Psychological Wisdom Research: Commonalities and Differences in a Growing Field Annual Review of Psychology,Vol.

62: 215-241 (January 2011)

Ursula M. Staudinger1 and Judith Glck2 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.

Aging, irony, and wisdom: On the narrative psychology of later life

William L. Randall theory psychology april 2013 vol23 no.2 164-183 This paper introduces the idea that aging inclines us naturally toward an ironic stance on life. The conscious cultivation of that stance through some form of narrative reflection is linked to the development of wisdom, where wisdom is understood in terms of deepened knowledge of the stories of our lives. Such reflection heightens our awareness of the inherently ironic nature of our inner worlda complex, quasi-literary world toward which we occupy multiple points of view. In exploring these ideas, the concept of narrative foreclosure is discussed, as is that of positive aging.

Wisdom and Ego-Identity for Korean and American Late Adolescents

Bang, H & Montgomery, D. (2013). Wisdom and Ego-Identity for Korean and American Late Adolescents. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology July 2013 vol. 44 no. 5 807-831. Abstract: Overcoming identity crises during adolescence may help adolescents understand the world around them. Although adolescents may have developmental potential for wisdom, little is known about the direct relationship between wisdom and ego-identity or any cross-cultural effects. Wisdom dimensions (cognitive, affective, and reflective) and ego-identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion) among 639 Korean and American late adolescents (aged 18 to 22) were investigated. The findings suggest that (a) age contributes to reflective wisdom, (b) identity achievement associates with wisdom among Korean but not among American adolescents, and (c) foreclosure and diffusion statuses are negatively associated with wisdom. This highlights school curriculum trends and emphasizes reflective wisdom for holistic adolescent development. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Reasoning about social conflicts improves into old age

Igor Grossmanna,1, Jinkyung Naa, Michael E. W. Varnuma, Denise C. Parkb, Shinobu Kitayamaa, and Richard E. Nisbetta,1 Contributed by Richard E. Nisbett, February 23, 2010 (sent for review February 2, 2010)

It is well documented that aging is associated with cognitive declines in many domains. Yet it is a common lay belief that some aspects of thinking improve into old age. Specifically, older people are believed to show better competencies for reasoning about social dilemmas and conflicts. Moreover, the idea of aging-related gains in wisdom is consistent with views of the aging mind in developmental psychology. However, to date research has provided little evidence corroborating this assumption. We addressed this question in two studies, using a representative community sample. We asked participants to read stories about intergroup conflicts and interpersonal conflicts and predict how these conflicts would unfold. We show that relative to young and middle-aged people, older people make more use of higher-order reasoning schemes that emphasize the need for multiple perspectives, allow for compromise, and recognize the limits of knowledge. Our coding scheme was validated by a group of professional counselors and wisdom researchers. Social reasoning improves with age despite a decline in fluid intelligence. The results suggest that it might be advisable to assign older individuals to key social roles involving legal decisions, counseling, and intergroup negotiations. Furthermore, given the abundance of research on negative effects of aging, this study may help to encourage clinicians to emphasize the inherent strengths associated with aging.
YANEZ CANAL, Jaime; CORREDOR, Javier and PACHECO, Laura. Wisdom and the psychology of moral development. Diversitas [online]. 2009, vol.5, n.2, pp. 255-267. ISSN 1794-9998. Starting from the analysis of some ethical conceptions and the psychological development we introduce the evolution of Lawrence Kohlberg's theory and the psychology of moral development. The deontological and formalist positions rooted in the moral philosophy shaped the first conceptualizations in the study of morals in psychology. Thereafter, and parallel to the debate in ethics, Psychology and Kohlberg himself became more receptive to those positions which proposed to contemplate social significations and judgments in a more contextual and flexible manner. Communitarianism and some non-cognitive reflections had some influence on the psychological study of morals; a field that also reconsidered new ages for the study of moral development, as well as it incorporated the life-cycle theories and the notions of wisdom
Griffith University Undergraduate Psychology Journal, Vol 1 (2009)

The science of wisdom: An exploration of excellence in mind and virtue

Anne Bundock

In recent years, psychologists have begun to explore the rare and elusive human quality of wisdom. The challenges they face are many: wisdom is difficult to conceptualise, expensive and time-consuming to study, and no generally agreed definition of wisdom has yet emerged. Rather, researchers have defined it according to their own philosophical orientation and particular work focus. As such, this essay will briefly review the current conceptualisation, definition, and operationalisation of wisdom by principal researchers in this field. Specifically, this will involve a review of the Berlin Wisdom Paradigm and the Three Dimensional Wisdom paradigm. Furthermore, findings on the antecedents and correlates of having and maintaining wisdom will be summarised, and similarities and differences between the models will be discussed.

Aging and Wisdom Culture Matters

Igor Grossmann1, Mayumi Karasawa2, Satoko Izumi3, Jinkyung Na4, Michael E. W. Varnum5, Shinobu Kitayama6 and Richard E. Nisbett6

Psychological Science , October 2012 vol. 23 no. 10 1059-1066

People from different cultures vary in the ways they approach social conflicts, with Japanese being more motivated to maintain interpersonal harmony and avoid conflicts than Americans are. Such cultural differences have developmental consequences for reasoning about social conflict. In the study reported here, we interviewed random samples of Americans from the Midwest United States and Japanese from the larger Tokyo area about their reactions to stories of intergroup and interpersonal conflicts. Responses showed that wisdom (e.g., recognition of multiple perspectives, the limits of personal knowledge, and the importance of compromise) increased with increasing age among Americans, but older age was not associated with wiser responses among Japanese. Younger and middle-aged Japanese showed greater use of wise-reasoning strategies than younger and middle-aged Americans did. This cultural difference was weaker for older participants reactions to interpersonal conflicts and was actually reversed for intergroup conflicts. This research has important implications for the study of aging, cultural psychology, and wisdom.

The assessment of wisdom-related performance. By Staudinger, U. M.; Leipold, B.

Lopez, Shane J. (Ed); Snyder, C. R. (Ed), (2003). Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures. , (pp. 171-184). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association, xvii, 495 pp.

The shared characteristics of wisdom suggest that wisdom and its related body of knowledge and skills have been culturally selected because of their adaptive value for humankind. Two major approaches to the psychological study of wisdom, grounded in either implicit or explicit theories of wisdom, are distinguished. Within the explicit approaches three lines of work are noted: assessment of wisdom as a personal characteristic, assessment of wisdom in the neo-Piagetian tradition of postformal operations and mature thought, and assessment of wisdom as an expert system. Within these explicit approaches to the assessment of wisdom, a number of individualdifferences measures are identified A Psychological analysis of the concept of wisdom
Holliday, Stephen George 1983 , retrospective thesis and dissertation 1919-2007 The purpose of this project was to provide a psychologically based analysis of the concept of wisdom. Although wisdom has long been used to label competent people, psychologists have largely ignored wisdom in favour of such variables as intelligence. This study used a prototype analysis procedure to identify the attributes that characterize wise people together with the descriptors for intelligent, perceptive and other types of individuals. This served as a basis for describing wisdom and differentiating it from other competency descriptors. The study also examined generational differences in conceptions of wisdom and assessed the manner in which the prototype for wisdom influenced information processing. The project was divided into three studies. In Study I, groups of fifty young adults, middle aged adults and elderly adults provided descriptions of wise, intelligent and other types of individuals. In Study II, groups of subjects representing the same age cohorts rated the descriptors for wise people. An additional group of subjects rated descriptors associated with other categories. In Study III, thirty-eight young adults were administered a recognition memory task to assess the biasing effects of prototype descriptors. The results of Studies I and II indicated that wisdom is a well-defined, prototypically organized concept. Reliability analyses indicated within and between cohort agreement on the characteristics of wise people. Examination of overlap between categories indicated that wisdom was largely independent of other competency descriptors. principal components analysis yielded five factors, which were labelled "Exceptional Understanding," "Judgement and Communication Skills," "Basic Competency," "Interpersonal Skills," and "Social Unobtrusiveness." The results of Study III indicated that people's memory processes were influenced by the prototypes of wise people. The evidence from Studies I, II and III suggest that wisdom may be viewed as a prototypically organized concept. These results both replicate previous studies and provide a more complete picture of the characteristics and abilities of wise people. The results are interpreted within a theory of development which emphasizes several factors that may contribute to the emergence of wisdom.

Handbook of Adult Development The Springer Series in Adult Development and Aging 2003, pp 153167

Psychological Approaches to Wisdom and Its Development

Dorothy J. Shedlock, Steven W. Cornelius Wisdom is an age-old concept transcending Western philosophy and modern psychology. Philosophers and theologians have long discussed the topic, and laypeople from all cultures form opinions about it. Recently, however, theorists from multiple disciplines have developed a renewed interest in wisdom. In contemporary psychology, lifespan developmental psychologists have initiated empirical investigations of this phenomenon. The impressive growth in the psychological literature has progressed to multiple theoretical approaches. Existing psychological treatments of wisdom can be organized into three general approaches: social judgement, personality, and cognitive expertise. The present chapter briefly reviws each of these approaches and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. It then outlines an integrative model that discusses the construct of wisdom, empirical support for the model, and the development of wisdom.

What predicts wisdom-related performance? A first look at personality, intelligence, and facilitative experiential contexts
1. URSULA M. STAUDINGER1,*, ANNA G. MACIEL2, JACQUI SMITH1, PAUL B. BALTES

European Journal of Personality

Volume 12, Issue 1, pages 117, January/February 1998

Wisdom has long been suggested as a desired goal of development (see e.g. Clayton and Birren, 1980; Erikson, 1959; Hall, 1922; Staudinger and Baltes, 1994). Questions concerning the empirical investigation of wisdom and its ontogeny, however, are largely still open. It is suggested that besides person characteristics, certain types of experience may facilitate wisdom-related performance. A sample of clinical psychologists (n=36) and highly educated control professionals (n=54) ranging in age from 25 to 82 years responded verbally to two wisdom-related tasks involving life planning and completed a psychometric battery of intelligence and personality measures. Three primary findings were obtained. First, training and practice in clinical psychology was the strongest predictor of wisdomrelated performance (26%) and, in addition, showed some overlap with personality variables in this predictive relationship. Second, 14% of the variance in wisdom-related performance was accounted for by standard psychometric measures of personality and intelligence. Personality variables were stronger predictors than variables of intelligence. Important personality predictors were Openness to Experience and a middle-range location on the IntroversionExtraversion dimension. Third, wisdom-related performance maintained a sizable degree of measurement independence (uniqueness). Predictive relationships were consistent with research on naive conceptions of wisdom and our own theoretical account of the ontogenesis of wisdom-related performance

Correlates of Wisdom-Related Performance in Adolescence and Adulthood: Age-Graded Differences in Paths Toward Desirable Development
1. Ursula M. Staudinger, Monisha Pasupathi

Journal of Research on Adolescence

Volume 13, Issue 3, pages 239268, September 2003

Across time and cultures, wisdom has been nominated as the ideal endpoint of development. Evidence suggests that the beginnings of wisdom are observed in adolescence. But are the correlates of wisdomrelated performance in adolescence different from those in adulthood because of differences in developmental status? To answer this question, heterogeneous samples of German adolescents (N=148, 14 20 years) and adults (N=143, 3575 years) responded verbally to 2 wisdom-related tasks and completed a psychometric battery involving measures of intelligence, personality, and the personalityintelligence interface. As predicted, in the adolescent sample intelligence and personality emerged as the strongest

unique predictors of wisdom-related performance. In contrast, in the adult sample the interface measures were the strongest unique predictors. Implications for the facilitation of positive development in adolescence are discussed.

The Meaning of Wisdom and Its Development Throughout Life

Karelitz, T. M., Jarvin, L. and Sternberg, R. J. 2010. The Meaning of Wisdom and Its Development Throughout Life. The Handbook of Life-Span Development. Wisdom is a valuable virtue that has been praised, appreciated, and studied throughout the span of human civilization. Yet, wisdom is hard to achieve and harder to apply to one's life. This chapter presents the main ways in which wisdom has been conceived by philosophers, religious scholars, and psychologists. We discuss how the meaning of wisdom has evolved throughout human history. We especially dwell on modern views based on psychological science. This discussion provides the background for understandings of how wisdom develops from birth through late adulthood.

Life Span Theory in Developmental Psychology

Baltes, P. B., Lindenberger, U. and Staudinger, U. M. 2007. Life Span Theory in Developmental Psychology. Handbook of Child Psychology. Lifespan developmental psychology is an overarching framework, which considers the study of individual development (ontogenesis) from conception into old age. Efforts are made to highlight the uniqueness in developmental theory that emanates from a lifespan developmental framework. Models and definitions of successful (effective) development, which highlight individual and cultural variations, are a main focus of researchers in this field. The concept of lifespan developmental psychology was previously advanced to incorporate two approaches (i.e., wholistic person-centered and function-centered) to lifespan ontogenesis. Historical and societal contexts of theoretical arguments are discussed to embed the current issues surrounding lifespan psychology and its location in the larger field of developmental psychology. Five sequential but interrelated steps are presented to examine psychological theories of lifespan development. Two areas of human development are emphasized, intellectual functioning and personality, to illustrate lifespan research and theory. Work from these fields is presented to provide a theoretical umbrella under which lifespan research can be examined. The integrative role of lifespan theory in organizing and stimulating the study of personality development is offered.

Cognitive Development in Adulthood

Dixon, R. A. and Cohen, A.-L. 2003. Cognitive Development in Adulthood. Handbook of Psychology. Five:443 461.

The term, cognitive aging, is typically used to refer to the area of developmental psychology focusing on the study of cognitive changes from young adulthood to very late life. Among the developmental processes of interest are those that reflect cognitive functioning, such as intelligence, memory, and reasoning. An underlying assumption is that cognition is used in different ways to accomplish different goals throughout adulthood, but that it is always a central component of one's concept of self past, present, and futureand one's adjustment to challenges of everyday life. This area of lifespan

developmental research is a particularly active one, in that it is at the crossroads of both classic theoretical questions and important issues of individual and social application. In this chapter, we summarize selected leading issues in the field of cognitive aging. These include: (1) intelligence and patterns of intellectual aging, (2) differential profiles associated with the aging of various systems of memory, (3) new topics in such memory-related domains as metamemory and socialinteractive memory, and (4) emerging research in such novel domains as wisdom, creativity, compensation, and plasticity. We conclude that, because cognitive aging involves developmental processes that range from the neurological through the individual to the social levels of analyses, it will continue for the foreseeable future to fascinate scholars and anyone else who is curious about how and why cognitive changes occur throughout adulthood.

Life-Span Perspectives on Positive Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age

Staudinger, U. M. and Bowen, C. E. 2010. Life-Span Perspectives on Positive Personality Development in Adulthood and Old Age. The Handbook of Life-Span Development. We argue that positive personality development follows two distinct but interrelated trajectories that begin to diverge in adulthood; that is, personality adjustment and personality growth. We review empirical evidence stemming from a wide range of adult personality research to substantiate the usefulness of this distinction. We argue that aging, in modern industrialized societies, so far normatively optimizes adjustment but not growth. In line with this evidence and with a contextualistic perspective on development, we argue that whether the potential for personality change actually unfolds also depends on (social) contextual influences. We therefore discuss in an exemplary and more detailed fashion two specific contextual influences that affect positive (personality) development: age stereotypes and the work context.

Expert Consensus on Characteristics of Wisdom: A Delphi Method Study

1. Dilip V. Jeste, , Monika Ardelt, Dan Blazer, Helena C. Kraemer, George Vaillant, Thomas W. Meeks,

The Gerontologist (2010) 50 (5):668-680.

Purpose: Wisdom has received increasing attention in empirical research in recent years, especially in gerontology and psychology, but consistent definitions of wisdom remain elusive. We sought to better characterize this concept via an expert consensus panel using a 2-phase Delphi method. Design and Methods: A survey questionnaire comprised 53 Likert scale statements related to the concepts of wisdom, intelligence, and spirituality was developed to determine if and how wisdom was viewed as being distinct from the latter 2 concepts. Of the 57 international wisdom experts contacted by e-mail, 30 completed the Phase 1 survey and 27 also completed the Phase 2 survey. Results: In Phase 1, there were significant group differences among the concepts of wisdom, intelligence, and spirituality on 49 of the 53 items rated by the experts. Wisdom differed from intelligence on 46 of these 49 items, whereas wisdom differed from spirituality on 31 items. In Phase 2, we sought to define wisdom further by selecting 12 items based on Phase 1 results. Most experts agreed on many of the suggested characteristics of wisdomthat is, it is uniquely human; a form of advanced cognitive and emotional development that is experience driven; and a personal quality, albeit a rare one, which can be learned, increases with age, can be measured, and is not likely to be enhanced by taking medication. Implications:There was considerable agreement among the expert participants on wisdom being a distinct

entity and a number of its characteristic qualities. These data should help in designing additional empirical research on wisdom.

Vedic Psychology: A Science of Wisdom pp. 29-44

Journal of Alternative Medicine Research Volume 3, Issue 1 Articles

Authors: Vinod D Deshmukh Abstract: Most of the Vedic literature is devoted to self-culture ( Aatmonnati) and actualization of ones essential being with innate wisdom. By wisdom, I mean the innate intelligence with complete natural peace with ones being-in-Reality. Vedanta describes it as blissful conscious being ( Sat-Chit-Aanand). What one experiences, from moment to moment, depends on ones perspective or mind-set. As Hanuman expressed his feelings towards Lord Rama, When I consider myself as the physical body ( Deha-bhaava), I am your servant; when I consider myself as a living person ( Jeeva-bhaava), I am an integral part of you, and when I consider myself as the essential being ( Atma-bhaava), I am You. The last extraordinary perspective, in everyday life, is only possible after a deep self-understanding and self-actualization. This wise stage in life is described in Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita as super-conscious equanimity ( Turiyaa, SthitaPradnyaa, Aatma-prasaad, or Braahmi-Sthiti). There have been many examples of such enlightened individuals in human history. Therefore, such wisdom is potentaially achievable by all of us. Understanding Vedanta, Yoga, and living mindfully with an undistracted presence can help us flower in virtue. Yoga promotes self-development by proposing the practice of following virtues, namely Yama: peacefulness, truthfulness, righteousness, fidelity, nongreed, and Niyama: cleanliness, content, austerity, self-study and self-surrender. Occupational Settings Facilitating Wisdom-Related Knowledge: The Sample Case of Clinical Psychologists. Smith, Jacqui, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, v62 n5 p989-99 Oct 1994 Examined whether clinical psychology practice facilitated access to and acquisition of wisdom, defined as expert knowledge in fundamental pragmatics of life. Compared responses to wisdom-related dilemmas from young and older clinicians with responses from other professionals. Young and older adults did not differ on factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, life-span contextualism, value relativism, and management of uncertainty Wisdom-Related Knowledge: Age/Cohort Differences in Response to Life-Planning Problems. (EJ412188)
Share

Author(s): Smith, Jacqui; Baltes, Paul B. Developmental Psychology, v26 n3 Source: p494-504 May 1990

Verbal think-aloud protocols were collected from 60 subjects in 3 age groups ranging from 25 through 81 years. Only 5 percent of the responses were considered wise when rated on the criteria of rich factual and procedural knowledge, lifespan contextualism, relativism, and the recognition and management of uncertainty. Wise

responses were equally distributed across age groups

12. Sustaining the Heart of Education: Finding Space for Wisdom and Compassion(EJ908143)

Share

Author(s): McClain, Leslie; Ylimaki, Rose; Ford, Michael P. Source: International Journal of Children's Spirituality, v15 n4 p307-316 Nov 2010

How is it possible for those of us involved in education to bring to life the language and ways of being together in schools that sustain the heart of education, cultivating wisdom and compassion in ourselves and those in our midst, while tending to our educational responsibilities associated with standards and assessment? This inquiry led us to educators, children and classrooms in the UK and US, in urban cities and small towns, where conversation and space is being held for the cultivation of wisdom and compassionate action. Primary data were gathered from interviews employing a semi-structured interview protocol developed specifically for the wisdom-and-compassion research and derived from wisdom teachings as set out in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Through observations and interviews we discovered examples that bring to life the ongoing cultivation of dynamic wisdom, mindful awareness and compassionate action in schools and classrooms today 13. Mentoring Men for Wisdom: Transforming the Pillars of Manhood (EJ944831)

Share

Author(s): Daloz, Laurent A. Parks Source: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n131 p75-83 Fall 2011

There is both gain and loss in early male formation: men gain a certain clarity, power, and even vision in their separateness, yet may pay the cost in mutuality, responsiveness, and connectedness. Mentors can help men heal their connectivity deficit while retaining the strengths of their distinctiveness by reminding them that they have within themselves what they need for the journey and that some men are already underway. This article offers insights into mentoring men toward wisdom and is based on the notion that growth into a more grounded and connected wisdom entails transformation of the pillars of traditional masculinity: (1) procreating; (2) providing; and (3) protecting. 14. A Qualitative Inquiry of Wisdom Development: Educators' Perspectives (EJ927419)

Share

Author(s): Chen, Li-Ming; Wu, Pi-Ju; Cheng, YingYao; Hsueh, Hsiu-I Source: International Journal of Aging and Human Development, v72 n3 p171-187 2011

This study draws on the perspectives of educators to explore the factors and processes underlying wisdomdevelopment. We interviewed 25 wise Taiwanese nominees and used a grounded theory method to analyze the qualitative data. The wise nominees mentioned eight facilitative factors, including work experiences, life experiences, social interactions, observations, family teachings, professional development, religion, and reading. The process of wisdom development involves facilitative conditions, inner assimilation and adjustment, transformations of actual actions, and feedback from the results of actions. Findings are discussed in relation to relevant theory and research. 15. Assessment of Gifted Students for Identification Purposes: New Techniques for a New Millennium (EJ890973)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Learning and Individual Differences, v20 Source: n4 p327-336 Aug 2010
The augmented theory of successful intelligence [Sternberg, R. J. (2003b). "Wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized." New York: Cambridge University Press] postulates that intelligence comprises creative skills in generating novel ideas; analytical skills in discerning whether they are good ideas; practical skills in implementing the ideas and persuading others of their worth; and wisdom-based skills in employing one's creative, analytical, and practical skills for a common good. The article summarizes three projects designed to identify gifts. In the Rainbow Project, my colleagues and I found that it was possible substantially to increase prediction of first-year university academic performance and simultaneously reduce ethnic-group differences on the predictive test, relative to a standardized test used for admissions in the United States. In the Kaleidoscope Project, my colleagues and I found that students admitted for expanded skills performed as well as did other students, without the ethnic-group differences typically obtained in such measures. In the Aurora Project, Elena Grigorenko, Mei Tan, and their colleagues are seeking to identify giftedness in students at the upper elementary grades. All three projects show that it is possible to apply the augmented theory of successful intelligence in ways that enhance gifted identification. 16. Explorations in Giftedness (ED517163)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J.; Jarvin, Linda; Grigorenko, Elena L. Source: Cambridge University Press

This book is a scholarly overview of the modern concepts, definitions, and theories of intellectual giftedness, and of past and current developments in the field of gifted education. The authors consider, in some detail, the roles of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom in giftedness and the interaction between culture and giftedness, as well as how giftedness can be understood in terms of a construct of developing expertise. The authors also review and discuss a set of key studies that address the issues of identification and education of children with intellectual gifts. This volume may be used as a summary overview of the field for educators, psychologists, social workers, and other professionals who serve intellectually gifted children and their families. This book contains the following chapters: (1) What is giftedness? (2) Theories of giftedness; (3) WICS as a model of giftedness; (4) Intelligence and giftedness; (5) Creativity and giftedness; (6) Wisdom and giftedness; (7) Giftedness as developing expertise; (8) Giftedness and culture; (9) Learning disabilities, giftedness, and gifted/LD; (10)Identifying the gifted; and (11) Educating the gifted.

17. Wisdom and Compassion in Democratic Leadership: Perceptions of the Bodhisattva Ideal (EJ916109)

Share

Author(s): McClain, Leslie; Ylimaki, Rose; Ford, Michael P. Source: Journal of School Leadership, v20 n3 p323-351 May 2010

At the heart of democratic leadership rests a deep respect for what it means to be human, the cultivation of the common good, and the need to act according to one's own direction. If democratic leadership aims to create an environment in which people are encouraged and supported in "aspiring to truths about the world" (Woods, 2005, p. xvi), then wisdom and compassion must be critical components of such leadership. Through qualitative study, we interviewed administrators and teachers for their perceptions about wisdom and compassion as related to democratic leadership in schools. Such expressions have not been characterized and discussed in the mainstream educational leadership literature; however, they have been documented for centuries across philosophies and religions, including the Mahayana Buddhist teachings of the six virtues of the Bodhisattva, the awakened spiritual leader. The purpose of this article is to explore, through extant literature and empirical research findings, administrators' and teacher leaders' perceptions of wisdom and compassion as being relevant and essential to democratic educational leadership. 1. Professional Wisdom and Writing for Publication: Qualitative Interviews with Editors and Authors in Early Childhood Education (EJ998362)
Share

Author(s): Jalongo, Mary Renck Source: Early Childhood Education Journal, v41 n1 p65-79 Jan 2013

College and university faculty members specializing in early childhood education face some unique challenges in scholarly writing. The purpose of this research was to use open-ended interviews as a way to gather the collective wisdom of a group of key informants about academic writing and publishing in the field. Twenty-two editors and/or authors, ranging from vastly experienced to beginners, shared their insights on scholarly writing by discussing the purposes, strategies, and challenges associated with contributing to the early childhood education through their published work. Data analysis of the interview transcripts resulted in a remarkably consistent theme across all interviewees; namely, that a commitment to young children was the governing principle and that published manuscripts must have practical significance in order to advance the field. A verbatim transcript of all 22 interviews was read, re-read, and annotated to produce emergent themes. Excerpts from the interviews were then collected into case nodes using "NVivo10" qualitative data analysis software. Data were clustered into five themes. Sternberg's (Beyond IQ: a triarchic theory of humanintelligence. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1985, The triarchic mind: a new theory of humanintelligence. Viking, New York 1988) theory of intelligence and his definition of wisdom (2004) also were used as preset categories for data analysis. Collectively, the intelligence and wisdom of these accomplished professionals offers guidance to aspiring authors to become involved in writing, editing, and publishing academic work and serves as a tool for further reflection among experienced authors in the field of early childhood education. 2. A New Theory of Wisdom: Integrating Intelligence and Morality (ED535738)

Share

Author(s): Fengyan, Wang; Hong, Zheng

Source:

Online Submission, Psychology Research v2 n1 p64-75 Jan 2012

This paper presents a new concept of wisdom, which integrates intelligence and morality as its two constituent elements. According to our definition, wisdom is a mental capacity of combining intelligence with moral virtue in the process of gaining knowledge and acting. Possessing this integrated quality, an individual would be able to act wisely when faced with complex situations. On the one hand, moral virtue provides one with the motivation to do well. It is the very source of autonomously keeping his own action in conformity with the moral standards. On the other hand, equipped with the mental capacity of intelligence, the agent is able to arrive at correct judgments about the complex problem he/she is facing and comes up effectively and efficiently with a solution to it. The integrated quality of having intelligence and moral virtues guarantees that the proposed solution and the corresponding act will benefit the well-being of the individual herself/himself and others. In accordance with the two-element definition of wisdom, we classify wisdom into moral wisdomand natural wisdom, which will be elaborated in this paper. 3. On Defining "Wisdom": Baltes, Ardelt, Ryan, and Whitehead (EJ959383)

Share

Author(s): Gugerell, Stefan H.; Riffert, Franz Source: Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v42 n3 p225-259 Jul 2011

Wisdom has been a topic of religion and philosophy since the dawning of human civilization. But only during the last two or three decades wisdom has become a topic of empirical research in developmental psychology, adult and old age education, as well as in management and leadership studies. The aim of this paper is to elaborate a new definition of "wisdom," in order to provide a more adequate foundation for empirical wisdomresearch. To reach this goal, two empirical wisdom theories (Baltes and Ardelt) and two philosophical wisdomapproaches (Ryan and Whitehead) are presented, discussed, compared, and synthesized. The results show that despite the fact that Baltes' definition of "wisdom" is somewhat wider than Ardelt's, their approaches have many aspects in common. Additionally, also Whitehead's ideas on wisdom are quite similar to Baltes' core criteria concerning wisdom-related knowledge, but Whitehead mentions two additional aspects which go beyond Baltes' approach. Further, according to Ryan, wise persons must have very few unjustified beliefs; this necessary condition for a wise person is neither mentioned by Baltes, nor by Ardelt or Whitehead. Based on the ideas of these four approaches, a new definition of "wisdom" is presented, in which wisdom is relativised to time indices and moral systems. This definition consists of a cognitive, an ethical, and a reflective component. Further it is shown that Fischer's and Dawson's "Lectical Assessment System" is a major candidate for measuring wisdom on the basis of our new definition. 4. Expert Consensus on Characteristics of Wisdom: A Delphi Method Study (EJ897660)

Share

Author(s): Jeste, Dilip V.; Ardelt, Monika; Blazer, Dan; Kraemer, Helena C.; Vaillant, George; Meeks, Thomas W. Source: Gerontologist, v50 n5 p668-680 Oct 2010

Purpose: Wisdom has received increasing attention in empirical research in recent years, especially in gerontology

and psychology, but consistent definitions of wisdom remain elusive. We sought to better characterize this concept via an expert consensus panel using a 2-phase Delphi method. Design and Methods: A survey questionnaire comprised 53 Likert scale statements related to the concepts of wisdom,intelligence, and spirituality was developed to determine if and how wisdom was viewed as being distinct from the latter 2 concepts. Of the 57 international wisdom experts contacted by e-mail, 30 completed the Phase 1 survey and 27 also completed the Phase 2 survey. Results: In Phase 1, there were significant group differences among the concepts of wisdom, intelligence, and spirituality on 49 of the 53 items rated by the experts. Wisdom differed from intelligence on 46 of these 49 items, whereas wisdom differed from spirituality on 31 items. In Phase 2, we sought to define wisdom further by selecting 12 items based on Phase 1 results. Most experts agreed on many of the suggested characteristics of wisdom--that is, it is uniquely human; a form of advanced cognitive and emotional development that is experience driven; and a personal quality, albeit a rare one, which can be learned, increases with age, can be measured, and is not likely to be enhanced by taking medication. Implications: There was considerable agreement among the expert participants on wisdom being a distinct entity and a number of its characteristic qualities. These data should help in designing additional empirical research on wisdom.

5. Wisdom and Religious Education (EJ953070)

Share

Author(s): Houston, Joseph Source: Journal of Beliefs & Values, v32 n2 p125-130 2011

Might there be education-in-wisdom? Firstly we need to identify and characterise what this "wisdom" would be. Towards this end comparisons and contrasts are attempted here between this wisdom, on the one hand, and intelligence, cleverness, knowledge, common sense, and trivial wisdom on the other. An Aristotelian account of wisdom emerges; and we touch on what education-in-wisdom might involve, and the challenges it faces and poses over against a subjectivism about values. 6. Understanding and Teaching Practical Wisdom (EJ944827)

Share

Author(s): Bassett, Caroline L. Source: New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n131 p35-44 Fall 2011

Because wisdom is such a complex and multidimensional construct, it is difficult to study, much less to define. Based on the author's understanding, her definition of wisdom is as follows: "Wisdom is about human flourishing; it is having sufficient awareness in various situations and contexts to act in ways that enhance our common humanity." This definition provides a base for this article, which provides a brief overview of what one knows about wisdom from the literature, three formulations to help understand wisdom better, and finally recommendations for practice for adult educators. 7. Measuring What Matters: Robert Sternberg's Enlightened Approach to Admissions Testing (EJ934730)

Share

Author(s): Grace, Catherine O'Neill Independent School, v70 n4 Sum 2011 Source:
Psychologist Robert J. Sternberg's conviction that American standardized testing does not accurately reflect a child's intelligence or potential is far from theoretical. As an elementary school student in the 1950s, he scored poorly on the ubiquitous IQ test of the time, freezing up when the school psychologist entered the room. Thankfully for Sternberg--and for the field of psychology--an insightful fourth-grade teacher saw past the numbers and recognized his potential. He began earning As, and eventually matriculated at Yale University. Sternberg has studied human intelligence for more than three decades now and is the author of numerous books and hundreds of articles on the relationship between intelligence and creativity, coining the term "successful intelligence" to convey the idea that achievement comes not necessarily from IQ scores and education, but from what he calls the "WISC" model of leadership--wisdom, intelligence, and creativity synthesized. In the world of "No Child Left Behind," many educators are concerned about the tendency to teach only what kids will be tested on. Sternberg states that traditional tests are not bad but they are narrow. He adds that new approaches that incorporate attention to wisdom, practicality, and creativity widen the frame and provide a way for a school to look beyond traditional measures. In this article, the author discusses Robert Sternberg's enlightened approach to admissions testing. 8. WICS: A Model for College and University Admissions (EJ954654)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J.; Bonney, Christina R.; Gabora, Liane; Merrifield, Maegan Source: Educational Psychologist, v47 n1 p30-41 2012

This article outlines shortcomings of currently used university admissions tests and discusses ways in which they could potentially be improved, summarizing two projects designed to enhance college and university admissions. The projects were inspired by the augmented theory of successful intelligence, according to which successful intelligence involves creative, analytical, practical, and wisdom-based skills. In the Rainbow Project, we found that, through our measures, prediction of 1st-year students' university grade point average was substantially increased over that provided by SAT and high school grade point average; ethnic-group differences, relative to SAT, were simultaneously reduced. In the Kaleidoscope Project, we found that students admitted for the set of expanded skills performed as well as or better than did other students, without the ethnic-group differences typically obtained in such measures. Enhanced prediction of active-citizenship and leadership activities was also demonstrated through these measures. 9. Excellence Is a Wisdom Tree Grown Up under a Proper Environment (EJ992210)

Share

Author(s): Zhang, Xingli; Chen, Ning; Shi, Jiannong Source: High Ability Studies, v23 n1 p127-129 2012

The Actiotope Model of Giftedness (Ziegler, 2005) and the systemic theory of gifted education (Ziegler and

Phillipson) shed light on the difficulties faced by gifted education in practice all over the world. The Actiotope Model emphasizes the importance of actions of gifted individuals and the interactions between individuals and their environment. If the excellence, exceptionality, or creativity of an individual can be understood as a result of one's action repertoire in a given environment, then the evaluation of a gifted education program should focus on not only the outcome or achievement of the individual but also the whole system, especially the actions of the individual, the interactions between the individual and his or her action space, and the support from his or her environment. In order to discuss gifted education from an ecological perspective, the reviewers employ the Wisdom Tree (WT) Model and describe how it grows up in its environment as an echo to Ziegler and Phillipson's systemic theory of gifted education. Like the Actiotope Model and the systemic perspective on giftedness, the WT Model also emphasizes the importance of environment and of the interaction between the intelligent individual and the environment he or she lives in. Creativity or excellence is a result of the accumulation of one's intelligence on a specific task within a certain period of time under a given condition or in a given environment. The Actiotope Model of Giftedness and the systemic theory of gifted education remind people of focus on constructing a proper system for gifted individuals. It is also very important for people to realize that learning procedures and interactions of gifted individuals with their family, school, peers, and society are just as important as their final achievements when people try to evaluate a special program for gifted children or students. 10. One Vision, Many Eyes: Reflections on Leadership and Change (EJ952533)

Share

Author(s): Walters, David International Journal of Leadership in Source: Education, v15 n1 p119-127 2012
Emotional factors play a part in the learning process, and, so too for leadership. Fullan (2001) identified selfawareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills, adaptability, stress management and general mood as fundamental characteristics of emotional intelligence. If leaders exemplify these characteristics, this will positively affect the organization, and at all levels, a view supported by Fullan (2003). The author believes that a measure of the effectiveness of any change process is the extent to which the process itself fosters the development of emotional intelligence or wisdom in the people involved. Given all the models of educational leadership and the development programmes that have evolved to support school principals, one may find it easy to lose sight of the factors that underpin the learning of children, teachers and leaders. The author argues that an adherence to a social constructivist approach to leadership aligns it to a sound theory of learning and retains the focus on human dimensions. He has little doubt that experience counts a great deal in these matters, but, where possible, it should be the collective experience of all those involved in the process of change. (Contains 1 note.) 21. Assessing for Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity (EJ832324)
Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert Source: School Administrator, v66 n2 p14-15 Feb 2009

This article discusses how to assess for wisdom, intelligence, and creativity. The author describes how he uses the model, Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity Synthesized, or WICS, as a basis for admissions at Tufts University. Then, he presents actual essay topics that can be used for admissions to the Class of 2011

22. The Wisdom Development Scale: Further Validity Investigations (EJ842454)

Share

Author(s): Greene, Jeffrey A.; Brown, Scott C. International Journal of Aging and Source: Human Development, v68 n4 p289-320 2009
Researchers are gaining an interest in the concept of wisdom, a more holistic yet often ineffable educational outcome. Models of wisdom abound, but few have rigorously tested measures. This study looks at Brown's (2004a, 2004b) Model of Wisdom Development and its associated measure, the Wisdom Development Scale (WDS; Brown & Greene, 2006). The construct validity, measurement invariance, criterion validity, and reliability of scores from the WDS were assessed with over 3000 participants from two separate groups: one a sample of professionals and the other a sample of college students. Support for construct validity and reliability with these samples was found, along with measurement invariance. Latent means analyses showed predicted discrimination between the groups, and criterion validity evidence, with another measure of collegiate educational outcomes, was found. 24. Awash in Wisdom (EJ869093)

Share

Author(s): Pember, Mary Annette Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v26 Source: n21 p10-11 Nov 2009
Sustaining and strengthening tribal cultures, languages and traditions is at the core of every tribal college's mission statement. To help attain these goals, many colleges use one of Indian Country's greatest assets--its elders. Traditionally, elders hold a place of honor in American Indian society. Without cultural input from elders, particularly with spoken languages, tribal colleges would just be another option in the list of academic choices for American Indians, says Carrie Billy, executive director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and a member of the Navajo tribe. Tribal colleges make use of elders in varied ways. Some colleges employ a structured approach with elders in residence programs or use them as resources for curriculum development or as board members. Other colleges have more casual approaches, inviting elders into classrooms and inclusion in activities on a case-by-case basis. In summing up why elders play an integral role in education at tribal colleges, Dr. Diana Morris, dean of instruction at the College of the Menominee Nation, says Indian people have never lost the crucial understanding that making it through life requireswisdom. Wisdom is only achieved through time and experience and the contemplation of that experience. She says that is the core cultural difference between tribal and mainstream colleges. 25. From Learning Organization to Practically Wise Organization (EJ860488)

Share

Author(s): Rowley, Jennifer; Gibbs, Paul Source: Learning Organization, v15 n5 p356-372 2008

Purpose: Although the notion of wisdom confronts the economic rationale of business organizations, this paper aims to argue that organizations are coming under increasing pressure not only to learn, change and adapt, but also to take actions that are ethically acceptable and respond to the expectations of multiple stakeholders, or in other words to act wisely. 26. Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized: A New Model for Liberal Education(EJ871316)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Liberal Education, v95 n4 p10-15 Fall 2009 Source:

WICS (Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized) provides a unified model of liberal education for admissions, instruction, and assessment that can be used at any level and for any subject matter. One advantage of WICS is that it goes beyond more traditional models that emphasize memory and analytical learning and, as a result, enables all students to capitalize on their strengths and to compensate or correct for their weaknesses. Since it reduces racial, ethnic, and other differences in performance commonly found in traditional assessments, the WICS model provides a basis for tertiary education that represents the realities of the 21st century, rather than those of a bygone era. 27. Teaching for Wisdom, Intelligence and Creativity (EJ832323)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. School Administrator, v66 n2 p12-13 Feb2009 Source:

This article discusses how to teach for wisdom, intelligence and creativity. It briefly discusses how to teach analytically, creatively and practically, and presents examples on each.

28. Wisdom, Intelligence & Creativity Synthesized (EJ832321)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Source: School Administrator, v66 n2 p10-11Feb2009

How is it that smart administrators who want to do a good job often find themselves in situations that degenerate into confrontation and, ultimately, termination? In this article, the author discusses why in terms of a model of leadership--which he refers to it as WICS, an acronym for wisdom, intelligence and creativity synthesized. He describes how the model applies to leadership, including both successful and failed leadership. 30. On Being Watched: Teaching the Wisdom of Adulthood (EJ937264)

Author(s): Source:

Heischman, Daniel R. Independent School, v69 n2 Win 2010

In "Speaking of Faith," radio journalist Krista Tippett recalls the time when she began to recognize the hypocrisy and contradictions in the behavior of the people around her. Tippett's experience is not only far from unusual, it is formative. It led her to make some important decisions in her life, including the desire never to live a life of contradictions in the manner she had observed in others. Rather than being a jarring experience, seeing hypocrisy and contradiction is something young people need to encounter, in fact are quite likely to encounter. Luckily, it is the fullness of adult life that young people need to see. Young people are aware, at a much earlier age than adults expect, of the ambiguities and compromises that adults must make, and they hunger for guidance in the cultivation of the vast repertoire of responses that need to be developed. Adults model adult behavior not because they want to look good or assure themselves that they are doing the job they should be doing, but for the sake of the young they are bringing along in the world. Adults' reactions when they are angry, when they are caught off guard, when they are the butt of criticism or are having to make a very difficult decision, are powerful moments for children and students, for in those moments they are being offered models of how an adult can respond. So, what should adults keep in mind when they are aware of the fact that their children and students are watching them and absorbing the lessons of their behavior? What are some of the guideposts that will help adults when they are faced with difficulties and challenges that demand the best from them, and the studying eyes of the young are not far away? What do adults, as some of the primary actors on this stage, with young people being the audience, convey to them about how adults operate in their respective roles? In this article, the author offers three suggestions 34. Teaching for Wisdom: What Matters Is Not Just What Students Know, but How They Use It (EJ816215)

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J.; Reznitskaya, Alina; Jarvin, Linda London Review of Education, v5 n2 p143-158 Jul 2007 Source:
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 ofwisdom. 39. A Learning Framework for Knowledge Building and Collective Wisdom Advancement in Virtual Learning Communities (EJ814027)

Author(s): Gan, Yongcheng; Zhu, Zhiting Educational Technology & Society, v10 n1 p206-226 2007 Source:
This study represents an effort to construct a learning framework for knowledge building and collectivewisdom advancement in a virtual learning community (VLC) from the perspectives of system wholeness,intelligence wholeness and dynamics, learning models, and knowledge management. It also tries to construct the zone of proximal development (ZPD) of VLCs based on the combination of Vygotsky's theory of zone of proximal development and the trajectories of knowledge building. The aim of a VLC built on the theories of constructivism, situated learning, and knowledge building, etc., is to apply individual intelligence to online learning, bring the advantages of collaborative learning and collective wisdom into play, solve difficult problems in independent learning, and lead to the integration and sublimation of collective wisdom through long-term individual interactions, collaborative learning and knowledge building.

41. A Systems Model of Leadership: WICS (EJ751421) Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. American Psychologist, v62 n1 p34-42 Jan 2007 Source:

This article reviews a systems model of leadership. According to the model, effective leadership is a synthesis of wisdom, creativity, and intelligence (WICS). It is in large part a decision about how to marshal and deploy these resources. One needs creativity to generate ideas, academic (analytical) intelligence to evaluate whether the ideas are good, practical intelligence to implement the ideas and persuade others of their worth, and wisdom to balance the interests of all stakeholders and to ensure that the actions of the leader seek a common good. The article relates the current model to other extant models of leadership

41. A Systems Model of Leadership: WICS (EJ751421)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. American Psychologist, v62 n1 p34-42 Source: Jan 2007

This article reviews a systems model of leadership. According to the model, effective leadership is a synthesis of wisdom, creativity, and intelligence (WICS). It is in large part a decision about how to marshal and deploy these resources. One needs creativity to generate ideas, academic (analytical) intelligence to evaluate whether the ideas are good, practical intelligence to implement the ideas and persuade others of their worth, and wisdom to balance the interests of all stakeholders and to ensure that the actions of the leader seek a common good. The article relates the current model to other extant models of leadership. 42. The Role of Epiphanies in Moral Reflection and Narrative Thinking: Connectedness and Good Teaching (EJ785115)

Share

Author(s): Mason, Sheila Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Source: Education, v38 n4 p351-366 Dec 2007
In this paper I will explore the implications of an analysis of two kinds of knowledge, the exercise of practicalwisdom and the insights associated with narrative knowing, for "connected" teaching. My aim is to show that both kinds of thinking share important similarities insofar as they include the experience of openness and surprise of epiphanies. Epiphanic e

43. Finding Students Who Are Wise, Practical, and Creative (EJ771551)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Chronicle of Higher Education, v53 n44 Source: pB11 Jul 2007
One purpose of a college education is to create active and engaged citizens and future leaders. If everyone wants students who have the potential to become such people, it is necessary to keep in mind the skills involved in good citizenship and positive leadership when evaluating applicants. Many of the leaders who have gotten the world into its current messes did well on admissions tests and attended prestigious colleges and universities. The problem is not that those leaders are not smart; they are. The problem is that they lack--and their colleges and graduate schools evidently did not teach them--certain important skills, attitudes, and values involved in being good citizens and successful leaders. In this article, the author describes the WICS (an acronym for "wisdom, intelligence, and creativity, synthesized") model and discusses how this model can be applied to assessments that can be used in college and university admissions. The basic idea of the model is that active and engaged citizenship--as well as leadership--requires individuals to synthesize creative skills, to produce a vision for how they intend to make the world a better place for everyone; analytical intellectual skills, to assess their vision and those of others; practical intellectual skills, to carry out their vision and persuade people of its value; and wisdom, to ensure that their vision is not a selfish one.

44. Developing Geographical Wisdom: Postformal Thinking about, and Relating to, the World (EJ839099)

Share

Author(s): Morgan, Alun International Research in Geographical Source: and Environmental Education, v15 n4 p336-352 Nov 2006
Geographical Education has been charged with a major responsibility for "delivering" Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Global Citizenship (GC) in the UK (DfEE & QCA, 1999; Grimwade et al., 2000) and, as this journal demonstrates, geography has an important role internationally (Haubrich, 2000; Houtsonen, 2002; Lidstone & Stoltman, 2002; Stoltman & Lidstone, 2001; van der Schee, 2003). These two interrelated approaches to education are here interpreted as demanding the dual development of environmental and social/intercultural concern which are both, in turn, predicated on non-reductive conceptions of justice, moral relevance and compassionate identification. Neo-Piagetian formulations of developmental and transpersonal psychology suggest that the development of ever-widening horizons of concern may occur across the lifespan as a person passes through increasingly sophisticated or "higher order" cognitive phases and as such a person achieves an everdeepening experience of "being-in-the-world". The term "wisdom" is presented as a useful metaheuristic to describe the ideal end point or "stage" of such a process. Furthermore, the term "Geographical Wisdom" is presented to describe wisdom as it applies to sustainable development and global citizenship, both inherently geographical concepts. 45. The Wisdom Development Scale: Translating the Conceptual to the Concrete(EJ743909)

Share

Author(s): Brown, Scott C.; Greene, Jeffrey A. Source: Journal of College Student Development, v47 n1 p1-19 Jan-Feb 2006

In a previous study, a conceptual model of wisdom was created (Brown, 2004a) to better understand integrated learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure this wisdomconstruct. This article discusses salient aspects of the extant professional literature regarding the measurement of wisdom and details the efforts to develop a valid and reliable Wisdom Development Scale (WDS) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Six of the seven factors were validated and the scale had acceptable confirmatory factor analysis fit. The article concludes with limitations of the study, implications for future research, and potential applications in higher education. 46. The Wisdom of Experience: Autobiographical Narratives across Adulthood (EJ816128)

Share

Author(s): Gluck, Judith; Bluck, Susan; Baron, Jacqueline; McAdams, Dan P. Source: International Journal of Behavioral Development, v29 n3 p197-208 2005

This research uses an autobiographical approach to examine the relation of age to several aspects ofwisdom. In

Study 1 (N = 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 = 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. 47. A Model of Educational Leadership: Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity, Synthesized(EJ834434)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. International Journal of Leadership in Source: Education, v8 n4 p347-364 Oct 2005
This article presents a model of educational leadership--WICS--that encompasses "wisdom", "intelligence" and "creativity", "synthesized". The article opens with a general discussion of issues in models of leadership. Then it discusses the role of creativity in leadership, dividing the discussion into academic and practical aspects. Next it deals with the role of intelligence in leadership. Then it discusses the role of wisdom in leadership. The article closes with a synthesis. 48. Thriving with Social Purpose: An Integrative Approach to the Development of Optimal Human Functioning (EJ772218)

Share

Author(s): Ford, Martin E.; Smith, Peyton R. Educational Psychologist, v42 n3 p153Source: 171 2007

This article responds to the need to synthesize theory and research in educational psychology by introducing the Thriving with Social Purpose (TSP) conceptual framework. TSP results when the four components of human motivation--goals, capability beliefs, context beliefs, and emotions--are amplified in dynamic, mutually reinforcing patterns. The centerpiece of the TSP motivational pattern is an active approach goal orientation informed by a fundamental concern for others (social purpose). This orientation is supported and strengthened by a firm belief in one's ability to make progress toward meaningful goals (personal optimism), a persistent tendency to imagine alternative pathways when progress is challenged (mindful tenacity), and intentional efforts to align emotions and circumstances in ways that will best facilitate goal progress (emotional wisdom). The TSP framework also emphasizes positive (discrepancy increasing) feedback cycles that accelerate learning and competence development, facilitate meaningful change, and promote personal and social well-being. 49. WICS: A Model of Giftedness in Leadership (EJ726736)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Source: Roeper Review, v28 n1 p37 Fall 2005

When individuals are identified, especially children, as gifted in one or more domains, what they know about the domain (e.g., school achievement) and their ability to learn about that domain more rapidly or more thoroughly than other individuals (e.g., school aptitudes) is often the focus of concentration. But gifted adults are usually identified as such by the leadership roles they take in their fields, not by how quickly they learned about their fields. For example, in the field of gifted education, one does not attain eminence by memorizing a textbook on theories of and facts about gifted education, or by solving puzzle-like IQ-test problems that predict how rapidly or thoroughly one will be able to learn the contents of that book. Instead, one attains eminence by leading the field with one's ideas. If one thinks of some of the most eminent people in the field of gifted education, one knows they got to their positions not by demonstrating high scores on tests of knowledge of books on gifted education, but by being leaders with their ideas about how to educate the gifted. The goal of this article is to argue that giftedness in leadership is, in large part, a function of creativity in generating ideas, analytical intelligence in evaluating the quality of these ideas, practical intelligence in implementing the ideas and convincing others to value and follow the ideas, and wisdom to ensure that the decisions and their implementation are for the common good of all stakeholders. The model is referred to as WICS--wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized--although the order of elements in the acronym is intended only to make it pronounceable (Sternberg, 2003b, 2003c; Sternberg & Vroom, 2002). 50. WICS: A Model of Positive Educational Leadership Comprising Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized (EJ732432)

Share

Author(s): Sternberg, Robert J. Educational Psychology Review, v17 n3 Source: p191-262 Sep 2005
Who are the people who become positive educational leaders? This essay presents WICS as a model of positive educational leadership. WICS stands for "wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized. Each of these elements is asserted to constitute one of the elements of educational leadership. Regrettably, our society is organized around a closed system of selection and talent development that emphasizes intelligencein a narrowly defined way that sometimes ignores its synthesis with creativity and wisdom.

Takahashi, M. (2000). Toward a culturally inclusive understanding of wisdom: Historical roots in the East and West. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 51(3), 217-230. To establish a clearer definition of wisdom as a psychological concept, Western and Eastern historical literatures were reviewed and assessed within a general analytical/synthetic framework. In the West, either in an ancient Egyptian, biblical, or philosophical sense, wisdom had been often identified as a form of analytical ability such as an increase in the knowledge database or an increase in information processing efficiency. By contrast, the Eastern understanding of wisdom, primarily derived from the ancient Vedic text, had been more inclusive, with both analytical and synthetic domains regarded as necessary moments to the whole of wisdom. The inclusive account was also discussed with respect to two important Eastern themes of wisdom: "void" and "codependence." Takahashi, M., & Bordia, P.(2000). The Concept of Wisdom: A Cross-Cultural Comparison. International Journal of Psychology, 35 (1), 1-9.

To examine the meaning of wisdom cross-culturally, American, Australian, Indian, and Japanese samples judged the similarity of seven personality descriptors: "aged," "awakened," "discreet," "experienced," "intuitive," "knowledgeable," and "wise." Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis revealed different clustering patterns for the Western (American and Australian) and the Eastern (Indian and Japanese) samples. For the Westerners, "wise" was clustered with "experienced" and "knowledgeable," whereas the Easterners associated "wise" with "discreet." Further, the Western samples selected "wise" and "knowledgeable" as the favorable descriptors for an ideal self while mixed results were obtained from the Eastern samples. The results suggest that the conceptualization of wisdom in the West differs from that in the East, with the former emphasizing the cognitive dimension and the latter stressing the cognitive and the affective dimensions. Takahashi, M. & Overton, W. F. (2002). Wisdom: A culturally inclusive developmental perspective. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(3), 269-277 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).Sixty eight American and 68 Japanese community-dwelling adults with 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.