrogance (Vera & Rodriguez-Lopez, 2004).

In Gottman’s landmark 20 year longitudinal study of couples, he found that a key trait of successful marriages was the influenceability of the husband. Thus does not mean the husband HAS to obey his wife; it simply means that he is open to influence and can, at times, adapt and respond to her input. The study is interesting in that a woman’s influenceability was not a factor. This is presumably because women are influenceable enough at baseline so it does not statistically stand out as a criteria for success, although of course it is anyway. 

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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