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Phoenix666 writes:

People who think they know it all—or at least, a lot—may be on to something, according to a Baylor University study.

The finding was a surprise to researchers at Baylor and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, who had theorized that "intellectual humility"—having an accurate or moderate view of one's intelligence and being open to criticism and ideas—would correlate with grades.

But being full of oneself when it came to rating one's intellectual arrogance—an exaggerated view of intellectual ability and knowledge—instead generally predicted academic achievement, especially on individual course work, according to the study. The research—"Contrasting self-report and consensus ratings of intellectual humility and arrogance"—is published in the Journal of Research in Personality and funded by a grant from The John Templeton Foundation.

"One possibility is that people who view themselves as intellectually arrogant know what they know and that translates to increases in academic performance," said researcher Wade C. Rowatt, Ph.D., Baylor professor of psychology and neuroscience.

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