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Psychological Wisdom Research: Commonalities and Differences in a Growing Field
Abstract
Wisdom represents a fruitful topic for psychological investigations for at least two reasons. First, the study of wisdom emphasizes the search for the continued optimization and the further cultural evolution of the human condition. Second, it exemplifies the collaboration of cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes. The growth and scope of psychological wisdom research over the past few decades demonstrate that it is possible to investigate this complex construct with empirical rigor. Since the 1970s, five main areas have been established: lay definitions of wisdom, conceptualizing and measuring wisdom, understanding the development of wisdom, investigating the plasticity of wisdom, and applying psychological knowledge about wisdom in life contexts.
... The VIA framework describes perspective as the ability to "see the bigger picture in life" and to "avoid getting wrapped up in the small details when there are bigger issues to consider." The strength of perspective appears as a common denominator underlying all the models of psychological wisdom (Kristjánsson et al., 2021), understood as a fuzzy, complex construct that is hard to operationalize and measure empirically (Grossmann et al., 2020;Staudinger & Glück, 2011). Although many of these descriptions of perspective (and curiosity) seem to align with the Neo-Aristotelian view of phronesis, we argue that perspective (and curiosity) are necessary but not sufficient conditions to achieve a state of phronesis, as defined by virtue ethics (Schwartz & Sharpe, 2006. ...
... Our literature review also revealed that at the time this chapter was written; both interdisciplinary and purely psychological research on (practical) wisdom was burgeoning, even outside the positive psychology conceptual space (e.g., Grossmann et al., 2020;Jeste et al., 2020;Kristjánsson et al., 2021;Staudinger & Glück, 2011). In most of the extant psychological wisdom models, perspective (or analog constructs to this strength) is described as cognitive processes that capture the relationship between oneself and others (groups and communities) and is operationalized through constructs, such as prosocial cognitions and behaviors Thomas et al., 2019); self-transcendence (Beaumont, 2009), and even a sense of homeostatic balance; all proximal outcomes that can be conducive to positive peace constructs, such as inner peace (individual level) or relational harmony (dyadic or group levels). ...
... Socrates' method towed (increased) the intellectual humility of both conversational partners. Today, intellectual humility is a valued component of most psychological wisdom models and frameworks (Grossmann et al., 2020;Jeste et al., 2020;Staudinger & Glück, 2011). ...
This chapter examines how the universal character strengths of curiosity and perspective, as defined by the VIA Classification (Peterson & Seligman, Character strengths and virtues: A classification and handbook. Oxford University Press and American Psychological Association, 2004), intersect with the concepts of peace outlined in contemporary peace psychology literature (Christie, Journal of Social Issues 62:1–17, 2006; Cohrs et al., American Psychologist 68:590–600, 2013; Niemiec, The Journal of Positive Psychology 17:219–232, 2022). Peace, as defined by peace psychologists, encompasses dynamic psychosocial states at both individual and collective levels. It is characterized by both negative aspects (the absence of violence) and positive dimensions (such as harmony and equity). Curiosity, defined as a desire for knowledge and exploratory behavior, acts as a pathway to peace, connecting cognitive ability, openness, and extraversion with peace-related attitudes and behaviors. We propose that the Input–Process–Output approach, which connects character strengths with peace outcomes, presents only part of the picture. Instead, we suggest an Inputs–Mediators–Outcomes–Inputs approach to expand our understanding of whether positive peace constructs (or strengths) could serve as precursors to character development and personal flourishing through the full utilization of one’s innate abilities and traits. Could a context of peace inspire individuals to utilize their curiosity and perspective to explore and apply their inherent traits and abilities, creating a virtuous cycle that sustains a positive peace context? Practically, nurturing curiosity and perspective can be achieved through mindful engagement with character strengths, aligning with traditions of peacemaking from both Eastern and Western perspectives. By introducing a heuristic model that links inherited talents, character strengths, and proposed “peace strengths,” we lay the groundwork for peacebuilding.
... His unorthodox, efficient, and simple problem-solving strategy (the woman who declined was the true mother) is often widely praised as wisdom. Although wisdom is universally esteemed as the apex of human judgment and decision-making, especially in solving complex and ambiguous issues (Staudinger & Glück, 2011), it is surprising that wisdom has seldom been explored within the context of career development. Career development is fraught with ambiguous problems that essentially lack a necessarily "right" choice. ...
... However, empirical research and scale development have been delayed, likely because it is inherently challenging to develop a measure that explicitly addresses both processes (i.e., double-barrel). A wisdom perspective might offer a solution in this regard because it is closely associated with dialectical thinking (Staudinger & Glück, 2011) and consequently can allow for stronger tests of the DTC propositions, particularly the one about dialectical decision competence (Xu, 2021a;Xu & Flores, 2023). ...
... Although research on career wisdom has promising potential to facilitate career management facing ambiguous problems (Staudinger & Glück, 2011;Sternberg & Glück, 2019) and enrich career theories like the DTC, it encounters three major issues: its definition, relation to existing career concepts, and measurement. First, wisdom in general is an ambiguous concept in the psychological literature, suffering from complex manifestation and definitional debate (Sternberg & Glück, 2019). ...
Wisdom is often recognized as a great resource in resolving complex problems, including challenges in one’s career. However, current conversations on handling ambiguity in career development are disconnected from the wisdom literature, and a psychometrically sound measure of career wisdom is lacking. This article presents two studies that aimed to develop such a tool and evaluate its psychometric performance. Study 1 utilized a sample of workers (n = 349) from the United States to create and explore the factor structure of a measure called the Career Wisdom Scale. In Study 2, a sample of U.S. workers (n = 387) was tracked over 8 months to validate the Career Wisdom Scale by assessing its structural, convergent, predictive, and incremental validities. The results supported the psychometric soundness of the newly developed Career Wisdom Scale. Structurally, the results revealed a three-factor structure of career wisdom, which encompasses embracing ignorance, embracing intuition, and embracing vulnerability. Furthermore, the results indicated that career wisdom predicted various outcomes, including career satisfaction, life satisfaction, organizational career growth, psychological well-being, career adaptability, and work–life balance over and beyond personality traits and career decision anxiety. In conclusion, the present studies offer a valuable measure of career wisdom for both future research and practical application. Additionally, it underscores the importance of career wisdom in effectively managing career challenges that may lack clear solutions.
... Wisdom is the capacity to cope with difficult, complex, and ambiguous life situations [1][2][3][4]. Wisdom can help to overcome negative life events. Wisdom is inherent in every human being to a greater or lesser degree. ...
... Until now, there has been scientific research on wisdom for three decades [6]. Wisdom has been defined [1,4] as expertise in dealing with difficult questions of life, such as questions of life planning, life design and life interpretation. Wisdom can be understood as a resource for coping with conflict or stress. ...
... In none of the cases is there "the right solution", with each decision one does potentially something wrong. These are smaller and larger life dilemmas, which life presents to all people, on a daily basis [4,7,10]. Some people suffer from such life problems and dilemmas, others can cope with them productively [5,6,11,17]. ...
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.
... Reflection and self-reflection not only make it possible to perceive and understand reality more clearly but also lead to a decrease in self-centeredness and greater tolerance toward the imperfections of others. As a consequence, wise individuals develop sympathetic love and compassion for others and the motivation to alleviate suffering (Kekes, 1995;Levitt, 1999;Staudinger & Glück, 2011), which describes the compassionate dimension of wisdom. ...
... However, the study has several limitations. One limitation of survey research is the possibility that item scores are affected by self-deception and social desirability bias (Staudinger & Glück, 2011). For example, wise older adults who are aware of and accept their own shortcoming might score lower on the 3D-WS than less wise individuals who are under the illusion that they are perfect or at least want to appear this way (Bangen et al., 2013). ...
Objectives. Research has shown that wisdom tends to be positively associated with subjective well-being (SWB) in later life, especially if older adults encounter physical or social hardship. Yet, the role of resiliency in the wisdom and well-being relationship has not been investigated. We extended our earlier study that investigated the buffering effect of wisdom on the inverse relationship between adverse life events and SWB (Ardelt & Jeste, 2018) to analyze whether resiliency mediates the association between three-dimensional wisdom and SWB by reducing stress. Method. A structural equation path model was employed, using data from the Successful AGing Evaluation (SAGE) study of 994 adults between the ages of 51 and 99 years (M = 77, SD = 12). Wisdom was assessed as an integration of cognitive, reflective, and compassionate (affective) dimensions, resiliency as resilience and a sense of mastery and control, and SWB as a latent variable with mental health, happiness, and life satisfaction as effect indicators. Results. Resilience, mastery, and perceived stress fully mediated the positive association between wisdom and SWB. Discussion. Wisdom seems to strengthen resilience, mastery, and equanimity during the later years of life, which helps older adults to maintain a sense of well-being despite aging-related losses. The study indicates that wisdom is a valuable psychological resource in old age.
... A substantial body of basic research on wisdom exists within lifespan and developmental psychology. [33][34][35] There is a general consensus that wisdom entails expertise in mastering difficult to solve and adversary situations in life. This definition closely aligns with that of eudaimonia. ...
... When summarizing the various scientific concepts of wisdom, about a dozen subdimensions can be distinguished. 12,34,35,40,41 Wise individuals can recognize and accept factual information, even if it contradicts their own wishes (knowledge of facts). They possess procedural knowledge about effective actions of strategies (procedural knowledge). ...
Psychotherapy encompasses a broad range of goals, ranging from the alleviation of symptoms and the prevention of recurrence to the enhancement of well-being. These goals are mostly cross-sectional and hedonic-oriented in the sense of wellness, happiness, and absence of pain. However, an alternative goal is eudaimonia, which involves mastery of life from a long-term perspective. This pursuit entails embracing and even seeking hardship and confrontation with adversities for the sake of higher goods and goals. Eudaimonia, both an attitude and a behavior, is essential for everybody, especially individuals facing challenging circumstances and burdensome life situations, such as familial burdens, job problems, and illness. Eudaimonia can be attained through wisdom, which is regarded in lifespan psychology as a multidimensional capacity for coping with complex challenges and dilemmas in life. Initial studies suggest that wisdom skills are trainable, opening additional avenues in psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine. It is argued that eudaimonia deserves increased attention in psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine.
... The results of some previous studies showed the link between wisdom and many positive results. Such as improved physical and mental health, happiness, life satisfaction, empathy, and tolerance, along with social benefits; for example, a sense of the common good and improved interpersonal relations (e.g., [16][17][18]). Some previous studies have tried to verify the nature of the relationship between wisdom and coping strategies (e.g., [9,15,19]), but the authors did not have previous studies to verify the nature of that relationship, especially between wisdom according to the life experiences model and the coping strategies. ...
This research aims to examine the relationship between the components of wisdom development in light of the MORE life experiences model and coping strategies, and to determine the differences between males and females in these variables. Moreover, it predicts coping strategies from wisdom development components. The total number of participants in this study was 160 students from King Faisal University, aged 19-22 years, who responded to the Components of Wisdom Scale in light of the MORE life experiences model and the Coping Strategies Scale. The results showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between wisdom development components and coping strategies. It is also possible to predict coping strategies from wisdom development components. The findings indicate that there are statistically significant differences between male and female students in the components of wisdom mastery, openness, and emotional regulation, in favor of males, while significant differences were found in two dimensions: reflection and empathy towards females. In addition, there were no differences in some strategies between male and female students, such as the strategy of self-control, the search for material support, and behavioral disengagement. There were also differences in the direction of increasing students’ use of strategies such as planning, active coping, seeking emotional support, positive reinterpretation, denial, and humor.
... However, the empirical evidence for this claim has been mixed. Some studies have found positive age-related differences in wisdom-related metacognition (Grossmann et al., 2010), others found negative differences (Thomas & Kunzmann, 2014), and yet others have reported no significant age differences Grossmann & Kross, 2014; for a review, see Staudinger & Glück, 2011). Claims about possible non-linear associations with age have also been mixed, with some work indicating a U-shaped association, while other scholarship suggesting an inverse U-shaped pattern in wisdom-related metacognitive capacities (for reviews, see Glück & Weststrate, 2022;Grossmann, Weststrate, Ardelt, et al., 2020). ...
In an uncertain world, traditional decision-making models and wisdom cultivation methods fall short. Emulating exemplars or relying on mental shortcuts and habits may help in some situations but often fail with ill-defined problems and transformative decisions. We propose that cultivating metacognition—the ability to reflect on and regulate one's thoughts, goals, and emotions—is key to navigating these challenges. Metacognitive strategies like intellectual humility, perspective-taking, and open-mindedness help individuals discern complex situations, consider multiple viewpoints, and adapt their decision-making. Though not a cure-all, metacognition represents a promising frontier in cultivating wisdom. Insights from philosophy, psychology, and contemplative traditions suggest a range of interventions to foster metacognitive skills and enhance wise decision-making amid radical uncertainty. We call for a paradigm shift in how we approach judgment and decision-making, inviting researchers and practitioners to explore the untapped potential of metacognition in navigating life’s most complex challenges.
... Hal ini disebabkan oleh sifat evaluatif harga diri yang cenderung stabil dan kurang reflektif, berbeda dengan kebijaksanaan yang menuntut pemrosesan mendalam atas pengalaman hidup, keterbukaan terhadap ketidakpastian, serta empati terhadap orang lain (Jeste & Lee, 2019). Penelitian Staudinger & Glück (2011) juga menunjukkan bahwa kebijaksanaan tidak berkorelasi langsung dengan aspek-aspek afeksi positif seperti self-esteem, melainkan lebih dekat dengan kemampuan refleksi dan regulasi emosi. ...
Individual development from birth to adulthood involves different complexities and responsibilities at each stage. Adolescence, as a crucial transition to adulthood, emphasizes the importance of readiness to face the world of work. In this context, students, as part of the adolescent group, have the responsibility to develop academic knowledge and abilities. Optimal academic achievement is not only beneficial for students but also for society. This study focuses on the relationship between academic resilience and wisdom in high-achieving students who experience impostor syndrome, as well as the role of self-esteem in this dynamic. This quantitative study with a correlational design involved 379 high-achieving students ranging in age from 18 to 26 years. Data were collected using the Academic Resilience Scale, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, and Brief Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale. The results showed that academic resilience had a significant positive contribution to wisdom in students with impostor syndrome. In contrast, self-esteem was not found to contribute significantly to wisdom in the same group of students. These findings underscore the importance of academic resilience in fostering wisdom among high-achieving students who face the challenges of impostor syndrome. ABSTRAKPerkembangan individu dari lahir hingga dewasa melibatkan kompleksitas dan tanggung jawab yang berbeda pada setiap tahapnya. Masa remaja, sebagai transisi krusial menuju kedewasaan, menekankan pentingnya kesiapan menghadapi dunia kerja. Dalam konteks ini, mahasiswa, sebagai bagian dari kelompok remaja, memiliki tanggung jawab untuk mengembangkan pengetahuan dan kemampuan akademik. Prestasi akademik yang optimal tidak hanya bermanfaat bagi mahasiswa tetapi juga bagi masyarakat. Penelitian ini berfokus pada hubungan antara resiliensi akademik dan kebijaksanaan pada mahasiswa berprestasi tinggi yang mengalami impostor syndrome, serta peran harga diri dalam dinamika ini. Studi kuantitatif dengan desain korelasional ini melibatkan 379 mahasiswa berprestasi tinggi dengan rentang usia 18 hingga 26 tahun. Data dikumpulkan menggunakan Skala Resiliensi Akademik, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, dan Brief Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa resiliensi akademik memiliki kontribusi positif yang signifikan terhadap kebijaksanaan pada mahasiswa dengan impostor syndrome. Sebaliknya, harga diri tidak ditemukan memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan terhadap kebijaksanaan pada kelompok mahasiswa yang sama. Temuan ini menggarisbawahi pentingnya resiliensi akademik dalam menumbuhkan kebijaksanaan di kalangan mahasiswa berprestasi yang menghadapi tantangan impostor syndrome.
... Third, this study used a self-report measure of personal wisdom based on three latent variables which may be problematic due to social desirability and biased selfperceptions [77]. It is great to have a psychometrically sound, easily administered in-strument to measure the wisdom levels of respondents, which facilitates research in this important area. ...
A sustainable peace process requires more than temporary agreements or the resolution of immediate conflicts—it demands a deep, enduring transformation rooted in the values, perceptions, and interactions of individuals within a society. Traditional peacebuilding often emphasizes events, political power struggles, and leadership, but the collective impact of individual perspectives may be the true determinant of lasting peace. This multidisciplinary study empirically examines the role of wisdom—a fundamental psychological construct—in shaping individual attitudes and its cascading influence on the broader peace process. The findings highlight the profound implications of wisdom for sustainability in peacebuilding. Greater wisdom strongly correlates with a predisposition for peace, reconciliation, and societal reunification, aligning with sustainable development principles. Thus, this study advocates for a sustainability-oriented approach to peace processes, emphasizing the interconnectedness of individual wisdom, collective hope, and the long-term viability of peace. By fostering wisdom, maintaining hope, and addressing systemic challenges, societies can move toward a more sustainable and harmonious future, rooted in reconciliation, equity, and mutual understanding. This holistic approach strengthens peace prospects and advances the broader goal of a just, sustainable world for future generations.
... Many previous studies (e.g., Ardelt [1]; Ardelt [2], and Ardelt and Edwards [3]. Staudinger and Gluck [4]) show that wisdom usually has cognitive, introspective, and emotive components [1]. Many times, people equate wisdom with traits like self-transcendence, emotion regulation, and compassion [5]. ...
Wisdom is one of the well-known concepts used in the field of positive psychology, and the concept was developed from multiple points of view, such as the Berlin model, Brown model, Ardelt model, Sternberg model, the MORE model, and HERO (E) Model. The current study aimed to prepare a scale of the components of wisdom development (CWDS) according to the MORE life experience model, which focused on five dimensions including mastery, openness, reflection, self-regulation, and empathy. Additionally, the estimates of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and internal consistency were explored using Cronbach's Alpha. A sample of 695 university students at King Faisal University was used. The results showed a good fit of the model to the data, with excellent indicators. These values indicate that the proposed model for the wisdom scale agrees with the data and that the scale is factorially valid. The findings of the CFA, which included defining the model and utilizing fit indicators, suggested that the model was appropriate for the field data and confirmed the structure of four factors for the scale, which were MA, measured with 5 items, RE, measured with 3 items, EM, measured with 7 items, and OP, measured with 3 items. The findings supported the psychometric properties of validity.
... In our study wisdom was more strongly related to the absence of depressive symptoms than personal well-being, which has also been found in previous research (Ardelt, 2003;Zadworna, 2023) and supports the two-continua model of mental health (Ardelt, 2005). Wise older adults might focus more on an enduring sense of contentment and life satisfaction than fleeting happiness (Staudinger & Glück, 2011;Webster et al., 2014) and might maintain mental health by pursuing meaningful activities rather than simply seeking pleasure in life. Personal well-being in our study encompassed satisfaction across various life domains, including standard of living, health, life achievements, personal relationships, personal safety, community connectedness, future security, and religion/spirituality (Żemojtel-Piotrowska et al., 2017). ...
Objectives:
Late adulthood is marked by challenges that impact well-being. While perceived health, wisdom, and positive attitudes toward aging correlate with better mental health in later life, their interrelations are not well understood. This study explored if three-dimensional wisdom could buffer the negative impact of poor physical health on mental health, and if positive attitudes toward aging mediated the effects of wisdom and poor health on mental health.
Method:
A survey of 500 Polish older adults aged 60-86 included the Personal Wellbeing Index, Geriatric Depression Scale, Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale, Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire, perceived health, and sociodemographic questions.
Results:
Wisdom buffered the negative association between poor physical health on mental health and had a significantly stronger effect on mental health if perceived physical health was very poor. The relations of wisdom, poor health, and the interaction between wisdom and poor health on mental health were partially mediated by attitudes toward aging.
Conclusion:
Wisdom seems to mitigate the negative effects of poor health on mental health, and wise older adults tend to have more positive attitudes toward aging, leading to better mental health outcomes. Those findings support the important role played by wisdom and attitudes toward aging in healthy aging interventions.
... Recent developments, like the Common Wisdom Model, attempt to address these issues, but the inconsistency in terminology and conceptual definitions remain problematic (e.g., Is empathy an element of wisdom or a distinct construct?) (Staudinger & Glück, 2011). Another challenge lies in appropriately determining the level of analysis, because many studies make unwarranted cross-temporal claims from cross-sectional data (e.g., wisdom leads to well-being). ...
... Three-dimensional wisdom was measured by the abbreviated 12-item version of the three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS-12; Thomas et al., 2017). Contrary to Schneider et al.'s (2023) characterization, the 3D-WS is not a measure of general wisdom but of personal wisdom (Ardelt et al., 2019;Staudinger & Glück, 2011). It does not ' . . . ...
In a recent article in The Journal of Positive Psychology, Schneider et al. (2023) examined the relations of emotional intelligence (EI) on wise reasoning and three-dimensional wisdom. They concluded that only the managing emotions branch of EI predicted wise reasoning, contingent upon epistemic humility and need for cognition in Study 1 (N?=?99) and epistemic humility, empathic concern, and perspective taking in Study 2 (N?=?150). Unfortunately, this article has several problems, including (a) the mischaracterization of three-dimensional wisdom as knowledge rather than personality qualities, (b) mediating variables whose concepts and measures partially overlapped with wise reasoning and wisdom, and (c) some problems with computing the three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS) in Study 2. I tested alternative path models, which showed that three-dimensional wisdom predicted EI and wise reasoning, whereas EI by itself did not predict wise reasoning. Wise reasoning might depend more on personal wisdom than EI.
One of the key objectives of this study was to create a wise leadership scale and a wise organization index to assess the effectiveness of organizational wisdom interventions. One hundred and forty-six items for the ADAPT-Wise Leadership Self-Assessment Scale (ADAPT-WLSS), and 139 items for the ADAPT-Wise Organization Cross-Cultural Index (ADAPT-WOCI) (see Tables 6-7 and 6-8) were developed using the output of 60 cross-cultural qualitative interviews with senior industry leaders and managers situated in 9 countries across Eastern and Western cultures.
The WLSS and WOCI are the congregation of existing scales with a very few new items added. Thus the WLSS and WOCI would be very handy resources for future designs of surveys to measure organizational wisdom.
Theories of complex thought, psychological maturation, and wisdom often rest on three core assumptions: that wisdom-related features reflect a common latent trait, manifest consistently across situations, and exhibit isomorphism between between-person traits and within-person processes. These assumptions underlie much of the field’s empirical and theoretical work yet remain largely untested. We examined these assumptions in a year-long, multi-wave study of North American adults (N = 499), using event-reconstruction sampling to gather autobiographical reflections on adverse experiences. Participants evaluated their use of four core metacognitive features of wisdom: intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change, perspective taking, and search for a compromise. Our findings challenge prevailing static models and supported a dynamic, context-sensitive account. A network model outperformed latent factor models, suggesting that wisdom comprises interrelated but distinct features rather than a unitary construct. The perceived relevance and use of these features varied across situations and showed lower temporal stability than personality traits or well-being, undermining assumptions of crosssituational consistency. Within-person and between-person patterns also diverged, violating isomorphism. Notably, individuals who reported higher-than-usual self-distancing and distress at one time point also reported elevated levels of wisdom-related features three months later, a pattern not observed for other proposed moderators such as social support or subjective appraisals. Together, these findings offer a revised understanding of wisdom and complex thought—as dynamic, context-sensitive processes, rather than fixed traits. Our findings carry implications for the ontological status of wisdom-related constructs and underscore the importance of longitudinal research and more precise temporal claims in psychological science.
Theories of complex thought, psychological maturation, and wisdom often rest on three core assumptions: that wisdom-related features reflect a common latent trait, manifest consistently across situations, and exhibit isomorphism between between-person traits and within-person processes. These assumptions underlie much of the field’s empirical and theoretical work yet remain largely untested. We examined these assumptions in a year-long, multi-wave study of North American adults (N = 499), using event-reconstruction sampling to gather autobiographical reflections on adverse experiences. Participants evaluated their use of four core metacognitive features of wisdom: intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change, perspective taking, and search for a compromise. Our findings challenge prevailing static models and supported a dynamic, context-sensitive account. A network model outperformed latent factor models, suggesting that wisdom comprises interrelated but distinct features rather than a unitary construct. The perceived relevance and use of these features varied across situations and showed lower temporal stability than personality traits or well-being, undermining assumptions of crosssituational consistency. Within-person and between-person patterns also diverged, violating isomorphism. Notably, individuals who reported higher-than-usual self-distancing and distress at one time point also reported elevated levels of wisdom-related features three months later, a pattern not observed for other proposed moderators such as social support or subjective appraisals. Together, these findings offer a revised understanding of wisdom and complex thought—as dynamic, context-sensitive processes, rather than fixed traits. Our findings carry implications for the ontological status of wisdom-related constructs and underscore the importance of longitudinal research and more precise temporal claims in psychological science.
The state holds a fundamental responsibility to protect the human rights of its citizens, including the right to safety, as outlined in national constitutions and international law. Despite this, violations of these rights are often perpetrated by both state entities and non-state actors. This study aims to examine the state's role in safeguarding citizens' right to security, particularly in the context of human rights violations in Indonesia. Utilizing a normative juridical methodology that incorporates both statutory and case law analyzes, complemented by literature review, the research findings indicate that while national and international legal frameworks mandate the state to ensure citizen safety, actual implementation is inadequate. This is characterized by limited accountability and insufficient restitution for victims. Therefore, there is a pressing need for enhanced legal protection mechanisms and institutional reforms to ensure that the state's responsibilities are met and that the right to security is upheld as a fundamental aspect of human rights.
Recently, scholars have suggested that reading narratives helps develop students’ phronesis (the Greek term for wise judgment and decision-making skills), which is crucial for efforts to understand today's major political, environmental, and transnational contexts. Although much of this research has centered on the usefulness of reading narratives in developing good judgment in complex and ambiguous settings, the author contends that writing narratives similarly cultivates wise judgment and decision-making skills precisely because, as the author argues here, narratives themselves are ambiguous and complex. Borrowing from Horst W. J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber's concept of wicked problems, the author terms the type of narratives that students produce in community-engaged settings as wicked stories, or wicked storywork, in that students confront uncertainty, contradiction, and failure in their attempt to tame multiple perspectives on an issue and impose their own authority. The author argues that working with wicked stories can increase students’ discernment and judgement, particularly in the writing situations that they will encounter beyond the confines of the classroom.
Being proactive involves taking personal initiative to change a situation or oneself. While research to date has paid considerable attention to the frequency with which individuals engage in proactive behaviors, less attention has been given to the ways in which people act proactively to garner positive outcomes. In this paper, we draw on the conceptualization of wise proactivity developed by Parker, Wang, and Liao in 2019 to construct a measure that captures employees' deliberate and thoughtful consideration of context, others, and self as they proactively initiate and pursue change in the workplace. Through a series of empirical studies, we investigate the key antecedents of wise proactivity, showing that it is predicted by wisdom and political skills. We also examine whether, and through what mechanism, wise proactivity affects the outcome of job performance. We show that wise proactivity predicts job performance above and beyond the frequency with which one engages in proactivity and does so because wise proactivity is perceived of as desirable. Our study highlights the value of shifting the focus in proactivity research and practice to explore how employees can engage in proactive behavior in a wise manner.
(IMPORTANT NOTE. See right version of the Table 4.1. in the Routledge webpage https://rb.gy/8czn5e). ABSTRACT: What is Wisdom and Can it be Taught? uses careful theoretical analysis and a well‑argued ontological conception of the human being to present a new ‘Holistic Wisdom Model’, summarizing existing research and presenting fresh insights. Human wisdom is a complex phenomenon. Psychological research in this area has led to a wide range of fragmentary claims and models, and therefore,there is a need for theoretical clarification of the field: What is wisdom? How should we study it in the first place? Is it a purely psychological phenomenon,or do we also need philosophy? This book examines these questions, as well as provides a pedagogical review of wisdom to evaluate how people become wise(r) and whether wisdom can be taught. Drawing on findings from a range of educational fields, it shows the crucial features of wisdom‑enhancing pedagogies we already know, which are summarized in a ‘Teaching for Wisdom Model’.
The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between "wisdom", "mindfulness", and "religiosity" in university students. The research consists of three parts -apart from the introduction and conclusion-: theoretical framework, method, findings and comments. In the first part, research variables are introduced using one of the qualitative research designs, document analysis. In the second part, information is given about the model and method of the research, measurement tools, data collection, and analysis processes. In the third part, the findings showing the relationships between the demographic qualifications of the participants and the research variables, and the interpretations of the findings are given. Among the quantitative research methods, the questionnaire technique and relational survey model were used in the practice dimension of the study. A total of 584 undergraduate students aged 18-45, including 187 men and 397 women from Sakarya University, participated in the research. The questionnaire distributed to the participants consisted of a "Personal Information Form" which includes demographic-psycho-social characteristics, "San Diego Wisdom Scale", "Mindful Attention Awareness Scale", and "Ok Religious Attitude Scale". The study results indicated that the wisdom levels of the participants are significantly positively correlated with their mindfulness qualities. It was also determined that there was a significant positive correlation between wisdom and religiosity. While the mindfulness levels of university students explained about 11.4% of their wisdom characteristics, their level of religiosity explained 1.1% of their wisdom. On the other hand, no significant correlation was found between mindfulness and religiosity. According to the research findings, the sub-dimensions of wisdom differed significantly according to gender, while conditions such as age, class of education, and growing up in a large family did not show a significant relationship. Participants who stated that they meditated achieved a higher level of wisdom.
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
The phrase “Happy Wisdom” is not attributed to a specific person or philosopher. It is a concept that combines two universal ideas—happiness and wisdom. While many researchers have investigated the relationship between happiness and wisdom throughout literature, there's no single person credited with coining the exact phrase “Happy Wisdom”. It is a phrase that combines the idea of happiness and wisdom, suggesting that true wisdom often leads to happiness, and a happy life is guided by wisdom. It can be interpreted as a state of being where one finds joy in understanding and learning, or where wise decisions lead to a fulfilling and content life. The study provides a step-by-step guide to happy wisdom adapted from Maslow hierarch theory. This step-by-step guide will provide a framework for academicians to test it quantitatively, and to corporate people to implement the same in organization for better growth and profit. Finally, it concludes with the scope for future research.
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.
This paper explores the intersection of philosophy and scripture through an examination of emotional intelligence in the context of 1 Kgs 12:1-19. Employing a philosophico-biblical methodology, the study combines conceptual analysis with biblical exegesis to illuminate the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and decision-making. The narrative of Rehoboam's reign serves as a case study, demonstrating how a leader's emotional competencies-or lack thereof-can significantly impact societal outcomes. The research delves into the philosophical underpinnings of emotional intelligence, situating it within broader discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature. Through a detailed exegesis of 1 Kgs 12:1-19, the paper analyses the historical context, literary structure, and theological implications of Rehoboam's fateful decision. This analysis reveals striking parallels between ancient leadership challenges and modern concepts of emotional intelligence. By examining Rehoboam's interactions through the lens of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, the study illustrates how deficits in these areas led to the division of the Israelite kingdom. The paper argues that this biblical narrative offers timeless insights into the critical role of emotional intelligence in governance, conflict resolution, and human relations. This interdisciplinary approach not only enriches our understanding of a vital moment in biblical history but also demonstrates the enduring relevance of scriptural wisdom to contemporary leadership theory and practice. The study concludes by highlighting the potential for further research at the nexus of philosophy, theology, and emotional intelligence.
This paper explores the intersection of philosophy and scripture through an examination of emotional intelligence in the context of 1 Kgs 12:1-19. Employing a philosophico-biblical methodology, the study combines conceptual analysis with biblical exegesis to illuminate the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and decision-making. The narrative of Rehoboam's reign serves as a case study, demonstrating how a leader's emotional competencies-or lack thereof-can significantly impact societal outcomes. The research delves into the philosophical underpinnings of emotional intelligence, situating it within broader discussions of wisdom, ethics, and human nature. Through a detailed exegesis of 1 Kgs 12:1-19, the paper analyses the historical context, literary structure, and theological implications of Rehoboam's fateful decision. This analysis reveals striking parallels between ancient leadership challenges and modern concepts of emotional intelligence. By examining Rehoboam's interactions through the lens of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, the study illustrates how deficits in these areas led to the division of the Israelite kingdom. The paper argues that this biblical narrative offers timeless insights into the critical role of emotional intelligence in governance, conflict resolution, and human relations. This interdisciplinary approach not only enriches our understanding of a vital moment in biblical history but also demonstrates the enduring relevance of scriptural wisdom to contemporary leadership theory and practice. The study concludes by highlighting the potential for further research at the nexus of philosophy, theology, and emotional intelligence.
L’histoire parallèle de l’évolution de l’intelligence humaine et de l’intelligence artificielle constitue un voyage fascinant, mettant en lumière les voies distinctes mais interconnectées de l’évolution biologique et de l’innovation technologique. Cette histoire peut être considérée comme une série de développements interconnectés, chaque avancée de l’intelligence humaine ouvrant la voie au prochain bond en avant de l’intelligence artificielle.
L’intelligence humaine et l’intelligence artificielle sont depuis longtemps liées, évoluant selon des trajectoires parallèles tout au long de l’histoire. Alors que les humains cherchent à comprendre et à reproduire l’intelligence, l’IA est devenue un domaine dédié à la création de systèmes capables d’accomplir des tâches qui nécessitent traditionnellement l’intellect humain.
Ce livre examine les racines évolutives de l'intelligence, explore l'émergence de l'intelligence artificielle, examine l'histoire parallèle de l'intelligence humaine et de l'intelligence artificielle, retraçant leur développement, leurs interactions et l'impact profond qu'elles ont eu les unes sur les autres, et envisage les paysages futurs où l'intelligence humaine et artificielle converge. Explorons cette histoire, en comparant les étapes clés et les développements dans les deux domaines.
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.
The parallel history of the evolution of human intelligence and artificial intelligence is a fascinating journey, highlighting the distinct but interconnected paths of biological evolution and technological innovation. This history can be seen as a series of interconnected developments, each advance in human intelligence paving the way for the next leap in artificial intelligence. Human intelligence and artificial intelligence have long been intertwined, evolving in parallel trajectories throughout history. As humans have sought to understand and reproduce intelligence, AI has emerged as a field dedicated to creating systems capable of tasks that traditionally require human intellect. This book examines the evolutionary roots of intelligence, explores the emergence of artificial intelligence, examines the parallel history of human intelligence and artificial intelligence, tracing their development, interactions, and profound impact they have had on each other, and envisions future landscapes where intelligence converges human and artificial. Let's explore this history, comparing key milestones and developments in both realms.
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
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.
This study contextualizes business leaders’ perspectives on business-society interaction through the theoretical lens of wisdom. Morally effective interaction between business and society relies on shared perceptions of expected values grounded in leaders’ virtuous behavior. Through empirical fieldwork across industries in a developing society, the article documents how local business leaders perceive wise leadership in dealing with socially complex problems. Using grounded theory, we inductively developed a model of wisdom, executive wisdom, that identifies 14 characteristics of wisdom, located in three groups: technē, wise decisions, and virtuous disposition. The findings broaden the view of the complex nature of wise decision-making in the business-society context.
Istoria paralelă a evoluției inteligenței umane și a inteligenței artificiale este o călătorie fascinantă, evidențiind căile distincte, dar interconectate, ale evoluției biologice și inovației tehnologice. Această istorie poate fi văzută ca o serie de evoluții interconectate, fiecare progres în inteligența umană deschizând calea pentru următorul salt în inteligența artificială. Iată o prezentare generală a acestei istorii paralele. Inteligența umană și inteligența artificială s-au împletit de mult timp, evoluând în traiectorii paralele de-a lungul istoriei. Pe măsură ce oamenii au căutat să înțeleagă și să reproducă inteligența, IA a apărut ca un domeniu dedicat creării de sisteme capabile de sarcini care necesită în mod tradițional intelect uman. Această carte analizează rădăcinile evolutive ale inteligenței, explorează apariția inteligenței artificiale, analizează istoria paralelă a inteligenței umane și a inteligenței artificiale, urmărind dezvoltarea lor, interacțiunile și impactul profund pe care l-au avut una asupra celeilalte, și imaginează peisajele viitoare în care converg inteligența umană și cea artificială. Să explorăm această istorie, comparând reperele cheie și evoluțiile din ambele tărâmuri.
Faith Development Interviews offer great insight into people's ways of (non-)religious meaning-making, and of looking at their life and relationships. Ramona Bullik portrays nine longitudinal case studies in a mixed-methods design with narrative analysis granting insight into the developments and stabilities in the interviews. The focus on religious married couples allows to carve out the role of faith and the changing view on the spouse and the joint life. The portraits of three non-religious women show how meaning is made outside the frame of organized religion. Individual survey data are put into relation with a larger sample, answering the claim for idiothetic research.
This chapter presents a study of the application of agapao and agape love through the framework of Winston (Be a leader for god’s sake: From values to behaviors. School of Leadership Studies, 2002). Specific attention is toward loving your neighbor as yourself, servant leadership, and relational leadership from a perspective of workplace love. Additional exploration on the relationship between servant leaders and relational leaders provides an appreciation of both types of leadership. The similarities and differences provide a deeper understanding of how each work to fulfill the needs of employees.
This study examined the development of individuals whose motivations and skills led them to develop in different but equally positive ways. C. D. Ryff's (1989) scales for Environmental Mastery (EM) and Personal Growth (PG) were used to identify three configurations of positive mental health in 111 women of the Mills Longitudinal Study: Achievers, high on both scales; Conservers, high on EM, low on PG; and Seekers, high on PG, low on EM. Each pattern showed a distinctive profile of strengths on four criteria of maturity - competence, generativity, ego development, and wisdom - and each was predicted by distinctive features of positive and negative emotionality, identity processes, and change in self-control across 31 years of adulthood. Identity at age 43 mediated the influence of personality at age 21 in predicting positive mental health pattern at age 60.
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.
The present study examined adolescents' wisdom-related knowledge and judgment with a heterogeneous sample of 146 adolescents (ages 14-20 years) and a comparison sample of 58 young adults (ages 21-37 years). Participants responded to difficult and ill-defined life dilemmas; expert raters evaluated these responses along 5 wisdom criteria. Our findings confirmed that in contrast to adulthood, adolescence is a major period for normative age-graded development in knowledge about difficult life problems. Adolescents performed at lower levels than young adults but also demonstrated substantial age increments in performance. As expected, adolescents' performance varied as a function of criterion and gender. These results hold implications for research on adolescent development and for the development of wisdom-related knowledge and judgment.
A topic ignored in mainstream scientific inquiry for decades, wisdom is beginning to return to the place of reverence that it held in ancient schools of intellectual study. A Handbook of Wisdom, first published in 2005, explores wisdom's promise for helping scholars and lay people to understand the apex of human thought and behavior. At a time when poor choices are being made by notably intelligent and powerful individuals, this book presents analysis and review on a form of reasoning and decision-making that is not only productive and prudent, but also serves a beneficial purpose for society. A Handbook of Wisdom is a collection of chapters from some of the most prominent scholars in the field of wisdom research. Written from multiple perspectives, including psychology, philosophy, and religion, this book gives the reader an in-depth understanding of wisdom's past, present, and possible future direction within literature, science, and society.
This research uses an autobiographical approach to examine the relation of age to several aspects of wisdom. In Study 1 (N 1/4 86), adolescents', young adults', and older adults' wisdom narratives were content-coded for the types of life situations mentioned and the forms that wisdom took. Types of life situations reported (e.g., life decisions) were the same across age groups. Three different forms of wisdom emerged (empathy and support; self-determination and assertion; balance and flexibility) and their frequency differed with age. In Study 2, middle-aged and older adults' (N 1/4 51) autobiographical wisdom narratives were also analysed for type of situation and form of wisdom, but with the addition of two comparison life events: being foolish and having a very positive experience. Most findings replicated Study 1. Unlike Study 1, however, regardless of age, Study 2 participants largely showed the wisdom form, empathy and support. Results are discussed in terms of variations in individuals' implicit theories of wisdom as applied to their own lives.
I have first endeavored to consider what might be the nature of wisdom apart from its association with age. In doing so, I have concluded that the essence of wisdom is to hold the attitude that knowledge is fallible and to strive for a balance between knowing and doubting. Second, I draw support for this conception of wisdom from the research literature on wisdom. Third, I consider the question of whether wisdom increases with age and conclude that support for this hypothesis is lacking. Fourth, I suggest that although the potential for wisdom is present throughout the life course, unfortunately most people lose their wisdom as they grow older. See also "Wisdom and the context of knowledge: Knowing that one doesn't know" (1983).
To fully understand wisdom. culture must be taken into account. Several previous studies have shown that people in diverse cultures define wisdom differently. Two studies investigated the concept of wisdom in Taiwanese Chinese culture through examination of implicit theories of wisdom. In study 1, a master list of the behavioral attributes of a wise person was compiled from the responses of 296 adult participants. Another group of adult participants (N = 616) was asked to rate this master list for wisdom in study 2. The ratings were factor analyzed. Results show that Taiwanese Chinese have well-formed conceptions of wisdom consisting of four factors: competencies and knowledge, benevolence and compassion. openness and profundity, and modesty and unobtrusiveness. A tentative definition of wisdom is proposed according to these findings.
Wisdom and morality are both discussed as developmental ideals. They are often associated in theoretical contexts but the nature of their empirical relation is still an open question. We hypothesised that moral reasoning (one facet of morality), would be related to wisdom-related knowledge and judgement, but that the two represent different facets of high level psychological functioning. A sample of 220 adults ranging in age from 20 to 87 years completed measures of wisdom-related performance, moral reasoning, and a battery of cognitive and personality measures. As predicted, moral reasoning was positively associated with wisdom-related performance, although we also found evidence for divergent validity of these two constructs. This association was mediated by person characteristics (e.g., personality, intelligence, and additional measures). In addition, as predicted by a threshold model, very high levels of wisdom-related performance were unlikely among those with very low moral reasoning performance. In line with neo-Piagetian conceptions, exploratory analyses suggested that higher age was associated with higher levels of wisdom-related knowledge and judgement only for those with high levels of moral reasoning. Results are discussed in terms of a lifespan model of wisdom-related knowledge and judgement.
This study examines cross-cultural age-related patterns of two modes of wisdom: the analytical (i.e., Knowledge Database, Abstract Reasoning), and the synthetic (i.e., reflective Understanding, Emotional Empathy, and Emotional Regulation). A total of 68 American and 68 Japanese community-dwelling adults with an equal number of middle-aged (mean age = 45.3 years) and older adults (mean age = 70.1 years) in each group participated in the study. The results demonstrate that across cultures older adults function at a higher level than their middle-aged counterparts on these modes. specific effects of culture, within each dimension, were also found. The general findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to a culturally inclusive developmental perspective on wisdom.
Implicit theories of intelligence were investigated via surveys of exemplars of intelligence. Study 1 was a four-sample survey of famous exemplars. These diverse samples reported a similar set of popular exemplars, which clustered into five groups. These groups represented five types of intelligence: scientific, artistic, entrepreneurial, communicative, and moral intelligence. In Study 2, the minimal overlap of intelligence exemplars with those of fame, creativity, and wisdom refuted the possibility that exemplar reports are indiscriminate or solely a result of availability. In Study 3, knowledgeable judges rated the similarity of 50 famous persons to exemplars representing each type of intelligence. All five similarity ratings predicted exemplar popularities. In Study 4, where exemplar reports were not restricted to famous people, 31% were nonfamous (friends, family members, teachers, etc.). The results indicate that five implicit types of intelligence, each represented by highly available exemplars, play a role in people’s implicit theories.
Three studies are reported that investigated different aspects of gender differences in implicit theories. In Study 1, participants rated characteristics and possible sources of wisdom concerning their importance for wisdom. Gender differences are small, but suggest a slightly more cognition-oriented view of wisdom in men. Study 2 showed gender differences in participants' reports of an event in which they were wise: men most often reported events from their professional life whereas women reported events from a range of domains including family-related events and events concerning death or illness. Study 3 showed very small differences in the characteristics participants ascribed to a male wise person and a female wise person: aspects of concern for others were rated as slightly more typical for a female wise person. In sum, the findings suggest small or no gender differences in abstract conceptions of wisdom, but larger gender differences when individuals perceive wisdom in real-life contexts.
We trace the genealogy of wisdom to show that its status in epistemological and management discourse has gradually declined since the Scientific Revolution. As the status of wisdom has declined, so the status of rational science has grown. We argue that the effects on the practice of management of the decline of wisdom may impede management practice by clouding judgment, degrading decision making and compromising ethical standards. We show that wisdom combines transcendent intellection and rational process with ethics to provide a balanced and integrated way of knowing, deciding and acting for managers in a complex and uncertain business environment. Finally, we discuss the role and value of wisdom across a range of business functions including knowledge management, strategic management, leadership and international business.
Studied self-perceived personality change across 3 phases of adult life (young adulthood, middle age, old age). Drawn from developmental theory, dimensions were identified that were predicted to show self-perceived change during these age periods. Scales were written for the specific dimensions of complexity, generativity, integrity, and interiority. These were administered to 270 Ss divided equally among the 3 ages (young adult mean age 20.6 yrs, middle-aged mean age 47.8 yrs, and old-age mean age 69.3 yrs) and between males and females. Self-perceived change was examined by varying instructional conditions to include concurrent, prospective, and retrospective self-assessments. Four control scales from the Personality Research Form (Abasement, Defendence, Impulsivity, Order) were also administered and were predicted to show no self-perceived change. The predicted pattern of self-perceived change was supported for the generativity scale and partially so for the integrity and interiority scales. In addition, 3 of the 4 scales evidenced no self-perceived change. Sex differences were absent throughout the findings. (26 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.
To examine the role that age plays when adults make judgments concerning wise and creative behaviours of others, a person-perception paradigm was employed (e.g., Erber, 1989). Young (N=60), middle-aged (N=50) and older (N=50) participants rated the behaviour of a target person of variable age in a written vignette in terms of the degree to which the target's behaviour reflected wise and creative characteristics (Sternberg, 1985). Target age and participant age influenced judgments of others' behaviour. Older targets were rated as wiser than younger targets, but target age did not influence ratings of creativity. Older and middle-aged participants rated young targets as less wise than did young participants; younger participants gave higher overall ratings on the creativity scale than did older participants. A theoretically-important finding was that wisdom and creativity were differentiated on the basis of the personal and social aspects of each construct (Clayton, 1982), rather than on the more cognitive-intellectual aspects. Overall, the results demonstrate that age, in terms of both age of participant, and age of person being judged, is an influential determinant of our evaluations of others' wise and creative behaviours, and therefore an important component of our implicit theories of wisdom and creativity.
In this article I present a model of leadership—WICS—that encompasses wisdom, intelligence, and creativity, synthesized. I open with a general discussion of issues in models of leadership, then discuss the role of intelligence, dividing the discussion into academic and practical aspects. Next I deal with the roles of creativity and wisdom in leadership, turning to a discussion of the synthesis of the model's elements. Finally, I state how WICS-based leadership skills can be developed.
This article describes the concept of posttraumatic growth, its conceptual foundations, and supporting empirical evidence. Posttraumatic growth is the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises. It is manifested in a variety of ways, including an increased appreciation for life in general, more meaningful interpersonal relationships, an increased sense of personal strength, changed priorities, and a richer existential and spiritual life. Although the term is new, the idea that great good can come from great suffering is ancient. We propose a model for understanding the process of posttraumatic growth in which individual characteristics, support and disclosure, and more centrally, significant cognitive processing involving cognitive structures threatened or nullified by the traumatic events, play an important role. It is also suggested that posttraumatic growth mutually interacts with life wisdom and the development of the life narrative, and that it is an on-going process, not a static outcome.
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.
Although wisdom is thought to be a strong predictor for many attributes of aging well, the concept of wisdom still lacks a comprehensive, directly testable scale. Quantitative and qualitative interviews with a sample of close-knit social groups of 180 older adults (age 52+) were conducted to develop a three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS) and to test its validity and reliability. Wisdom was operationalized and measured as a latent variable with cognitive, reflective, and affective effect indicators. Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included 114 items from existing scales and 18 newly developed items to assess the three dimensions of wisdom. The final version of the 3D-WS consists of 14 items for the cognitive, 12 for the reflective, and 13 for the affective component of wisdom. Results indicate that the 3D-WS can be considered a reliable and valid instrument and a promising measure of the latent variable wisdom in large, standardized surveys of older populations.
Wisdom has been conceptualized as: (1) a rare, highly exercised and developed form of cognitive expertise about the domain of human affairs that allows for multiple conduits or (2) a constellation of personal attributes reflecting a high degree of cognitive, affective, and behavioral maturity that allows for an unusual degree of sensitivity, broad-mindedness, and concern for humanity. Using either conceptualization, wisdom research shows that it is a rare achievement, most often evolving from unusual life experiences that foster introspection, reflection on the human condition, and counseling others. Openness to experience is the most frequent predictor of wisdom. Wise people are also found to think more dialectically, exhibit generativity and compassionate concern for others, and accept life's limitations. Wise people show less despair and less dissatisfaction by grappling with existential issues and finding purpose and meaning in adverse experiences.
The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine how wise elders cope with crises and obstacles in life through an in-depth qualitative analysis of six semi-structured interviews on the most pleasant and unpleasant events in the respondents’ life. The six respondents who were between 59 and 85 years of age were chosen based on their quantitative scores on the 3D-WS (a three-dimensional self-administered wisdom scale) and the ratings they received from three independent judges on the cognitive, reflective, and affective dimensions of wisdom. Results show that the three respondents who scored and were rated relatively high on wisdom first mentally distanced themselves from the unpleasant event to relax and calm down and not be overwhelmed by the situation. Second, they engaged in active coping that consisted of a mental reframing of the situation and of taking active mental and/or physical control of the crisis. Third, relatively wise elders were able to apply the lessons that life had taught them when they encountered crises and hardship. They learned from their experiences and, as a consequence, recognized and accepted life’s unpredictability and uncertainty. By contrast, the three older people who scored and were rated relatively low on wisdom used primarily acceptance and/or reliance on God to deal with unpleasant events in their life. However, those passive coping strategies combined with an avoidance of reflection and an inability or unwillingness to learn from life’s lessons left elders relatively low on wisdom vulnerable and defenseless when confronted with severe crises and hardship in life.
Wisdom is the use of one’s intelligence and experience as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among (1) intrapersonal, (2) interpersonal, and (3) extrapersonal interests, over the (1) short and (2) long terms, to achieve a balance among (1) adaptation to existing environments, (2) shaping of existing environments, and (3) selection of new environments. This article discusses the balance theory of wisdom, and how wisdom can be assessed and developed.
This article describes a balance theory of wisdom and applies the theory to the context of schooling. First the article discusses why cognitive skills as assessed by conventional tests are an important, but not a sufficient, basis for education. Second the article discusses the concept
of wisdom and why it is important for schooling. Third the article presents a balance theory of wisdom, according to which wisdom is defined as the application of intelligence, creativity, and knowledge toward the achievement of a common good through a balance in the (a) short- and (b) long-terms;
among (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. Fourth the article discusses how wisdom might be nurtured in
schools. It is concluded that it might be worthwhile for schools to emphasize the development of wisdom.
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).
Positive self- and emotional development is often measured by optimization of happiness, but a second aspect of positive development—the ability to tolerate tension and negativity in the interest of maintaining objective representations—needs to be integrated with this hedonic emphasis. The integration of these two aspects, optimization and differentiation, reflects a dynamic balance. Such integration is possible when emotional activation or arousal is moderate, but is impaired at very high levels of activation. From youth to middle adulthood, the capacity for integration increases, but later in life, limitations or poor regulation strategies foster compensatory processes that compromise integration.
Zusammenfassung. In Anlehnung an die Methode der Orte wurde eine wissensaktivierende Gedachtnisstrategie entwickelt, um wert-relativierendes Denken und Urteilen zu verbessern. Das Weisheitskriterium Wert-Relativismus (Toleranz und gemasigter Pluralismus) ist im Berliner Weisheitsparadigma eines von funf Kriterien, die weisheitsbezogenes Wissen und Urteilen bestimmen. Die Effektivitat der wissensaktivierenden Gedachtnisstrategie wurde in einem experimentellen Pra-Posttest-Kontrollgruppendesign untersucht. An der Untersuchung nahmen 32 jungere (20-30 Jahre) und 32 altere Erwachsene (60-70 Jahre) teil, die zufallig der Interventions- (Strategievermittlung) oder der Kontrollgruppe (ohne Strategievermittlung) zugeordnet wurden. Gemas der zentralen Hypothese der Studie zeigten die Teilnehmer an der wissensaktivierenden Gedachtnisintervention gegenuber der Kontrollgruppe spezifisch auf dem Weisheitskriterium Wert-Relativismus hohere Leistungen. Sowohl jungere als auch altere Erwachsene haben von der Strategie pr...
Paul B. Baltes and his colleagues, who are among the most prominent contemporary wisdom researchers, define wisdom as ‘expert knowledge in the domain fundamental pragmatics of life.’ By contrast, this article argues that the definition, operationalization, and measurement of wisdom should not be reduced to expertise and that the term wisdom should be reserved for wise persons rather than expert knowledge. In fact, evidence from their research confirms that Baltes et al. primarily assess expert or intellectual knowledge in the wisdom domain ‘fundamental pragmatics of life’ rather than how wise people are. As an alternative, a model of wisdom is presented that defines, operationalizes, and measures wisdom as an integration of cognitive, reflective, and affective personality characteristics.
This article describes a balance theory of wisdom and applies the theory to the context of schooling. First, the article discusses why intelligence-related skills are an important, but not a sufficient, basis for education. Second, the article briefly reviews alternative theories of wisdom. Third, the article presents a balance theory of wisdom, according to which wisdom is defined as the application of tacit as well as explicit knowledge as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among (a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, and (c) extrapersonal interests over the (a) short term and (b) long term to achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing environments, (b) shaping of existing environments, and (c) selection of new environments. Fourth, the article discusses the measurement of tacit knowledge, in general, and of wisdom, in particular. Fifth, the article discusses how wisdom might be nurtured in schools. Sixth, the article describes a concrete project currently under way that involves the development of wisdom in middle-school children. Finally, the article concludes that it might be worthwhile for schools to emphasize the development of wisdom.
In this reply to five critiques, I argue that teaching for wisdom is, after all, the wise thing to do. I note seven objections to my agenda of teaching for wisdom, and counter these objections one by one.
Theories of both wisdom and moral development have been divided between rationalist or cognitivist approaches and broader gauged ones that include affect, motivation, and intuition, as well as rational thinking. For example, Gilligan (1982)30.
Gilligan , C. 1982 . In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development , Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press . View all references criticized Kohlberg's (1973)44.
Kohlberg , L. 1973 . “ Continuities and discontinuities in childhood and adult moral development revisited ” . In Lifespan developmental psychology , Edited by: Baltes , P. and Schaie , K.W. 179 – 204 . New York : Academic Press . View all references theory of moral development on the grounds that it is gender biased, privileging “masculine” reasoning based on principles over “feminine” reasoning based on relations. A similar conflict has arisen in wisdom theory and research with Baltes and Smith (1990)8.
Baltes , P. B. and Smith , J. 1990 . “ Toward a psychology of wisdom and its ontogenesis ” . In Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development , Edited by: Sternberg , R. 87 – 120 . Cambridge, , UK : Cambridge University Press . View all references taking a cognitivist position criticized as limited by inattention to the affective domain (Labouvie-Vief, 199049.
Labouvie-Vief , G. 1990 . “ Wisdom as integrated thought: Historical and developmental perspectives ” . In Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development , Edited by: Sternberg , R. 52 – 86 . Cambridge, , UK : Cambridge University Press . View all references). This conflict is unnecessary. More recent approaches have argued that wisdom is a synthesis of knowledge and character (Kunzmann & Baltes, 200548.
Kunzmann , U. and Baltes , P. B. 2005 . “ The psychology of wisdom: Theoretical and empirical challenges ” . In A handbook of wisdom , Edited by: Sternberg , F. J. and Jordan , J. 110 – 138 . Cambridge, , UK : Cambridge University Press . [CrossRef]View all references). Using the construct of compassion as a vehicle for the integration of wisdom and ethics obviates any gender-related differences in wisdom.
Orwoll and Achenbaum (1993)32.
Orwoll , L. and Achenbaum , W. A. 1993 . Gender and the development of wisdom . Human Development , 36 : 274 – 296 . [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®]View all references suggest that the path to wisdom might be considerably different for men and women, although a wise person might have integrated the feminine and masculine aspects of wisdom. Using samples of 464 undergraduate college students and 178 older adults (age 52+), univariate and multivariate analyses of variance revealed that wisdom (measured by cognitive, reflective, and affective characteristics) was unrelated to gender. Women, however, tended to score higher on the affective dimension of wisdom than men. By contrast, men tended to outperform women on the cognitive wisdom dimension only among the older cohort. The results might reflect gender-specific socialization practices and changes in those practices for the younger cohort. As predicted, no significant differences between men and women were found in the three dimensions of wisdom among the top 25% of wisdom scorers, suggesting that relatively wise persons have integrated the cognitive and affective dimensions of wisdom.
in this chapter, we propose that the difficulty in thinking about adulthood in terms of growth and progression, rather than decline and regression, is a consequence of the concept of development that underlies our notions of what 'mature' behavior and cognition are
we propose that this interest in the pragmatic and subjective aspects of reality signals the maturity of a second mode of thought
we describe evidence that indicates that this second mode of thought is not necessarily regressive, but is rather qualitatively different from the first one
we propose that, ideally, cognition in middle and later adulthood brings such a transformation in which the individual incorporates optimal use of both modes of thought (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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)