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Grossmann I, Meyers EA, Eibach RP. The wisdom in the story: Clarifying assumptions about radical uncertainty and reasonableness in narrative judgment. Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e96. [PMID: 37154114 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22002746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Human lives are radically uncertain. Making sense of such uncertainties is the hallmark of wisdom. Sense-making requires narratives, putting them in the center stage of human everyday decision-making. Yet what if radical uncertainty is a narrative itself? Moreover, do laypeople always consider such narratives irrational? Here we pose these questions to enrich a theory of choice under uncertainty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. https://igorgrossmann.com/ https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/richard-eibach
| | - Ethan A Meyers
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. https://igorgrossmann.com/ https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/richard-eibach
| | - Richard P Eibach
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. https://igorgrossmann.com/ https://uwaterloo.ca/psychology/people-profiles/richard-eibach
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Wu Q, Cui L, Han X, Ding W, He W. Awe and wise reasoning in adolescents: The mediating role of small-self and need for relatedness. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15235. [PMID: 37101639 PMCID: PMC10123139 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Interpersonal conflict is inevitable in the adolescent socialization process; wise reasoning is applicable to and effective for interpersonal conflict problem solving. However, the role of emotions in wise reasoning remains unclear and less explored in empirical research. According, this study explored the relationship between awe and wise reasoning, and proposed the influence pathways from the self-transcendence of awe to examine the facilitative effect of decentralized emotions on wise reasoning. Method: A total of 812 tenth and eleventh graders (age range 15-19 years, M = 16.07, SD = 0.76, 54.6% male) from a high school in Zhejiang, China completed self-report questionnaires that measured awe, small-self, need for relatedness, and wise reasoning via an online survey. Results Structural equation models demonstrated that adolescents' trait awe positively predicted their wisdom in conflict situations-wise reasoning directly and indirectly through the parallel mediating role of small-self and need for relatedness. Conclusions This finding validates the facilitative effect of decentralized emotions on wise reasoning and the internal and external influence pathways. The study laid the foundation for future exploration of the role of emotion types on wise reasoning and provided practical guidance for the solution of interpersonal conflict in social interactions among adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qin Wu
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Liying Cui
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Xianguo Han
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Wei Ding
- Department of elementary education, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Street, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200234, People’s Republic of China
- Corresponding author. Department of elementary education, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Street, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200234, People’s Republic of China.
| | - Wen He
- Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychology, College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Street, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200234, People's Republic of China.
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Zhang K, Shi J, Wang F, Ferrari M. Wisdom: Meaning, structure, types, arguments, and future concerns. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 42:1-22. [PMID: 35153458 PMCID: PMC8817649 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-02816-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Narrowing the debate about the meaning of wisdom requires two different understandings of wisdom. (a) As action or behaviour, wisdom refers to well-motivated actors achieving an altruistic outcome by creatively and successfully solving problems. (b) As a psychological trait, wisdom refers to a global psychological quality that engages intellectual ability, prior knowledge and experience in a way that integrates virtue and wit, and is acquired through life experience and continued practice. Thus, we propose a two-dimensional theory of wisdom that integrates virtue and wit. Wisdom can be further divided into "humane wisdom" and "natural wisdom" according to the types of capability required. At the same time, we propose that wisdom classification should integrate the views of Sternberg and Wang and be divided into three types: domain-specific wisdom, domain-general wisdom, and omniscient/ overall wisdom. We then discuss three pressing questions about wisdom, and consider five issues important to the future of wisdom research in psychology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaili Zhang
- Institute of Moral Education Research & School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, No. 122 Ninghai Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210097 People’s Republic of China
| | - Juan Shi
- Normal College, Qingdao University, No. 16, Qingdao First Road, Shinan District, Qingdao, Shandong 266071 People’s Republic of China
| | - Fengyan Wang
- Institute of Moral Education Research & School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, No. 122 Ninghai Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210097 People’s Republic of China
| | - Michel Ferrari
- Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6 Canada
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Grossmann I, Weststrate NM, Ardelt M, Brienza JP, Dong M, Ferrari M, Fournier MA, Hu CS, Nusbaum HC, Vervaeke J. The Science of Wisdom in a Polarized World: Knowns and Unknowns. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2020.1750917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Igor Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
| | - Nic M. Weststrate
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Monika Ardelt
- Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Justin P. Brienza
- UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Mengxi Dong
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
| | - Michel Ferrari
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Marc A. Fournier
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
| | - Chao S. Hu
- Art Therapy Psychological Research Centre, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Howard C. Nusbaum
- Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - John Vervaeke
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Grossmann I, Dorfman A, Oakes H. Wisdom is a social-ecological rather than person-centric phenomenon. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 32:66-71. [PMID: 31400714 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Typical approaches to study practical wisdom are person-centric, use flawed methods, and produce insights of little relevance to the construct's definition. We propose that understanding the processes underlying practical wisdom requires a social-ecological framework, supported by emerging empirical insights. Wise reasoning (i.e., intellectual humility, open-mindedness, recognition of broader perspectives and possible changes, integration of diverse viewpoints) varies dramatically across cultures, regions, economic strata, and situational contexts. By adopting a social-ecological perspective, psychologists can address some paradoxes about wisdom, including biases and errors in decontextualized versus context-variable assessments and a greater propensity for wise reasoning about social versus personal challenges, despite greater knowledge about personal issues. Moreover, an ecological perspective suggests that the propensity for wisdom in the population can also shape its ecology and surroundings. This new approach to wisdom is enriching our understanding and exploration of practical wisdom as a mental process and an ecological asset for societies at large.
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Grossmann I, Brienza JP. The Strengths of Wisdom Provide Unique Contributions to Improved Leadership, Sustainability, Inequality, Gross National Happiness, and Civic Discourse in the Face of Contemporary World Problems. J Intell 2018; 6:E22. [PMID: 31162449 PMCID: PMC6480762 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence6020022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2018] [Revised: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We present evidence for the strengths of the intellectual virtues that philosophers and behavioral scientists characterize as key cognitive elements of wisdom. Wisdom has been of centuries-long interest for philosophical scholarship, but relative to intelligence largely neglected in public discourse on educational science, public policy, and societal well-being. Wise reasoning characteristics include intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty, consideration of diverse viewpoints, and an attempt to integrate these viewpoints. Emerging scholarship on these features of wisdom suggest that they uniquely contribute to societal well-being, improve leadership, shed light on societal inequality, promote cooperation in Public Goods Games and reduce political polarization and intergroup-hostility. We review empirical evidence about macro-cultural, ecological, situational, and person-level processes facilitating and inhibiting wisdom in daily life. Based on this evidence, we speculate about ways to foster wisdom in education, organizations, and institutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
| | - Justin P Brienza
- Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C7, Canada.
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Abstract
Abstract. Some folk beliefs characterize wisdom as an essence – a set of immutable characteristics, developing as a consequence of an innate potential and extraordinary life experiences. Emerging empirical scholarship involving experiments, diary, and cross-cultural studies contradicts such folk beliefs. Characteristics of wise thinking, which include intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change, consideration of different perspectives, and integration of these perspectives, is highly variable across situations. Cumulatively, empirical research suggests that variability in wise thinking is systematic, with greater wisdom in ecological and experimentally-induced contexts promoting an ego-decentered (vs. egocentric) viewpoint. Moreover, teaching for wisdom benefits from appreciation of context-dependency of intentions and actions depicted in the narratives of wisdom exemplars’ lives. I conclude by advancing a constructivist model of wisdom, suggesting that cultural-historical, personal-motivational, and situational contexts play a critical role for wisdom, its development, and its application in daily life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada
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