Transparency triumphs: the influence of intellectual transparency in love and work

Some virtues are referred to as “other-regarding intellectual virtues” because they focus on aiding other people to gain epistemic goods such as knowledge or understanding. Research on the associations between other-regarding intellectual virtues and important outcomes in the domains of love and work has been extremely limited. In the present research, we conducted two studies focused on Intellectual Transparency (IT)—an other-regarding intellectual virtue that involves faithfully sharing one’s perspective with others to help them gain knowledge. In Study 1, using actor-partner interdependence models with 134 romantic couples, we found that an individual’s IT predicted multiple indicators of relationship quality for the partner when controlling for Big Five personality traits. In Study 2, using hierarchical regressions with 126 worker-supervisor dyads, we found that a worker’s IT predicted supervisor ratings of the worker’s job performance and organizational citizenship when controlling for Big Five traits and the worker’s honesty and love of learning. We discuss whether IT promotes positive outcomes for others more than oneself in love and work.