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critique of statistical validity must address two main points, (1) effect size and (2) statistical significance. Effect Size: Whether/How do they report how large their effect was or how much variability was there? For example was it an R-value? Was it a Beta in a regression table? Was it a difference between means? Was it a percentage? Using self-affirmation to increase intellectual humility in debate Regular healthy public debates signal a progressive and democratic society, but meaningful interactions and reciprocal attitude change can only occur if respective parties listen to each other in an open-minded, calm and tolerant way [1]. Unfortunately, this is not a common experience during debate, with many people experiencing stress and frustration from conversations with which 2023 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Commons Attribution License http://commons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. Downloaded from https://royalsocietypublishing.org/ on 03 February 2023 they disagree [2]. Debaters often insult the competence of others, engage in ad hominem attacks, show no willingness to even consider changing their perspectives when presented with alternatives and fail to accept their own limitations. These divisive characteristics pose a risk to democratic coherence in societies, potentially exacerbating violent conflict and putting individuals materially and psychologically at risk. An antidote to this situation, intellectual humility, is receiving increasing attention. Philosophers understand intellectual humility as the disposition to own or accept one's intellectual shortcomings out of a genuine desire for knowledge and truth [3,4]. This orientation is often contrasted with intellectually arrogant and intellectually servile behaviour, which obstruct the acquisition of knowledge and understanding [5,6]. Intellectual arrogance entails expressing an unquestioned superiority in one's attitudes, and intell