A Cross-Sectional Study of Wisdom: A Matter of Age and Gender (original) (raw)

Gender differences on the concept of wisdom: an international comparison

The study aims to depict the most common ideas regarding wisdom from young people (ages 15-18) in Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Korea and the United States. A questionnaire was administered to nearly 800 adolescents from these countries and comparisons, by country and gender were made regarding participants perceptions of a wise man and a wise woman. Although differences were found between countries, more consistent differences by gender are reported. This research establishes three general traits to describe wise people: charismatic, goaloriented, and unconventional. Also, participants consistently excluded a person from the concept of wise if they were poor, pessimistic, naïve, or inconsistent. A lack of values attached to the description of wisdom were found, and it is argued that school should foster the development of conceptions of wisdom as a desirable stage in human development that includes values such as justice, equity and respect for others. Difficulties in international comparative research are discussed.

The Role of Education in Development of Wisdom

2015

In order to explore the potential role of education in wisdom development two independent studies were done. The main goal of the first study was focused on exploring some aspects of implicit theories of wisdom. For the purpose of this research authors have constructed The Questionnaire on Wisdom and applied it on a sample of 259 participants 18 to 92 years old. The second study, focused on the explicit theories, used the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) (Webster, 2003, 2007) that consists of five factors: experience, emotional regulation, reminiscence/ reflection, humour and openness. It was applied on a sample of 439 participants 24 to 88 years old. The role of education in wisdom development was discussed in the light of the results obtained by both implicit and explicit theories of wisdom.

A cross-comparative international study on the concept of wisdom

Gifted Education International, 2013

The article aims to depict the most common ideas regarding wisdom from young people across different countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Republic of Korea and the United States. A questionnaire was administered to nearly 800 adolescents from these countries and comparisons by country and gender were made regarding participants' perceptions of a wise man and a wise woman. Although differences were found between countries, more consistent differences by gender were reported. From a global perspective, factor analysis established three major traits to describe wise people: charismatic, goal oriented and unconventional. Also, participants consistently excluded a person from the concept

A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF SELF REPORTED WISDOM DEVELOPMENT: FROM ADOLESCENCE THROUGH ADULTHOOD

This study empirically studied development of self reported wisdom from adolescence through adulthood. Participants in five age groups (15-17 year olds n=108, 19-23 year olds n=79, 25-35 year olds n=87, 40-50 year olds n=31 and 55-65 year olds n=40) filled out a self-report measure of wisdom (Three Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS)). Analyses were done using MANOVA. Results revealed that there is an age effect on self-reported wisdom. Univariate analysis showed a significant age effect on the reflective and affective dimensions of wisdom. Keywords : Development, Wisdom, Cognitive, Reflective, Affective

The Relation Between Age and Three-Dimensional Wisdom: Variations by Wisdom Dimensions and Education

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2018

Curvilinear relations between age and wisdom have been found in prior research with its peak either in young adulthood or in midlife. This study tested whether the association between age and three-dimensional wisdom differed for the cognitive, reflective, and compassionate (affective) wisdom dimensions and whether the results varied by education. OLS regression was used to analyze an online sample of 14,248 adults between the ages of 18 and 98 years (mean [M] = 36.46, standard deviation [SD] = 12.68) from four educational groups. The relation between age and three-dimensional wisdom was curvilinear and varied in shape by wisdom dimensions and education. The association between age and wisdom followed an inverse U-curve with the peak at midlife and almost opposing shapes for the cognitive and compassionate dimensions and an intermediate shape for the reflective dimension. Education was positively related to wisdom and affected the shape of the relationships. Because the association ...

Women and Men Differ in Relative Strengths in Wisdom Profiles: A Study of 659 Adults Across the Lifespan

Frontiers in Psychology

Wisdom is a multi-component trait that is important for mental health and well-being. In this study, we sought to understand gender differences in relative strengths in wisdom. A total of 659 individuals aged 27–103 years completed surveys including the 3-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS) and the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE). Analyses assessed gender differences in wisdom and gender’s moderating effect on the relationship between wisdom and associated constructs including depression, loneliness, well-being, optimism, and resilience. Women scored higher on average on the 3D-WS but not on the SD-WISE. Women scored higher on compassion-related domains and on SD-WISE Self-Reflection. Men scored higher on cognitive-related domains and on SD-WISE Emotion Regulation. There was no impact of gender on the relationships between wisdom and associated constructs. Women and men have different relative strengths in wisdom, likely driven by sociocultural and biological factors. Tailoring wisdom...

An evaluation of the factor structure of the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) and the creation of the SAWS-15 as a short measure for personal wisdom

International Psychogeriatrics

ABSTRACTObjectives:Although wisdom is a desirable life span developmental goal, researchers have often lacked brief and reliable construct measures. We examined whether an abbreviated set of items could be empirically derived from the popular 40-item five-factor Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS).Design:Survey data from 709 respondents were randomly split into two and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Setting:The survey was conducted online in Australia.Participants:The total sample consisted of 709 participants (Mage = 35.67 years; age range = 15–92 years) of whom 22% were male, and 78% female.Measurement:The study analyzed the 40-item SAWS.Results:Sample 1 showed the traditional five-factor structure for the 40-item SAWS did not fit the data. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on Sample 2 offered an alternative model based on a 15-item, five-factor solution with the latent variables Reminiscence/Reflection, Humor, Emotional Regulation, Experience, and Openness. This ...

Sánchez Escobedo, P., Park, K., Hollingworth, L., Misiūnienė, J., & Ivanova, L. (2013). A Cross Comparative International Study on the Concept of Wisdom. Gifted Education International, 29(2), 1-9.

The article aims to depict the most common ideas regarding wisdom from young people across different countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Republic of Korea and the United States. A questionnaire was administered to nearly 800 adolescents from these countries and comparisons by country and gender were made regarding participants' perceptions of a wise man and a wise woman. Although differences were found between countries, more consistent differences by gender were reported. From a global perspective, factor analysis established three major traits to describe wise people: charismatic, goal oriented and unconventional. Also, participants consistently excluded a person from the concept Corresponding author: Pedro Sánchez-Escobedo, Universidad Autó noma de Yucatán, México, calle 39A n. 376 x 28 y 30. Frac. Downloaded from of wise if they were poor, pessimistic, naïve or inconsistent. Results indicate a lack of values attached to the description of wisdom and it is argued that schools should foster the development of conceptions of wisdom as a desirable stage in human development that includes values such as justice, equity and respect for others. Difficulties in international comparative research are discussed.

Perceptions of wisdom associated with selected occupations and personality characteristics

Current Psychology, 1997

Few studies have examined the factors that influence individuals' perceptions of wisdom, and the types of persons who are generally perceived to be wise. In the present study, 277 college students made ratings of the level of wisdom typically associated with 96 personality characteristics and 96 occupations. Differences in the magnitude of the mean ratings for both sets of descriptors indicate that individuals perceive people who exhibit certain personality characteristics or hold certain occupations to possess substantially more wisdom than others. Factor analysis of the personality characteristics revealed a three-factor solution: perceptive judgment, egotism, and basic temperament dimensions. A separate factor analysis for occupations also revealed a three factor solution: a broad general factor, an educational attainment factor, and a spirituality factor.

A STUDY ON WISDOM LEVELS AMONG RETIRED PROFESSIONALS

The objective of this investigation was to identify the wisdom levels among retired professionals according to the personal variables selected for the study. The differences in wisdom levels were studied according to the retired professional's age, gender, retired occupation, education, and current working status. A sample number of 180 retired professionals from five categories of occupations (teaching, research, administration, law and medicine) were selected. To study the wisdom levels among the retired professionals a scale was developed on wisdom and standardized by the investigator called as self-measured wisdom scale. The results of the study indicate that, the retired professionals belonged to the 61-65 years were found more on the above average wisdom level than the older age group retirees. Retired men were wiser than the retired women and retired occupation wise differences shows that, the number of administrators had above average wisdom levels whereas average wisdom levels were higher among lawyers. Wisdom levels, according to education wise shows that, the retired professionals with doctoral degree and postgraduate degrees were wiser. Further, the results of the study also show that, the retired, who is working as full-time employee after their formal retirement was wiser than the sample that is not-working.