A study by Harvard and UNC Chapel Hill found that people dislike “humble bragging” more than regular bragging. Humblebraggers use false complaints or humility to hide their boasting, but it actually achieves the opposite result. Humility bragging is prevalent in society, with common examples being perfectionism, working too hard, being too nice, and being too fair. Examples of humble bragging can be found on social media, such as former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer’s tweet about missing Air Force One, and English actor Stephen Fry’s post about being overwhelmed at the airport.
Don’t you just hate that narcissistic dude who’s always bragging about how wonderful he is? Well, a 2018 study by researchers at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that we hate “bragging with humility” even more. Humblebraggers are those insincere people who hide themselves by boasting false complaints or false humility, such as “I find it hard to take breaks from my desk because I’m a hard worker.” Researchers have found that humility bragging is prevalent in society and that instead of self-promotion, it actually achieves the opposite result. People are apt to think more favorably of honest boasting than of the false humility associated with humble bragging.
Bragging rights and wrongs:
Researchers have found that the most common humility involves being a perfectionist, working too hard, being too nice and helpful, or being too fair and honest.
You will find humble bragging rights all over social media. For example, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer tweeted: “They just announced my flight at LaGuardia is number 15 for takeoff. I miss Air Force One!!”
Or listen to English actor and comedian Stephen Fry, who posted: “Oh dear. I don’t know what to do at the airport. Massive crowd, but I’ll miss my plane if I stop to take pictures… oh dear, I don’t want to disappoint you.”
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