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Wisdom: A Metaheuristic (Pragmatic) to Orchestrate Mind and Virtue Toward Excellence
American Psychologist
Abstract
The primary focus of this article is on the presentation of wisdom research conducted under the heading of the Berlin wisdom paradigm. Informed by a cultural-historical analysis, wisdom in this paradigm is defined as an expert knowledge system concerning the fundamental pragmatics of life. These include knowledge and judgment about the meaning and conduct of life and the orchestration of human development toward excellence while attending conjointly to personal and collective well-being. Measurement includes think-aloud protocols concerning various problems of life associated with life planning, life management, and life review. Responses are evaluated with reference to a family of 5 criteria: rich factual and procedural knowledge, lifespan contextualism, relativism of values and life priorities, and recognition and management of uncertainty. A series of studies is reported that aim to describe, explain, and optimize wisdom. The authors conclude with a new theoretical perspective that characterizes wisdom as a cognitive and motivational metaheuristic (pragmatic) that organizes and orchestrates knowledge toward human excellence in mind and virtue, both individually and collectively.
... They suggested that wisdom addresses complex and uncertain life dilemmas, requiring higher-order cognitive skills that go beyond those of formal operational thought (e.g., Alexander & Langer, 1990). In line with this post formalist approach to wisdom, theories suggested that the end of wisdom and wise problem-solving is supporting human to live a good life (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Further empirical investigations were consistent with this idea, illustrating positive associations of wisdom with mental health and wellbeing (Webster et al., 2014). ...
... They theorised wisdom as an expert knowledge system, one that equips people when dealing with important life situations. This happens in three domains of time when people: (a) review the past, (b) manage the present and (c) plan for the future of their lives (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). ...
... The BWP presents some wisdom-related knowledge criteria, which are used within performance measures to evaluate wise performance in hypothetical scenarios. These are (1) rich knowledge of facts meaning declarative knowledge about human nature, social relationships, processes of human development and their connections with interpersonal variations; (2) rich knowledge of procedures which comprises knowledge of practical processes used to respond to life matters (3) value relativism meaning the capacity and knowledge for accepting and tolerating diversity of values and life priorities, (4) life span contextualism which involves awareness of various contexts (e.g., developmental contexts) in which life situations are embedded; and (5) recognition and management of life uncertainties and ambiguities (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Ardelt (2003) criticised the excessive focus of earlier frameworks (e.g., Baltes & Staudinger, 2000;Sternberg, 1998) on cognitive aspects of wisdom. ...
Emotional dysregulation (ED), a hallmark of psychiatric disorders, is characterised by an impaired ability to regulate unpleasant emotions. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) reduce symptoms of mental health conditions with presence of ED. This has encouraged empirical research on mindfulness within the context of emotional difficulties. Mindfulness is defined as awareness cultivated through non-judgemental attention to the present moment. Wisdom is defined as the application of meta-cognitive capacities for navigating complex social and ethical life matters. While wisdom is conceptually linked to mindfulness, the relationship between these constructs and their connection to emotion regulation (ER) remains understudied. To fill this gap, this study investigated the relationship between wisdom and mindfulness, and compared mindfulness and wisdom among healthy adults with high and low ED. This cross-sectional study, involving 132 healthy adults (103 female), employed valid and reliable self-reported measures. Results indicated a large positive correlation between wisdom and mindfulness, with factor analysis supporting a single underlying factor. Healthy adults with lower levels of ED showed higher levels of mindfulness and wisdom compared to those with high ED. These findings support a positive association between wisdom, mindfulness, and decreased ED, calling into question the existing theoretical differences between wisdom and mindfulness, which suggest they would not converge into the same empirical concept. Future studies should explore the role of mindfulness in wisdom and its potential as an antidote to ED.
... Time is an integral part of virtually all psychological phenomena (Carstensen, 2006) and the key to learning how to live a fulfilling life is discovering how to achieve a balanced time perspective (BTP) (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004). Wisdom is considered to be the optimal level of functioning, both as the means and the end for human beings in pursuit of happiness (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Therefore, wisdom, as the prototypical form of a fulfilling life (i.e., happiness, well-being, flourish), can be attained by pursuing BTP. ...
... A recent study suggested that a present (best self) and future (gratitude) time perspective predicted greater safety, emotional regulation, and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown . In addition, a BTP is associated with higher levels of well-being and wisdom (Webster et al., 2014), with wisdom serving as both the goal and the path to a fulfilling and happy life for humanity (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). This direct and indirect evidence suggests a strong correlation between a BTP and wisdom. ...
... Overall, we consistently found that a BTP was the most robust predictor of wisdom. Wisdom is commonly perceived as an outgrowth of time and matures as individuals accumulate life experiences, refine their moral reasoning, and adjust their attitudes toward life (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). It also necessitates an emphasis on time-related perspectives, positive reflections on past life experiences, and an acknowledgment of the significance of establishing Fig. 4 The boundary effect of emotional ambivalence on the link between BTP and wisdom growth (PTG, Dorfman et al., 2021). ...
The zero-COVID-19 policy was proven to be effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 but has had significant impacts on people’s emotions, time perspectives, and decision-making. The current study performed five rounds of data collection (N = 1095) to investigate the time perspectives, emotions, and wisdom experiences of individuals under the zero-COVID-19 policy implementation. Hierarchical linear modeling and generalized linear hypothesis testing revealed that a balanced time perspective is the most powerful time perspective predictor of wisdom and that emotional diversity is the most powerful emotional predictor of wisdom. Moreover, emotional diversity exhibits distinct boundary effects. More precisely, among emotional indicators, “non-pessimism” is the most reliable predictor of wisdom. The moderation effect analysis showed that heightened emotional diversity amplifies the beneficial effect of a balanced time perspective on wisdom. All these effects are consistent across the zero-COVID period. This finding suggests that maintaining a balanced time perspective during a major public crisis might contribute to wise decision-making.
... Time is an integral part of virtually all psychological phenomena (Carstensen, 2006) and the key to learning how to live a fulfilling life is discovering how to achieve a balanced time perspective (BTP) (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004). Wisdom is considered to be the optimal level of functioning, both as the means and the end for human beings in pursuit of happiness (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Therefore, wisdom, as the prototypical form of a fulfilling life (i.e., happiness, well-being, flourish), can be attained by pursuing BTP. ...
... A recent study suggested that a present (best self) and future (gratitude) time perspective predicted greater safety, emotional regulation, and well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown . In addition, a BTP is associated with higher levels of well-being and wisdom (Webster et al., 2014), with wisdom serving as both the goal and the path to a fulfilling and happy life for humanity (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). This direct and indirect evidence suggests a strong correlation between a BTP and wisdom. ...
... Overall, we consistently found that a BTP was the most robust predictor of wisdom. Wisdom is commonly perceived as an outgrowth of time and matures as individuals accumulate life experiences, refine their moral reasoning, and adjust their attitudes toward life (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). It also necessitates an emphasis on time-related perspectives, positive reflections on past life experiences, and an acknowledgment of the significance of establishing Fig. 4 The boundary effect of emotional ambivalence on the link between BTP and wisdom growth (PTG, Dorfman et al., 2021). ...
The zero-COVID-19 policy was proven to be effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 but has had significant impacts on people’s emotions, time perspectives, and decision-making. The current study performed five rounds of data collection (N = 1095) to investigate the time perspectives, emotions, and wisdom experiences of individuals under the zero-COVID-19 policy implementation. Hierarchical linear modeling and generalized linear hypothesis testing revealed that a balanced time perspective is the most powerful time perspective predictor of wisdom and that emotional diversity is the most powerful emotional predictor of wisdom. Moreover, emotional diversity exhibits distinct boundary effects. More precisely, among emotional indicators, “non-pessimism” is the most reliable predictor of wisdom. The moderation effect analysis showed that heightened emotional diversity amplifies the beneficial effect of a balanced time perspective on wisdom. All these effects are consistent across the zero-COVID period. This finding suggests that maintaining a balanced time perspective during a major public crisis might contribute to wise decision-making.
... Дослідження Пола Балтеса [15] свідчать, що процес переосмислення життєвого досвіду сприяє розвитку мудрості, яка є інтегративним аспектом самодостатності. Мудрість допомагає особистості приймати неминучі зміни й утрати з розумінням, зберігаючи внутрішню рівновагу. ...
... Незважаючи на це, самодостатність може зберігатися за рахунок розвитку адаптаційних стратегій. Дослідження Джоан Ерікті [15] підтверджують, що збереження когнітивної активності (наприклад, через навчання нових навичок чи участь у хобі) позитивно впливає на самодостатність і життєздатність. ...
У статті досліджено вікові особливості розвитку самодостатності особистості, що є ключовим складником її психологічного благополуччя й адаптивності. Розглянуто основні компоненти самодостатності, зокрема автономію, внутрішню цілісність і самооцінку, а також їх роль у формуванні самостійності й життєстійкості особистості на різних етапах життєвого циклу. Особливу увагу приділено віковим аспектам розвитку самодостатності: від дитинства, де формуються базові елементи автономії під впливом виховання та соціалізації, до похилого віку, коли самодостатність розглядається в контексті переосмислення життєвого досвіду й зниження фізичних і соціальних ресурсів. Проаналізовано зв’язок самодостатності з такими поняттями, як самореалізація, самоповага й емоційна зрілість, що дає змогу краще зрозуміти її місце в структурі особистості. Наведено огляд сучасних теорій, які висвітлюють визначення самодостатності та її ключові компоненти, а також запропоновано нові підходи до аналізу цього явища. Метою роботи є систематизація наукових даних щодо розвитку самодостатності й висвітлення її вікових аспектів, що сприяє визначенню пріоритетів у психологічній практиці та педагогічній діяльності. У результаті дослідження сформульовано висновки про значення самодостатності для особистісного розвитку та її роль у гармонізації міжособистісних взаємин. Наукова новизна статті полягає в комплексному підході до вивчення вікових аспектів розвитку самодостатності, ураховуючи вплив соціальних, психологічних та емоційних чинників. Отримані результати можуть стати основою для подальших досліджень у сфері розвитку особистості, а також для розробки практичних рекомендацій щодо формування самодостатності в різних вікових групах.
... The consumer behavior field underinvests in wisdom, likely due to its perceived intractable nature (Luchs and Mick, 2018). Yet in psychology, wisdom research has accelerated during the last 20 years (Baltes and Staudinger, 2000;Ferrari and Weststrate, 2013;Grossmann, 2017;Schwartz and Sharpe, 2022;Sternberg and Jordan, 2005). A concise definition of wisdom comes from Baltes and Staudinger (2000), who argue that " [it] is the ideal integration of knowledge and action, mind and virtue" (Baltes and Smith, p. 56). ...
... Yet in psychology, wisdom research has accelerated during the last 20 years (Baltes and Staudinger, 2000;Ferrari and Weststrate, 2013;Grossmann, 2017;Schwartz and Sharpe, 2022;Sternberg and Jordan, 2005). A concise definition of wisdom comes from Baltes and Staudinger (2000), who argue that " [it] is the ideal integration of knowledge and action, mind and virtue" (Baltes and Smith, p. 56). Sweeney et al. (2000, p. 380) believe that concern over a deal is "a person's recognition after the purchase has been made that they may have been influenced against their own beliefs by sales staff. ...
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the factors that predominantly affect women’s intentions to get breast cancer screening tests. The aim is to assess the perceptions of breast cancer screening among women aged over 40 years of age, following the cognitive dissonance theory in health marketing communications. It examines women’s two most favorable and two least favorable perceptions concerning their readiness to engage in breast cancer screening and analyzes their behavioral intentions. The results offer significant insights into public perceptions of breast cancer screening and their impact on societal attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire-based survey involving 267 women revealed that their willingness to participate in breast cancer screening tests is affected by the principles of cognitive dissonance theory.
Findings
Emotional reactions and perceived wisdom are the primary determinants affecting women’s willingness to engage in breast cancer screening.
Practical implications
The results enhance the personalization of breast cancer advertising to increase the uptake of breast cancer screening.
Originality/value
Despite the importance of breast cancer screening as a vital public health concern, there is limited research examining the primary factors that influence positive attitudes toward and compliance with breast cancer screening tests.
... Grimm's theory of wisdom is only partially articulated, while Cheng-hung Tsai [36][37][38] advances a fully articulated theory. Tsai argues that if a person S is wise, then (1) S knows that overall attitude success contributes to or constitutes well-being, (2) S knows what the best means to achieve well-being are, (3) S is reliably successful at acting and living well (in light of what S knows), and (4) S knows why he or she is successful at acting and living well. While a and formulate the principle underlying the worry, which we call the principle of epistemic fulfillment. ...
... 7 When these factors are considered collectively, it becomes apparent that, in decision-making contexts, humans are increasingly relying on AI (and eventually on perfect ASI) rather than on exercising and fulfilling their own rational capacity. 8 This trend, consequently, limits wisdom, which argues that phronesis is a species of skill [2,6,[32][33][34]37]. According to Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein, "a regular environment and an adequate opportunity to learn" are "preconditions for the development of skills" [15: 520]. ...
Phronesis, or practical wisdom, is a capacity the possession of which enables one to make good practical judgments and thus fulfill the distinctive function of human beings. Nir Eisikovits and Dan Feldman convincingly argue that this capacity may be undermined by statistical machine-learning-based AI. The critic questions: why should we worry that AI undermines phronesis? Why can’t we epistemically defer to AI, especially when it is superintelligent? Eisikovits and Feldman acknowledge such objection but do not consider it seriously. In this paper, we argue that there is a way to reconcile Eisikovits and Feldman with their critic by adopting the principle of epistemic heed, according to which we should exercise our rational capacity as much as possible while heeding a superintelligence’s output whenever possible.
... The coding framework for grief was derived from Kübler-Ross's fivestage model (Kübler-Ross, 2018). In contrast, wisdom indicators were classified according to the multidimensional frameworks of Ardelt (2019), encompassing cognitive, reflective, and affective Baltes and Staudinger (2020), who characterize wisdom as specialized knowledge in the pragmatics of life. Textual passages were examined to discern explicit or implicit representations of these notions. ...
This study explores the embodiment of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—through the philosophical insights of Morrie Schwartz as depicted in Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie. Emphasizing the transformative power of Morrie’s reflections on mortality, the research reveals an unconventional approach to grieving that centers on acceptance, compassion, and introspection. Departing from the conventional portrayal of grief as a tumultuous emotional journey, Morrie’s perspective reframes terminal illness as an opportunity for profound emotional clarity and growth. Utilizing a qualitative literary analysis, the study investigates the extent to which Morrie’s emotional trajectory aligns with or diverges from Kübler-Ross’s framework. The analysis finds that Morrie’s experience of grief unfolds in a fluid, contemplative fashion, offering a nuanced understanding of how inner wisdom can mitigate the psychological burden of impending death.
... Originating from life span psychology, there is for decades extensive research on wisdom psychology (Grossmann, 2021, Dong et al., 2023. In the "Berlin wisdom paradigm" (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000) wisdom has been defined as "expertise in the conduct and meaning of life and a key factor in the construction of a good life". The consensus across all researchers is that wisdom skills are essential for guiding life under a long-term perspective, for mastering difficult situations and dilemmas in life, and for "solving unsolvable problems" (Linden, 2023). ...
Stemming from life span psychology there is for decades extensive basic research in wisdom psychology. Wisdom is defined as “expertise” to master difficult situations in life. Still, research on wisdom in clinical psychology and psychotherapy has only just begun. Goal of the present study was to test whether wisdom skills can be improvred by wisdom psychotherapy. Psychosomatic inpatients, suffering from adjustment disorders, were treated either with group wisdom psychotherapy (N = 114) or group behavioral activation (N = 109). An additional treatment-as-usual-group was build by propensity matching from other inpatients (N = 114). There was an increase of wisdom skills and a significant time-x-group interaction in favor of wisdom psychotherapy. This was still seen half a year later. There were trends for an improvement in the Beck-Depression-Inventory and in an embitterment score in the wisdom group, but no time-x-group interactions for other clinical measures. Wisdom psychotherapy can increase wisdom skills. As wisdom is a capacity to cope with difficult dilemma in life and a resilience factor, wisdom psychotherapy can be a supplement to traditional psychotherapeutic approaches.
... Similarly, the temporal dimension is essential to virtually all wisdom scholarship in psychology. The initial decades of research explicitly focused on the gerontological question of the conditions under which humans develop wisdom-related cognitive and socio-emotional competencies through transformative life experiences (e.g., Ardelt, 2000;Baltes & Smith, 2008;Baltes & Staudinger, 2000;Glück et al., 2019;Glück & Bluck, 2013;Webster, 2007). Moreover, the temporal aspect is central to positive psychology, which views wisdom as a set of skills that lead to happiness and promote the common good (Dahlsgaard et al., 2005). ...
Dynamic theories of wisdom emphasize that metacognitive attributes—including intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and empathy/perspective-taking—evolve in response to life’s challenges. These attributes are further recognized as essential for promoting societal and individual well-being, mitigating contemporary issues such as misinformation, polarization, and societal acrimony. Upon reviewing dominant theoretical models of wisdom, here we outline how expression of wisdom’s metacognitive attributes differs across situational contexts, with implications for measurement practices. Next, we posit that the temporal dimension—essential to virtually all theories of wisdom—is paradoxically neglected or misinterpreted in empirical studies. Our findings are supported by a systematic review of literature, demonstrating that many conclusions about developing wisdom or its downstream effects are based on cross-sectional, atemporal data. In response, we advocate for greater focus on the temporal bounds of empirical data in social psychology and offer tutorial-style recommendations for formalizing narrative theories to explicitly specify one’s level of analysis. Beyond wisdom, we provide case examples of temporal neglect across other clinical, social, and cultural domains. Our recommendations thus provide a template for advancing dynamic research practices across diverse fields critical to understanding psychological change.
... Similarly, the temporal dimension is essential to virtually all wisdom scholarship in psychology. The initial decades of research explicitly focused on the gerontological question of the conditions under which humans develop wisdom-related cognitive and socio-emotional competencies through transformative life experiences (e.g., Ardelt, 2000;Baltes & Smith, 2008;Baltes & Staudinger, 2000;Glück et al., 2019;Glück & Bluck, 2013;Webster, 2007). Moreover, the temporal aspect is central to positive psychology, which views wisdom as a set of skills that lead to happiness and promote the common good (Dahlsgaard et al., 2005). ...
Dynamic theories of wisdom emphasize that metacognitive attributes—including intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and empathy/perspective-taking—evolve in response to life’s challenges. These attributes are further recognized as essential for promoting societal and individual well-being, mitigating contemporary issues such as misinformation, polarization, and societal acrimony. Upon reviewing dominant theoretical models of wisdom, here we outline how expression of wisdom’s metacognitive attributes differs across situational contexts, with implications for measurement practices. Next, we posit that the temporal dimension—essential to virtually all theories of wisdom—is paradoxically neglected or misinterpreted in empirical studies. Our findings are supported by a systematic review of literature, demonstrating that many conclusions about developing wisdom or its downstream effects are based on cross-sectional, atemporal data. In response, we advocate for greater focus on the temporal bounds of empirical data in social psychology and offer tutorial-style recommendations for formalizing narrative theories to explicitly specify one’s level of analysis. Beyond wisdom, we provide case examples of temporal neglect across other clinical, social, and cultural domains. Our recommendations thus provide a template for advancing dynamic research practices across diverse fields critical to understanding psychological change.
... The second expert is the patient, with their expertise derived from the wisdom they have achieved throughout their life. Wisdom, according to Baltes and Staudinger (2000), is not a consequence of age but an outcome of multiple experiences of coping with difficulties and living in ambiguity. Thus, wisdom is rich "knowledge about the fundamental pragmatics of life" (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000, p. 125). ...
The question of the therapists’ self-disclosure and exposure, deliberate or unintentional, has been extensively discussed in recent decades. Young therapists often grapple with the complexities of exposing their age-related information, particularly when working with older patients. We propose the term “inferred exposure” to denote situations in which the exposure is not a matter of choice, it being evident from the therapist’s appearance. In these cases, the therapist has no discretion about whether to divulge this information but how to navigate it constructively. The extant literature does not provide the tools and insights to support young therapists facing these challenges. This article focuses on specific challenges regarding inferred exposure and the need for self-disclosure when working with aging patients. In such cases, therapists are frequently younger than their clients, engendering inherent fundamental gaps that may be discussed or avoided but always influence the therapeutic process. We gathered information from group discussions and supervision sessions with graduate students in training. Using descriptions of therapeutic interactions, we present a framework for deliberating about this inevitable aspect of therapist exposure regarding their age and its effect on treatment. We integrate insights from the literature on self-disclosure to propose strategies for young therapists and their supervisors to utilize inferred exposure effectively, using self-disclosure, nurturing the therapeutic alliance, and addressing alliance ruptures.
... Furthermore, values-based motivation can also be reflected through cognitive capacity (Reasoning). Berlin's paradigm portrays the integral role of Reasoning (i.e., the use of knowledge and judgment) in aligning the fundamental aspects of decision-making, including the synchronization of values, goals, and actions for coping with life's challenges and achieving well-being (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Sternberg's balance theory of wisdom also underscores the metacognitive style of wisdom, wherein successful intelligence and creativity are applied in accordance with values to achieve a common good (Sternberg, 1998). ...
Existing literature has primarily studied factors related to prosocial behaviors in isolation. To further understand the multifaceted nature of prosocial behaviors, this research utilizes consumer wisdom as an overarching multidimensional framework to explore different facilitators of and barriers to prosocial behaviors. We develop a conceptual framework to illustrate how prosocial behaviors might play out in the real world, given human beings' often conflicting motivations. After synthesizing qualitative data from a Delphi study involving three iterative rounds of data collection with behavior-change experts, our framework suggests possible associations between consumer wisdom and prosocial behaviors via multiple facilitators (values-based motivation, efficacy, self-relevance, and compassion) and barriers (self-focus and decision paralysis). Through the lens of consumer wisdom, this framework provides a comprehensive perspective transcending previous prosocial literature that has predominantly examined individual factors. Furthermore, practitioners and policymakers should integrate consumer wisdom as they develop and implement successful prosocial campaigns and initiatives.
... a prominent example in this field is the 3D Wisdom Model (Ardelt, 2003). In this context, other theories such as Balance Theory of Wisdom (Sternberg, 1998) and Berlin's wisdom paradigm (Baltes et al, 2000) can also be investigated. ...
Rationality and wisdom are important and desirable topics for people and societies and have received special and scientific attention in the 21st century. In this paper, we will have a look at the subject of wisdom in Iranian society from the past until now and we will also refer to some new definitions. Then we examine the topic of thinking and introduce a special model for it, which includes four important types of thinking and questioning. This thinking model, along with its educational applications, provides a new framework or thinking model for intellectual growth and development of people and wise thinking. What is required is the progress of people and the development of society in different fields.
... Wisdom. Baltes and Staudinger (2000) conceptualize wisdom as a "meta-heuristic" comprising three capabilities: lifespan contextualization, a Claiming (dynamic) credibility Capitalizing on identity complementarities and synergies to enact the set more believably over time by: (a) describing how narrator will exemplify the multiple identities moving forward (prospective focus) (b) excusing a lack of current credibility, or interidentity conflicts or tensions ...
... Similarly, the temporal dimension is essential to virtually all wisdom scholarship in psychology. The initial decades of research explicitly focused on the gerontological question of the conditions under which humans develop wisdom-related cognitive and socio-emotional competencies through transformative life experiences (e.g., Ardelt, 2000;Baltes & Smith, 2008;Baltes & Staudinger, 2000;Glück et al., 2019;Glück & Bluck, 2013;Webster, 2007). Moreover, the temporal aspect is central to positive psychology, which views wisdom as a set of skills that lead to happiness and promote the common good (Dahlsgaard et al., 2005). ...
Dynamic theories of wisdom emphasize that metacognitive attributes—including intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and empathy/perspective-taking—evolve in response to life’s challenges. These attributes are further recognized as essential for promoting societal and individual well-being, mitigating contemporary issues such as misinformation, polarization, and societal acrimony. Upon reviewing dominant theoretical models of wisdom, here we outline how expression of wisdom’s metacognitive attributes differs across situational contexts, with implications for measurement practices. Next, we posit that the temporal dimension—essential to virtually all theories of wisdom—is paradoxically neglected or misinterpreted in empirical studies. Our findings are supported by a systematic review of literature, demonstrating that many conclusions about developing wisdom or its downstream effects are based on cross-sectional, atemporal data. In response, we advocate for greater focus on the temporal bounds of empirical data in social psychology and offer tutorial-style recommendations for formalizing narrative theories to explicitly specify one’s level of analysis. Beyond wisdom, we provide case examples of temporal neglect across other clinical, social, and cultural domains. Our recommendations thus provide a template for advancing dynamic research practices across diverse fields critical to understanding psychological change.
... Reflection (denoting the area of cognition as thinking and understanding) is an essential element of gaining wisdom . As we have learned, there is no other way to reach wisdom but by direct experience or "life expertise," as Baltes and Staudinger (2000) named it. Concrete experiential experiences from various life-situations are themselves teachers of wisdom, but only if they are reflected upon. ...
... Although the two are at times related, the latter matters require a separate discussion.19 For current main positions and debates on these issues, see e.g.,Baltes/Staudinger, 2000: ...
... There is a general agreement among scholars that wisdom is a multidimensional and multifaceted construct (Ardelt, 2003) whose dimensions and aspects strengthen one another (Baltes, Staudinger, 2000) and are necessary for the manifestation of wisdom (Glück, 2018). ...
Wisdom plays an important role in leadership and is crucial for firms as it generally leads to business excellence. Hassi and Storti bridged a gap in the wisdom and leadership literature by proposing a measure of wise leadership to gauge the wisdom of leaders and managers in organizational settings. Hassi and Storti define wise leaders as individuals who operate in a normatively positive way by exhibiting intellectual shrewdness, moral conduct, cultivating humility and spurring action, with the objective of enabling people to contribute to the success of the individual, organization, and community.
... [26]. Wisdom is defined as expertise in dealing DOI [27]. ...
In context of higher education, particularly in Islamic Universities (PTI), the demand for academic and moral excellence is essential. Lecturers have a central role in shaping student character, but sometimes academic competence is emphasized more than personality competence. The concept of “Unveiling Excellence” draws attention to efforts to uncover the superior potential of the personality competencies of PTI lecturers through the integration of Islamic values. This study aims to identify and describe the Islamic values on the competence of lecturers’ personalities. With a deeper understanding of the Islamic values regarding the competence of lecturers’ personalities, PTI can be more effective in shaping student character through Islamic teachings and producing academically and morally qualified graduates. Qualitative methods are used through literature studies, interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with Islamic Education experts. The research findings revealed eight Islamic values on the competence of the lecturer’s personality, namely patience (Sabr), wise (hikmah), forgiving (al afu), shame (al haya), self-control (muraqabah), humble (tawadhu), empathy (ta’atuf), and politeness (adab). These findings highlight the need to integrate Islamic values into lecturers’ competency, thereby providing an educational environment that promotes the building of student character through Islamic teachings. Keywords: competence, lecturer, Islamic values, personality
... Researchers generally concur that wisdom is a multifaceted and multidimensional construct (Ardelt, 2003). Its dimensions and facets complement each other (Baltes and Staudinger, 2000) and are essential to the exhibition of wisdom (Glück, 2018). Scholars agree that wisdom is crucial for comprehending leadership (Bennis, 2007). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to validate the psychometric properties of the Wise Leadership Questionnaire (WLQ).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from three independent samples from Canada, China and Morocco ( n = 616). Factor analysis, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses, structural equation modeling and Bayesian approach were used.
Findings
Study 1 confirmed that the WLQ higher-order factor structure is the most adequate theoretical model to capture the four-factor structure of the wise leadership scale, namely, intellectual shrewdness, spurring action, moral conduct and cultivating humility which are essential for a leader to qualify as wise. Study 2 assessed and supported the criterion-related validity by approving that the higher-order wise leadership construct constituted a predictor of work outcomes such as followers’ subordinates’ performance and job satisfaction. Confirmatory factor analysis results yielded a second-order factor of the wise leadership construct with four first-order factors, namely, the four wise leadership dimensions. The correlations between the four first-order factors (i.e. dimensions) and the second-order factor of the wise leadership are positive and statistically significant in both the China and Morocco samples. They are, respectively, as follows: intellectual shrewdness (β = 0.74; 0.62, p < 0.01), spurring action (β = 0.52; 0.76, p < 0.01), moral conduct (β = 0.76; 0.62, p < 0.01) and cultivating humility (β = 0.78; 0.69, p < 0.01).
Originality/value
Results suggest that the new wise leadership construct is positively associated with followers’ subordinates’ job performance and job satisfaction directly and indirectly through supervisory support, emphasizing the added value and relevance of the WLQ.
En la obra se analizan las características del envejecimiento de la población bajo enfoques cualitativos, etnográficos y también históricos. Se trata de crear instrumentos que permitan mejores enfoques y paradigmas más acertados sobre la dependencia en la vejez, bajo consideraciones explícitas sobre la interrelación entre categorías de dependencia, tanto para los individuos como para grupos y sociedades, cuando se mira el envejecimiento de la población de México en sus distintas áreas, incluyendo la importante mirada a su desarrollo histórico
The present article is a critical commentary of Prof. Elżbieta Dryll’s paper Narrative Psychology on Development. The main goal of these considerations was to draw attention to the importance of theoretical reflection on development within the perspective of narrative psychology. Such reflection – although implied by the title of Prof. Dryll’s paper and explicit in her declaration that narrative psychology is “a plane for construing theory of human development” – was not the object of a comprehensive analysis. This shortage was then the reason to draw attention to topics and problems of importance to the theory of human development based on the assumptions of narrative psychology. These are problems such as theoretical and methodological consequences of the “narrative turn” that took place within the paradigm of social constructionism. This commentary also deals in a more detailed manner with consequences of three theses put forward by Prof. Dryll that are characteristic for narrative stance in viewing of the human development.
هدف البحث الحالي إلى الكشف عن فعالية برنامج تدريبي قائم على الحكمة في تحسين فاعلية الذات الانفعالية والأكاديمية، بالإضافة إلى مهارات اتخاذ القرار لدى طلاب الثانوية العامة ذوي التوجه السلبي نحو الحياة. شملت عينة البحث 52 طالبًا من الصف الأول الثانوي بإدارة بني سويف التعليمية، تم تقسيمهم بالتساوي إلى مجموعتين: تجريبية وضابطة. تم تطبيق برنامج تدريبي قائم على الحكمة (إعداد الباحثتين)، وتم استخدام مقاييس: تطور الحكمة (Brown & Greene, 2006) (ترجمة علاء الدين أيوب، وأسامة إبراهيم، 2013)، فاعلية الذات الانفعالية (Kirk et al., 2008) ، و(تعريب وتقنين حسنى النجار، 2014)، بالإضافة إلى مقاييس فاعلية الذات الأكاديمية ، ومهارات اتخاذ القرار، والتوجه السلبى نحو الحياة (إعداد الباحثتين). اعتمد البحث على المنهج شبه التجريبي، وتم تحليل البيانات باستخدام حزمة البرامج الإحصائية SPSS- V25 . أظهرت نتائج البحث وجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا في فاعلية الذات الانفعالية والأكاديمية ومهارات اتخاذ القرار بين متوسطي درجات طلاب المجموعتين التجريبية والضابطة في القياس البعدي لصالح طلاب المجموعة التجريبية. كما أظهرت النتائج عدم وجود فروق بين القياسين البعدي والتتبعي. بناءً على هذه النتائج، تم صياغة بعض التوصيات والبحوث المقترحة التي تهم طلاب المرحلة الثانوية
عقلانیت و خردمندی، از موضوعات مطرح و مطلوب برای عموم افراد و جوامع بوده و در قرن بیست و یکم نیز مورد توجه خاص و علمی قرار گرفته است. در این مقاله نگاهی به موضوع خردمندی در جامعه ایران از گذشته تا کنون داشته و به برخی تعاریف نوین نیز اشاره خواهیم کرد. سپس به بررسی موضوع اندیشه¬گرایی پرداخته و الگوی خاصی برای آن معرفی می¬کنیم که شامل چهار نوع تفکر مهم و پرسشگری است. این الگوی فکری همراه با کاربردهای آموزشی آن، چهارچوب نوینی را برای رشد و توسعه فکری افراد و تفکر خردمندانه ارائه می¬دهد، چیزی که لازمه پیشرفت افراد و توسعه جامعه در زمینه¬های مختلف است.
The first part of the paper attempts to understand the phenomenon of wisdom better and offer a view of the pedagogy of wisdom through three forms of teaching: teaching about wisdom, teaching wisdom, and wise teaching. Starting from the assumption that the goals of teaching wisdom (making correct judgments, having broader insights, distinguishing internal qualities and relationships, accepting, appreciating, and integrating different perspectives) can be achieved through intentional pedagogical action, the paper sought to investigate whether the components of wise reasoning are integrated into the madrasah curriculum. The results showed that the need to enrich curricula with elements of wisdom in Islamic subjects was recognised. However, this dimension is absent in general education subjects. The paper calls for raising awareness of the importance of enriching curricula to develop wisdom. Developing wisdom should be an important goal of education, and it requires appropriate visibility throughout the curriculum.
Transformational wisdom involves the application of knowledge, abilities, and attitudes to achieve a common good that makes a positive, paradigm-defying, meaningful, and potentially enduring transformative difference to the world for multitudes of people. There are various kinds of transformational wisdom, all of which can be contrasted with transactional wisdom, which is acting wisely merely in exchange for some kind of compensation. Pseudo-transformational wisdom is the appearance of transformational wisdom that disguises selfish and often narcissistic, Machiavellian, and even psychopathic intentions.
Purpose
The 7th decade manager (7DM) is an overlooked and under-researched group in organisation studies. This paper explores the changes which 7DMs experience in later life through the lenses of age, work and identity.
Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist methodology was adopted and data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 32 managers across 10 different sectors in England and Scotland. These data were analysed thematically.
Findings
Change manifested itself in various contradictory ways across three domains of age, work and identity. Age was experienced dichotomously, with these 7DMs identifying as subjectively younger yet openly (if reluctantly) accepting signs of ageing. They appeared more tolerant and kinder but could be impatient and outspoken. Work remained important, providing structure, a sense of purpose and camaraderie; however, career progression was not. Altruistically, the 7DMs exercised generativity by providing their colleagues with counsel in both work and personal matters. Their sense of self and identity work featured prominently, particularly in the liminality associated with the impending cessation of work. Preparation for the psychosocial transition to retirement was lacking.
Research limitations/implications
This project would have benefitted from a larger and broader cohort demographic. Whether there are any significant gender or ethnic differences in attitudes, values or approaches to work cannot be ascertained from the data obtained. Future studies should therefore include a greater diversity of participants. There may also be merit in investigating if any differences exist for the ex-military 7DM manager compared to others.
Practical implications
Organisations can benefit from greater recognition of the value experienced managers in their later working lives can bring. Both the broader community of managers and their employers would benefit from leveraging the experience, knowledge and attributes of older managers in their passage through their 7th decade and better prepare younger people to succeed them.
Social implications
Different agencies such as government, employers, professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Trade Unions or consultancies may wish to explore the benefits and practicalities of preparing the individual for the transition to retirement. Importantly, this should address the psychosocial connotations associated with ceasing work. Whilst this applies to all 7th decade workers, we suggest that there are some challenges that are peculiar to being an older manager.
Originality/value
Whilst much is known about older workers, research relating to older managers, especially those in their seventh decade, is largely absent. This paper illustrates the changes and challenges they experience in both their professional and personal lives, some of which seem to be unique to this age group and many of which would benefit from being addressed in organisational policy and practice as well as further research.
The subject of this article is the historical influence of mass culture, especially visual media and rock music, on the youth of Russia and China in the process of forming their value orientations. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of changes that have occurred since the late 1980s in the context of socio-political transformations: the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of reforms in China. The study focuses on the replacement of traditional cultural archetypes with new symbols of consumption, which were actively promoted through cinema, television and music. The article provides a historical analysis of the transformations of cultural preferences of young people, including the dominance of violence and sexual aggression in films, as well as the negative impact of countercultural music genres such as heavy metal and punk rock. The research methodology includes a historical and cultural approach, analysis of mass cultural phenomena and a systematic study of the influence of visual and musical media on the formation of value orientations of young people. The scientific novelty of this research article lies in revealing the profound influence of mass culture, especially visual media and countercultural music genres, on the formation of value orientations of young people. The study also emphasizes the importance of cultural and environmental components of media influence, indicating a crisis of universal humanistic values among young people. The findings indicate the need to develop programs aimed at nurturing conscious consumption of cultural products and strengthening moral guidelines through closer interaction between educational institutions and cultural institutions, which is the key to the healthy development of society. In conclusion, the work emphasizes that young people's awareness of their cultural responsibility can be an important step towards positive changes in the socio-cultural environment.
Moral development is crucial for a meaningful life. Many well-founded approaches and models are present in the moral development literature, which is a very diverse and populated field. The model of a ‘person of moral growth’ presented in this paper is a contribution to moral growth research based on personalist virtue ethics. Personalist virtue ethics puts the person at the centre of the moral reflection, addressing the holistic interplay of the person’s dimensions in the process of moral growth. The model is an operationalization of the person’s dimensions for educational and research purposes in the field of moral development. In this paper, the four components of the model are presented: emotional-cognitive, decisional (free commitment to moral growth), practical (moral growth through personal action), and self-understanding (the moral growth identity), and the process of the elaboration of the model is explained. For enhancing the construct validity of the model, its components and pedagogical implications are discussed in the light of recent moral education literature. This model is a contribution to a more cogent moral education and is helping to design and deliver moral educational experiences which address personal moral development in a clear, convincing, and well-structured way.
This paper draws on wisdom and lifespan development research to propose a conception of “wise aging”, which may become particularly relevant in very old age as people’s capacities for successful aging decline. We propose that three types of balance distinguish wise aging from successful aging. First, wisdom balances one’s own interest with a greater good, emphasizing self-transcendence and compassion. Second, wisdom balances control striving with acceptance of uncontrollability. Wise aging involves a realistic awareness of one’s decreasing levels of control and one’s interconnectedness to and dependence on other people. Third, wisdom acknowledges, regulates, and balances positive and negative affect. Wise aging involves the ability to appreciate and relish the joys of life, but also to accept and embrace more negative emotions and fully support others going through different times.
Plato's Republic divided subsequent study of justice in two, as a virtue of people and of institutions. Here, the start of a reunification is attempted. Justice is first understood personally as the virtuous mean between arrogance and servility, where just people properly respect themselves and others. Because justice requires that like cases be treated alike and self-respect is a special instance of respect generally, justice requires a single standard for self and others. In understanding justice in terms of respect, structural analogies become apparent between “recognition” and “appraisal” respect, on the one hand, and Rawls' two principles of justice on the other. The present view is then compared to “social egalitarian” theories of justice and the essay concludes with a discussion of how mercy is related to justice and an explanation of why just people always look for reasons to mitigate blame and punishment but never to aggravate them.
Background
Wisdom is an important coping resource for difficult and ambiguous life situations. Wisdom trainings have been developed in clinical and non-clinical settings. What has been missing so far are representative data on wisdom affinity from the general population. These are important regarding needs assessments and identification of risk groups with low wisdom affinity and potential problems in coping with difficult and ambiguous life situations.
Method
The study examined a population-representative sample of 2509 persons. Socio-demographic data, presence of chronic and mental illnesses was assessed, and wisdom attitudes by the 12-WD Wisdom Scale. The surveys were carried out by means of interviews and self-report questionnaires at the respondents’ homes, done by an experienced social research company (USUMA GmbH).
Results
Only 6% of the whole sample appeared to be highly wisdom-affirmative (12-WD mean score 10 on scale 0–10), whereas 4% may appear low wisdom-affirm, due to very low agreement (12 WD mean score 0–4). Most of the moderately wisdom-affirm people had a religious denomination (70.9%), whereas only 57–59% of the high or low wisdom-affirm persons reported religious affiliations. Low wisdom-affirm were most often chronically ill (25%), with mental or physical illness in similar frequency, and had significantly more unemployment times than persons with higher wisdom scores. Wisdom affinity was independent from age, gender and age, household situation, and higher school education.
Conclusion
It must be assumed that people with socio-medical risk factors also have impairments in their wisdom-related problem-solving strategies, and that these can be of interest for transdiagnostic wisdom trainings in prevention or rehabilitation, which has shown positive effects.
В последние десятилетия отмечается усиление интереса к мудрости как предмету научного психологического анализа, что обусловлено логикой развития психологической науки, ее изменившейся структурой, выдвижением в центр исследований когнитивных процессов, социального интеллекта и связанных с ними личностных проявлений человека. В условиях кризисного и нестабильного мира исследования мудрости приобретают особую значимость, поскольку личностная мудрость становится одним из важнейших ресурсов человека. Обзор исследований показывает, что мудрость трактуется как сложный психологический феномен, поддающийся операционализации, эмпирическому изучению и диагностике. Встатье приводятся результаты психометрического анализа русскоязычной версии Шкалы самооценки мудрости (SAWS) Дж.Вебстера. Психометрические показатели русскоязычной версии Шкалы самооценки мудрости Дж.Вебстера в целом соответствуют характеристикам ее оригинальной версии. В статье приводятся данные о конвергентной валидности, достаточно высокой надежности и внутренней согласованности шкал опросника. Конфирматорный факторный анализ подтвердил теоретическую и эмпирическую пригодность пятифакторной модели мудрости Дж. Вебстера. Конвергентная валидность подтверждена связью субшкал опросника и общего показателя Шкалы самооценки мудрости со смысложизненными ориентациями, временной перспективой и личностными чертами респондентов. Выявлены гендерные различия в таких показателях личностной мудрости, как открытость, регуляция эмоций и юмор. Психодиагностическая ценность и перспективность Шкалы самооценки мудрости (SAWS) Дж. Вебстера определяется ее направленностью на измерение способности человека к осмыслению пережитых трудных жизненных ситуаций с целью выработки решений, содействующих оптимальному функционированию, а также развитию себя и других.
In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in wisdom as a subject of scientific psychological analysis, which is due to the logic of the development of psychological science, its changed structure, the promotion of the center of research of cognitive processes, social intelligence and related personal manifestations of man. In a crisis and unstable world, the study of wisdom becomes particularly important, as personal wisdom becomes one of the most important resources of man. A review of studies shows that wisdom is treated as a complex psychological phenomenon, amenable to operationalization, empirical study and diagnosis. The article presents the results of psychometric analysis of the Russian-language version of the Self-assessment Wisdom Scale (SAWS) by J. G.Websters. Psychometric indicators of the Russian-language version of the scale of self-assessment of wisdom of J.Websters are generally consistent with the characteristics of its original version. The article presents data on convergent validity, sufficiently high reliability and internal consistency of the questionnaire scales. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the theoretical and empirical validity of the five-factor model of wisdom by J. G. Websters. Convergent validity is confirmed by the connection of the questionnaire subscales and the general indicator of the Self-assessment Wisdom Scale with life orientations, time perspective and personality traits of the respondents. Gender differences in such indicators of personal wisdom as openness, regulation of emotions and humor are revealed. The psychodiagnostic value and prospects of the Self-assessment Wisdom Scale (SAWS) by J. G. Webster is defined by its focus on measuring a persons ability to comprehend difficult life situations in order to develop solutions that promote optimal functioning, as well as the development of themselves and others.
Purpose
Our purpose is to offer the service research field a framework for cultivating wiser service systems via wise communication–which we define as “interactional activity that reflects and reifies the integrative, practical, and relational nature of organizations.”
Design/methodology/approach
We draw on the Communicative Constitution of Organizations (CCO) theory to integrate insights and findings from three primary research fields – service, communication, and organizational science – to develop a framework for cultivating wiser service systems through wise communication.
Findings
Our framework identifies three major components of wise communication: integrative, practical, and relational. These components require that wise communication be “holistic,” “dynamic,” and “constitutive” (the integrative component); “active,” “contextual,” and “pragmatic” (the practical component); and “compassionate,” “open-minded,” and “humble” (the relational component). We use illustrative examples from healthcare to show how these nine characteristics enable wise communication practices that facilitate wiser service systems.
Practical implications
Our framework provides helpful ways to organize and inspire insights into cultivating wiser systems. This framework identifies the theoretical components of wise communication and specific communicative actions that system members can implement to shape wiser service systems.
Social implications
Wiser service systems are necessary to tackle humanity's complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.
Originality/value
We propose a novel framework for cultivating wiser systems centered on wise communication. This framework contributes new insights into theory and practice. The application of CCO theory to service systems is unique. Our article is also an early example of adding normative context to the CCO literature. While wisdom literature primarily focuses on aspects of individual wisdom, we broaden the wisdom literature to service systems.
To date there has been little research or consensus on the characteristics essential for therapeutic practitioners in Singapore (i.e., professionals engaging in counseling or counseling-related work). Whilst there are several academic programs in the country leading to readily available credentials in this arena, and a number of graduates entering therapeutic work annually, there is little examination as to what characteristics are essential for graduates once they leave the halls of academia. Compounding matters is the fact that Singapore is grappling with credentialism; an element that may be serving to obscure therapeutic competencies for hiring organizations and clinical supervisors. This paper, guided by phronesis and research, comprises of points extrapolated from a combined total of 50 years of practice experience within the country, and suggests 13 characteristics beyond credentials that are essential for therapeutic practitioners in Singapore. As the first of its kind for the local context, the purpose of the paper is to advance therapeutic practice by providing ground-up, practical, experience-based knowledge that can be beneficial in multiple ways such as initiating a reflexive and dialogical stance that may aid in bridging the divide between credentialism and actual practice not only in Singapore, but in other multicultural communities as well. While grounded in psychology, the arguments within the paper also traverse the disciplines of social work, counseling, management, and education, thereby facilitating transdisciplinary resonance. Additionally, the paper seeks to serve as a starting point for further examination in an area that is critical yet under-explored. Part 1 of the paper provides context and elaborates on six proposed characteristics. Part 2 will continue with seven characteristics and the potential impact of the paper.
The present study tried to achieve a conceptual model of wisdom and examine its validating through three methods of linguistic semantics, grounded theory, and survey descriptive method. By reviewing the concept of wisdom in the fields of vocabulary and psychology, 23 primary concepts related to wisdom were identified in Islamic sources. After analyzing content validity, nineteen concepts were left out of 23 concepts. In the phase of collecting the
يهدف البحث الحالي للتعرف على الحكمة لدى الطلبة الموهوبين والعاديين، فضلا عن تعرف دلالة الفروق على مستوى الحكمة تبعا لمتغير النوع (ذكور-اناث) بين كلا العينتين، وقد تبنت الباحثة استبيان الحكمة الذي أعده كل من (بروان وكرين)، وطبق على (40) طالب وطالبة في مركز ازمر للموهوبين في محافظة السليمانية، للمرحلة (10-11) وتم تحليل البيانات بالوسائل الاحصائية المناسبة، واظهرت نتائج البحث تمتع الطالب الموهوب بالحكمة كما اظهرت نتائج البحث وجود فروق ذات دلالة احصائية في الحكمة وفق متغير النوع.
The present study tried to achieve a conceptual model of wisdom and examine its validating through three methods of linguistic semantics, grounded theory, and survey descriptive method. By reviewing the concept of wisdom in the fields of vocabulary and psychology, 23 primary concepts related to wisdom were identified in Islamic sources. After analyzing content validity, nineteen concepts were left out of 23 concepts. In the phase of collecting the documents, there were 2149 data resulted from seeking the data related to nineteen concepts which were screened in the two stages of book weakness and the lack of conceptual relevance. It resulted in omitting 1039 documents and leaving 1110 Islamic data as well as twelve concepts for modeling. These concepts, including reason (Aghl), intellect (Hekmat), distinction (Tamiz), knowledge (Marefat), science (Elm), mental processing (Pardazesh Zehni), understanding (Fahm), insight (Basirat), acumen (Ferasat), perspicacity (Kiasat), Fiqh, ingenuity (Fetanat), and sagacity (Zekavat), were analyzed using grounded theory in the four stages. By the judgmental sampling, 1276 primary open codes, 344 centralized open codes, 84 axial codes, and 19 core categories were identified. The proportionality among the core categories and comparing them with the documents showed that Islamic wisdom consists of ten conceptual elements, including knowledge (Danesh), distinction (Tamiz), mental processing (Pardazesh Zehni), control (Mahar), certainty in action (Etghan dar Amal), perspicacity (Kiasat), acumen (Ferasat), insight (Basirat), Fiqh, and cleverness (Tizfahmi). These elements were analyzed by eleven experts and Content Validity Index (CVI). In addition, the experts confirmed the validity of elements.
Chinese ways of dealing with seeming contradictions result in a dialectical or compromise approach—retaining basic elements of opposing perspectives by seeking a "middle way." On the other hand, European–American ways, deriving from a lay version of Aristotelian logic, result in a differentiation model that polarized contradictory perspectives in an effort to determine which factor is position is correct. Five empirical studies showed that dialectical thinking is a form of folk wisdom in Chinese culture: Chinese participants preferred dialectical proverbs containing seeming contradictions more than did American participants. Chinese participants also preferred dialectical resolutions to social conflicts and preferred dialectical arguments over classical Western logical arguments. Furthermore, when 2 apparently contradictory propositions were presented, American participants polarized their views, and Chinese participants were moderately accepting of of both propositions. Origins of these cultural differences and their implications for human reasoning in general are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Psychological theories have neglected the fundamental issue of what determines people's life paths. The thesis of this article is that chance encounters play a prominent role in shaping human lives. In a chance encounter the separate chains of events have their own causal determinants (e.g., entry skills, values, emotional ties), but their intersection occurs fortuitously. Some fortuitous encounters touch only lightly, others leave more lasting effects, and still others lead people into new life trajectories. The science of psychology cannot shed much light on the occurrence of fortuitous encounters, but it can provide the basis for predicting their impact on human lives. An analysis is presented of personal factors and milieu properties that govern the branching power of chance encounters. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two goals guided the present study: to develop ecologically relevant and functional interactive-minds settings for the assessment of wisdom-related performance and to investigate whether and under which conditions such settings would facilitate higher levels of wisdom-related performance. After baseline assessment of wisdom-related performance, a sample of 122 natural dyads (244 participants), ranging in age from 20 to 70 years, were randomly assigned to 5 experimental conditions. These conditions varied in the degree to which they were judged to be ecologically relevant and functional and involved the interaction of minds. It was found that performance settings that were judged to be ecologically relevant and functional and provided for actual or "virtual" (internal) interaction of minds increased wisdom-related performance levels by 1
SD. In addition, older adults profited more than younger adults from 1 setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A research framework and method are presented in which wisdom is conceived as expert knowledge about fundamental life matters. Five criteria of wisdom are specified: Rich factual and procedural knowledge, life-span contextualism, relativism, and the recognition and management of uncertainty. As illustration, discourse about normative and nonnormative life-planning problems associated with different life phases was examined. Verbal think-aloud protocols, collected from 60 Ss (25–35, 40–50 and 60–81 yrs of age), were scored on the wisdom criteria by trained raters. As expected, few (5%) responses were considered wise. These wise responses were equally distributed across age groups. In general, wisdom-related knowledge appears to be one cognitive domain in adulthood that does not show an overall advantage to one age or cohort group but rather reflects individual and specific life experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In a prestudy, a questionnaire was sent to 97 professors in the fields of art, business, philosophy, and physics; it was also given to 17 laypersons. Ss were asked to list behaviors characteristic of an ideally intelligent, creative, or wise person in one's field of endeavor, or in general (for laypersons). In Exp I, 285 professors in the same fields and 30 laypersons rated the extent to which each of the behaviors listed at least twice in the prestudy was characteristic of an ideally intelligent, creative, or wise individual. In Exp II, a subset of the behaviors from the prestudy was sorted by 40 undergraduates to yield a multidimensional space characterizing the Ss' implicit theories for intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. In Exp III, 30 adults rated themselves on a subset of the behaviors from the prestudy, and these ratings were correlated with "ideal prototype" ratings to yield a measure of resemblance to the prototype. Resemblance scores were then correlated with scores on standardized ability tests. In Exp IV, 30 adults rated hypothetical individuals described in simulated letters of recommendation in terms of their intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Results reveal that people have systematic implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom, which are used accurately both in evaluating themselves and in evaluating hypothetical others. Moreover, the implicit theories for each of the constructs show at least some convergent–discriminant validity with respect to each other. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
In Psyche and Eros, first published in 1994, Gisela Labouvie-Vief describes historical and current concepts of mind and development, drawing from disciplines as diverse as philosophy, mythology, religion, literature, and psychology. She then presents a powerful theory of the maturing of mind, which brings together her empirical work and her exploration into mythology. The classical Greek myth of the gods Psyche and Eros serves as an evocative illustration of the author's theory. Psyche and Eros asserts that the core experience of development differs along gender lines. Rationality is regarded as masculine, while imagination is viewed as feminine. Competition between 'masculine' and 'feminine' parts of the mind has limited our ability to describe the mind and its development over the life course, just as it limits our experiences of development as men and women. The author suggests that we overcome the dualistic way of thinking about mind, and see how rationality and imagination can complement each other.
This book derives from a 1993 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute on Knowledge, Teaching, and Wisdom. The Institute took place at the University of California, Berkeley, and was co-directed by Keith Lehrer and Nicholas D. Smith. The aims of the Institute were several: we sought to reintroduce wisdom as a topic of discussion among contemporary philosophers, to undertake an historical investigation of how and when and why it was that wisdom faded from philosophical view, and to ask how contemporary epistemological theories might apply to the obviously related subjects of teaching and wisdom. In recruiting participants, Lehrer and Smith put the greatest emphasis on those with professional interests in epistemology and the history of philosophy, of the ancient Greeks especially ancient Greek philosophy (because in the writings all three subjects of the Institute were explicitly related and discussed). But in addition to these two groups, some effort was made also to include others, with academic specializations in a variety of fields other than epistemology and the history of philosophy, to ensure that a broad perspective could be achieved in our discussions. To an obvious extent, the papers in this book reflect the recruitment emphases and variety. They also testify to the extent that the Institute managed to bring life to our subjects, and to raise very old questions in a contemporary context.
The paper offers a basic characteristic of syncretism as a philosophical and methodological attitude or approach, which crystallized in the second half of the 1980s in standing seminar Integration at Comenius University in Bratislava. The vital idea of syncretism is that it does not aim at the removal of any relationships regarded as negative, i.e. harmful, destructive, immoral, unpleasant etc., but, rather, at their most efficient cultivation. Syncretism tries to transform conflict into their spiritual or playful forms and thus to provide an imagination with bloodless fields of application. Syncretism is an effort to reach the dominance of syncresis (understanding correlation, comparison) over diacrisis (through separation, distance, quarrel). Syncretism is based on four presuppositions: 1. The essence of human being is his/her transcendence or self-transcendence. 2. The maximum of human being is his being cultural; a human being cannot be more that a cultural one. 3. The essence of the cultural human being is the inscendence, i.e. the inward transcendence, spiritualization. 4. The maximum of the cultural human being is the meaningfulness, or fulness saturated with sense. Welding (syncresis) of our life consists in restoring the interzonal interaction of cultural tracts forming our life. It would deprive it of its schizoid qualities of the private and the public, concentrating on the relationship between oneself and others, work and rest, mine and yours, etc. Humility, therefore, should be the welding factor of our life, but not in relation to the others and their creations and inventions, but rather as a result of our being aware of our own limits in facing the transhorizontal reality, which not only surrounds us, but also penetrates into us like darkness penetrating into day.
Wisdom, a concept rich in meaning and cultural history, is introduced as a topic of psychological research. The focus is on presenting an empirical paradigm for the assessment of wisdom-related performance. Similarities and differences of this paradigm with analyses of the cultural-historical wisdom literature, and other psychological approaches to the study of wisdom are discussed. In the presented paradigm, wisdom is defined as expertise in the fundamental pragmatics of life and operationalized as high-level knowledge and judgment with regard to difficult problems of life planning, life management, and life review. Five wisdom-related criteria (rich factual and procedural knowledge about life, life-span contextualism, value relativism, awareness and management of uncertainty) allow the assessment of the wisdom-related quality of a wide variety of products. The reported studies refer to a data base of think-aloud response protocols to wisdom-related tasks which are collected under standardized conditions. A model of antecedents, correlates and/or consequences of wisdom-related knowledge and judgment is presented. Empirical findings refering to specific parts of the model (e. g., the role of age, professional specialization, and the level of performance observed in wisdom nominees) suggested that wisdom-related performance can be assessed reliably, shows meaningful relationships with measures of intelligence and personality and allows to identify theory-consistent group differences. Finally, examples of relationships between wisdom research and other fields of psychological work (educational psychology, clinical psychology) are offered.
By the early 1980s, the idea that ordinary human social cognition is rational or scientific in character was under serious attack in personality and social psychology. Personality psychology was in the throes of the debate concerning whether behavior was consistent across situations and, although the jury was still out on the issue, powerful voices and persuasive data suggested that the concept of personality traits was a quaint shibboleth of commonsense psychology. As Nisbett and Ross (1980) put it, “the personality theorists’ (and the layperson’s) conviction that there are strong cross-situational consistencies in behavior may be seen as merely another instance of theory-driven covariation assessments operating in the face of contrary evidence” (p. 112).
Many decisions are based on beliefs concerning the likelihood of uncertain events such as the outcome of an election, the guilt of a defendant, or the future value of the dollar. Occasionally, beliefs concerning uncertain events are expressed in numerical form as odds or subjective probabilities. In general, the heuristics are quite useful, but sometimes they lead to severe and systematic errors. The subjective assessment of probability resembles the subjective assessment of physical quantities such as distance or size. These judgments are all based on data of limited validity, which are processed according to heuristic rules. However, the reliance on this rule leads to systematic errors in the estimation of distance. This chapter describes three heuristics that are employed in making judgments under uncertainty. The first is representativeness, which is usually employed when people are asked to judge the probability that an object or event belongs to a class or event. The second is the availability of instances or scenarios, which is often employed when people are asked to assess the frequency of a class or the plausibility of a particular development, and the third is adjustment from an anchor, which is usually employed in numerical prediction when a relevant value is available.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Life-span developmental psychology involves the study of constancy and change in behavior throughout the life course. One aspect of life-span research has been the advancement of a more general, metatheoretical view on the nature of development. The family of theoretical perspectives associated with this metatheoretical view of life-span developmental psychology includes the recognition of multidirectionality in ontogenetic change, consideration of both age-connected and disconnected developmental factors, a focus on the dynamic and continuous interplay between growth (gain) and decline (loss), emphasis on historical embeddedness and other structural contextual factors, and the study of the range of plasticity in development. Application of the family of perspectives associated with life-span developmental psychology is illustrated for the domain of intellectual development. Two recently emerging perspectives of the family of beliefs are given particular attention. The first proposition is methodological and suggests that plasticity can best be studied with a research strategy called testing-the-limits. The second proposition is theoretical and proffers that any developmental change includes the joint occurrence of gain (growth) and loss (decline) in adaptive capacity. To assess the pattern of positive (gains) and negative (losses) consequences resulting from development, it is necessary to know the criterion demands posed by the individual and the environment during the lifelong process of adaptation.
A task involving an existential confrontation was introduced to assess wisdom-related performance. Answers to a think-aloud task (suicide task) were rated according to the Berlin wisdom model (cf. Baltes & Smith, 1990; Staudinger & Baltes, 1996a) on five criteria, i.e., rich factual and procedural knowledge, life-span contextualism, value relativism, and uncertainty. The study focused on a group of individuals nominated as being wise (n = 16) by journalists (n = 21). The comparison groups included older clinical psychologists and old and young adult groups. The existential-confrontation task activated insight and judgment about fundamental life matters that could be reliably rated and showed some external validity. As expected wisdom nominees outperformed the other comparison groups, specifically on the two metacriteria life-span contextualism and value relativism.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.
Only among barbarians is practice alone recognized in politics.
Alexis de Tocqueville
Evidence from a psychological approach to the study of wisdom is reviewed with regard to the relationship between age and wisdom. Between 20 and 75 years, age has been demonstrated to show a zero relation with wisdom-related knowledge and judgement. A complex pattern of person characteristics and experiential features have to coalesce in order for wisdom to emerge. However, it is not only growing experience that (on average) comes with age but also decreases in basic intellectual functioning and changes in the personality make-up that seem to undermine rather than facilitate the development of wisdom-related knowledge and judgement. However, there is also some evidence indicating that under certain supportive conditions it may indeed be older people who hold the greatest potential for wisdom.
The present study aims at presenting evidence on the psychometric location of a measure of wisdom-related performance in relation to standard measures of intelligence, personality, and their interface. A sample of 125 men and women heterogeneous with regard to age, years of education, and professional status responded verbally to three wisdom-related dilemmas and completed a psychometric battery of 33 scales (12 tests) involving intelligence, personality, and the personality-intelligence interface. Findings were consistent with predictions. First, 40% of the variance in wisdom-related performance was predicted by measures of intelligence, personality, and their interface, although none of the individual predictors could be considered equivalent to the authors' measure of wisdom-related performance. Second, the personality-intelligence-interface measures provided the largest unique share (15%). Third, wisdom-related performance evinced a fair degree of measurement independence (uniqueness).
Wisdom has long been suggested as a desired goal of development (see e.g. Clayton and Birren, 1980; Erikson, 1959; Hall, 1922; Staudinger and Baltes, 1994). Questions concerning the empirical investigation of wisdom and its ontogeny, however, are largely still open. It is suggested that besides person characteristics, certain types of experience may facilitate wisdom-related performance. A sample of clinical psychologists (n=36) and highly educated control professionals (n=54) ranging in age from 25 to 82 years responded verbally to two wisdom-related tasks involving life planning and completed a psychometric battery of intelligence and personality measures. Three primary findings were obtained. First, training and practice in clinical psychology was the strongest predictor of wisdom-related performance (26%) and, in addition, showed some overlap with personality variables in this predictive relationship. Second, 14% of the variance in wisdom-related performance was accounted for by standard psychometric measures of personality and intelligence. Personality variables were stronger predictors than variables of intelligence. Important personality predictors were Openness to Experience and a middle-range location on the Introversion–Extraversion dimension. Third, wisdom-related performance maintained a sizable degree of measurement independence (uniqueness). Predictive relationships were consistent with research on naive conceptions of wisdom and our own theoretical account of the ontogenesis of wisdom-related performance. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cognitive skills are encoded by a set of productions, which are organized according to a hierarchical goal structure. People solve problems in new domains by applying weak problem-solving procedures to declarative knowledge they have about this domain. From these initial problem solutions, production rules are compiled that are specific to that domain and that use of the knowledge. Numerous experimental results may be predicted from this conception of skill organization and skill acquisition. These include predictions about transfer among skills, differential improvement on problem types, effects of working memory limitations, and applications to instruction. The theory implies that all varieties of skill acquisition, including those typically regarded as inductive, conform to this characterization.
Two perspectives on adult development, the lifespan perspective and the post formal perspective, are integrated to provide a potentially powerful way of defining wisdom and expertise in teaching. Lifespan studies of wisdom in general emphasize relativism, contextualism and uncertainty as three of the criteria that characterize wisdom. Relativism, contextualism and uncertainity are argued from a post formal perspective to be dimensions of mature adult thought. The post formal literature emphasizes as well problem formulation and ability to take another's point-of-view as other important dimensions of optimal adult thought. The redefinition of wisdom in general in the context of actual occupational expertise, namely teaching, allows these lifespan ideas of wisdom and expertise to be situated in actual practice where wisdom may or may not simply be a function of age and experience and where post formal variables may predict the attainment of wisdom.
Examined, in 3 experiments, wisdom as a prototype-organized concept and the influence of the wise prototype on information-processing strategies. In Exp I, 150 young (aged 20–28 yrs), middle-aged (aged 33–59 yrs), and elderly adults (aged 61–86 yrs) generated lists of attributes that described 6 types of people, including wise people. A list of wise attributes was given to 150 adults in Exp II and these Ss were asked to rate how characteristic each attribute was of wise people. Another group of 100 Ss rated attributes for the other types of people (e.g., intelligent). Exp III tested the use of wise and shrewd prototypes in recognizing prototypical and nonprototypical wise and shrewd characters, using 38 undergraduates. Results support the use of wisdom as a well-defined, prototypically-organized competency descriptor that biased Ss' perceptions of fictional characters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Focuses on conveying the basic idea of a life perspective and its contribution to building a psychological art of life. The author mentions three theories than converge into a life perspective: lifespan psychology, action theory, and phenomenology. The seven constituent features that are combined when taking a life perspective in psychology are: (1) the individual as an active part of a larger whole, (2) inherent diachronicity, (3) the joining of different domains of psychological functioning, (4) ecological relevance, (5) methodological richness, (6) a continuous search for reserve potential and meaning, and (7) an embracing of the ontology of the first and the third person. The conceptual framework of a life perspective features life as a dynamic system, including the three characteristics of nonlinearity, self-organization, and self-stabilization. The author concludes with a discussion of the possibilities of a psychologically informed art of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this . . . book, John Kekes discusses moral wisdom: a virtue essential to living a morally good and personally satisfying life. He advances a broad, nontechnical argument that considers the adversities inherent in the human condition and assists in the achievement of good lives.
This possession of moral wisdom . . . is a matter of degree: more of it makes lives better, less makes them worse. Exactly what is moral wisdom, however, and how should it be sought?
Kekes returns to the classical Greek sources of Western philosophy to argue for the contemporary significance of moral wisdom. He develops a proposal that is eudaimonistic—secular, anthropocentric, pluralistic, individualistic, and agonistic. He understands moral wisdom as focusing on the human effort to create many different forms of good lives. Although the approach is Aristotelian, the author concentrates on formulating and defending a contemporary moral ideal. The importance of this ideal, he shows, lies in increasing our ability to cope with life's adversities by improving our judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The author presents a balance theory of wisdom. First, some alternative approaches to wisdom are reviewed, including philosophical, implicit theoretical, and explicit theoretical ones. Second, the concept of tacit knowledge and its role in wisdom are discussed. Third, a balance theory of wisdom is presented, according to which
wisdom is defined as the application of tacit knowledge as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among multiple (a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, and (c) extrapersonal interests in order to achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing environments, (b) shaping of existing environments, and (c) selection of new environments. This theory is compared to some other theories, and wisdom as a construct is compared to some other constructs. Measurement issues are also discussed. It is concluded that it might be worthwhile for American society to emphasize development of wisdom in schooling more than it has in the past. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Studied commonsense concepts of wisdom and wise persons (WPs) based on 41 interviews conducted in the US with 16 men and 25 women, aged 55–92 yrs. Ss were asked to name WPs they had known and the attributes that led Ss to define them as wise. Female Ss found WPs within their families, whereas men named more frequently former professional colleagues. Both male and female Ss named more men than women as WPs. Ss' different understanding, vs psychological definitions, of wisdom are discussed. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
As increasingly more people experience old age as a time of growth and productivity, theoretical attention to successful ageing is needed. In this paper, we overview historical, societal and philosophical evidence for a deep, long-standing ambivalence about human ageing that has influenced even scientific views of old age. In recent years, however, discussion of the psychological and behavioural processes people use to maintain and reach new goals in late life has gained momentum. We contribute to this discussion the metamodel of selective optimisation with compensation, developed by Baltes and Baltes. The model is a metamodel that attempts to represent scientific knowledge about the nature of development and ageing with the focus on successful adaptation. The model takes gains and losses jointly into account, pays attention to the great heterogeneity in ageing and successful ageing, and views successful mastery of goals in the face of losses endemic to advanced age as the result of the interplay of the three processes, selection, compensation, and optimisation. We review evidence from the biological and social science literatures for each component and discuss new research avenues to study the interaction of the three processes.
Wisdom is such an elusive psychological construct that few people have considered it a viable field, though many are fascinated by the topic. Well-known psychologist Robert J. Sternberg of Yale University, perceiving the growth of interest in wisdom as a field, saw a need to document the progress that has been made in the field since the early '80s and to point the way for future theory and research. The resulting comprehensive and authoritative book, Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins and Development, is a well-rounded collection of psychological views on wisdom. It introduces this concept of wisdom, considers philosophical issues and developmental approaches, and covers as well folk conceptions of the topic. In the final section, Professor Sternberg provides an integration of the fascinating and comprehensive material.