Perceiving Wisdom: Do Age and Gender Play a Part?

Abstract

The wisdom perceived to be possessed by videotaped individuals of varying ages was evaluated using the Smith and Baltes definition of wisdom [1]. The Life-Planning Tasks (work-family dilemmas) and corresponding think-aloud protocols (responses) developed by Smith and Baltes were transformed into videotape stimuli to assess the presence of wisdom. Using an instrument derived from the Smith and Baltes description of wisdom, undergraduate respondents evaluated the wisdom they perceived to be contained in videotaped responses to Life-Planning Tasks. The age of the Life-Planning Task respondent was manipulated as either older or younger. A significant interaction between the age and gender of the videotape respondents and an interpretation of its effect on the perception of wisdom is discussed. Correlational results reveal a positive relationship between the lay person's definition of wisdom and that which was derived from Smith and Baltes.

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