In the humility study, which statement best captures the effect of reflecting on past mistakes?

• A. Reflecting on past mistakes associated with learning increases humility.
• B. Reflecting on past mistakes associated with learning decreases humility.
• C. Humility is unaffected by past mistakes.
• D. Learning from mistakes always leads to higher performance rather than humility.

Answer: (A)

Thinking about past mistakes as learning opportunities can boost humility. When mistakes are viewed through a learning lens, they highlight our fallibility and the need to grow, which makes us more open to feedback and less confident in an inflated view of ourselves. That alignment is why reflecting on past mistakes associated with learning increases humility. The other ideas—reflecting would decrease humility, having no effect, or claiming that learning from mistakes always raises performance at the expense of humility—don’t fit the observed pattern, which shows a specific humility boost from framing mistakes as chances to learn.