This study draws on the perspectives of educators to explore the factors and processes underlying wisdom development. 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.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AchenbaumW. A., & OrwellL. (1991). Becoming wise: A psycho-gerontological interpretation of the Book of Job. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 32(1), 21–39.
2.
ArdeltM. (2003). Development and empirical assessment of a three-dimensional wisdom scale. Research on Aging, 25, 275–324. doi: 10.1177/0164027503251764
BaltesP. B.GlückJ., & KunzmannU. (2002). Wisdom. In SnyderC. R. & LopezS. J. (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 327–347). New York: Oxford University Press.
5.
BaltesP. B., & SmithJ. (1990). Towards a psychology of wisdom and its ontogenesis. In SternbergR. J. (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development (pp. 87–120). New York: Cambridge University Press.
6.
BaltesP. B., & StaudingerU. M. (2000). Wisdom: A meta-heuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55, 122–136. doi: 10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.122
7.
BaltesP. B.StaudingerU. M.MaerckerA., & SmithJ. (1995). People nominated as wise: A comparative study of wisdom-related knowledge. Psychology and Aging, 10, 155–166. doi: 10.1037/0882-7974.10.2.155
8.
BassettC. L. (2005). Emergent wisdom: Living a life in widening circles. Revision, 27(4), 6–11.
9.
BassettC. L. (2006). Laughing at gilded butterflies: Integrating wisdom, development and learning. In HoareC. (Ed.), Handbook of adult development and learning (pp. 281–306). New York: Oxford University Press.
10.
BirrenJ. E., & SvenssonC. M. (2005). Wisdom in history. In SternbergR. J. & JordanJ. (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives (pp. 3–31). New York: Cambridge University Press.
11.
BluckS., & GlückJ. (2004). Making things better and learning a lesson: Experiencing wisdom across the lifespan. Journal of Personality, 72, 543–572. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00272.x
12.
BoydT., & GumleyA. I. (2007). An experiential perspective on persecutory paranoia: A grounded theory construction. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 80, 1–22. doi: 10.1348/147608306X100536
13.
BrownS. C. (2002). A model for wisdom development—and its place in career services. Journal of Career Planning & Employment, 62(4), 29–36.
14.
BrownS. C. (2004). Learning across the campus: How college facilitates the development of wisdom. Journal of College Student Development, 45, 134–148. doi: 10.1353/csd.2004.0020
15.
BrownS. C., & GreeneJ. A. (2006). The wisdom development scale: Translating the conceptual to the concrete. Journal of College Development, 47, 1–19. doi: 10.1353/csd.2006.0002
16.
ClaytonV. P. (1982). Wisdom and intelligence: The nature and function of knowledge in the later years. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 15, 315–321.
17.
CsikszentmihalyiM., & NakamuraJ. (2005). The role of emotions in the development of wisdom. In SternbergR. & JordanJ. (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives (pp. 220–242). New York: Cambridge University Press.
18.
GreeneJ. A., & BrownS. C. (2009). The wisdom development scale: Further validity investigations. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 68(4), 289–320. doi: 10.2190/AG.68.4.b
19.
KramerD. A. (1990). Conceptualizing wisdom: The primacy of affect-cognition relations. In SternbergR. J. (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development (pp. 279–313). New York: Cambridge University Press.
20.
KunzmannU., & BaltesP. B. (2005). The psychology of wisdom: Theoretical and empirical challenges. In SternbergR. J. & JordanJ. (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives (pp. 110–135). New York: Cambridge University Press.
21.
LevittH. M. (1999). The development of wisdom: An analysis of Tibetan Buddhist experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 39(2), 86–105. doi: 10.1177/0022167899392006
22.
LimasM. J., & HanssonR. O. (2004). Organizational wisdom. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 59, 85–103. doi: 10.2190/NT7M-FYYQ-LJTJ-JWY9
23.
LincolnY. S., & GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
24.
MilesM. B., & HubermanA. M. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
25.
MontgomeryA.BarberC., & McKeeP. (2002). A phenomenological study of wisdom in later life. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 54, 139–157. doi: 10.2190/28E3-ANPT-UEED-92WF
26.
OkoliC., & PawlowskiS. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: An example, design considerations and applications. Information and Management, 42, 15–29. doi: 10.1016/j/im.2003.11.002
27.
OrwollL., & PerlmutterM. (1990). The study of wise persons: Integrating a personality perspective. In SternbergR. J. (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins, and development (pp. 160–177). New York: Cambridge University Press.
28.
OserF. K.SchenkerD., & SpychigerM. (1999). Wisdom: An action-oriented approach. In ReichK. H.OserF., & ScarlettW. G. (Eds.), Psychological studies on spiritual and religious development (pp. 155–172). Lengerich, Germany: Pabst Science Publishers.
29.
PasupathiM.StaudingerU. M., & BaltesP. B. (2001). Seeds of wisdom: Adolescents' knowledge and judgment about difficult life problems. Developmental Psychology, 37, 351–361. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.37.3.351
30.
PattonM. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
31.
SmithJ., & BaltesP. B. (1990). Wisdom-related knowledge: Age/cohort differences in responses to life planning problems. Developmental Psychology, 26, 494–505. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.26.3.494
32.
SmithJ.StaudingerU. M., & BaltesP. B. (1994). Occupational settings facilitating wisdom-related knowledge: The sample case of clinical psychologists. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 989–999. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.62.5.989
33.
StaudingerU. M., & BaltesP. B. (1996). Interactive minds: A facilitative setting for wisdom-related performance?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 746–762. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.71.4.746
34.
StaudingerU. M.DörnerJ., & MicklerC. (2005). Wisdom and personality. In SternbergR. J. & JordanJ. (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives (pp. 191–219). New York: Cambridge University Press.
35.
StaudingerU. M.LopezD., & BaltesP. B. (1997). The psychometric location of wisdom-related performance: Intelligence, personality, and more?Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1200–1214. doi: 10.1177/01461672972311007
36.
StaudingerU. M.MacIelA.SmithJ., & BaltesP. B. (1998). What predicts wisdom-related knowledge? A first look at the role of personality, intelligence, and facilitative experiential contexts. European Journal of Personality, 12, 1–17. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0984(199801/02)12:1<1::AID-PER285>3.0.CO;2-9
37.
StaudingerU. M., & PasupathiM. (2003). Correlates of wisdom-related performance in adolescence and adulthood: Age-graded differences in “paths” toward desirable development. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13, 239–268. doi: 10.1111/1532-7795.1303001
38.
SternbergR. J. (1998). A balance theory of wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2, 347–365. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.2.4.347
39.
StraussA., & CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
40.
TakahashiM., & OvertonW. F. (2002). Wisdom: A culturally inclusive developmental perspective. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26, 269–277. doi: 10.1080/01650250143000139
41.
ThompsonR. (2002). Reporting the results of computer-assisted analysis of qualitative research data. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 3(2), Art. 25. Retrieved from http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0202252.
42.
WebsterJ. D. (2007). Measuring the character strength of wisdom. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 65(2), 163–183. doi: 10.2190/AG.65.2.d
43.
YangS. Y. (2008). Real-life contextual manifestations of wisdom. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 67(4), 273–303. doi: 10.2190/AG.67.4.a
