Wisdom in old age

Sternberg's definition of wisdom

Sternberg - Wisdom is applying knowledge, intelligence and creativity, guided by ethical values, for the common good. Need to balance interest of self, others and environment.

Ardelt's definition of Wisdom

integration of cognitive, reflective and compassionate qualities.

Does wisdom grow with age?

More life experience model; through mastery (ability to show competence), openness (curiosity and open-mind), reflectivity (examining motivations) and emotional regulation (manage emotions esp. stress)

Correlation between cognitive age and wisdom

Fluid intelligence reduces over time from youth to old age - processing speed

Crystallised intelligence increases over time - knowledge and expertise

Wisdom increases over time - judgment, perspective

Wisdom and emotion regulation

Positivity effect - tendency to see positive attributes rather than negative and selective forgetting of negative factors - effective regulation

Greater activity in pre-frontal cortex and reduced activity in amygdala

Individuals with anxiety or depression may show opposite effect

Why being wise is good for you

Wise reasoning correlates with well-being' more life satisfaction, less negative effect, better social relationships, less depressive rumination, more positive words used in speech and greater longevity

Strong inverse link between wisdom and loneliness

Do wise leaders make good leaders?

Intelligence by itself may lead to bad decisions

Effective leaders integrate wisdom with intelligence

Older leaders may have better social skills, conflict resolution skills and compassion (can differ between cultures)

In times of uncertainty, older leaders are preferred.

Can wisdom be taught?

Grossman - YES - 4 week diary intervention, had to report conflicts experienced and reflect using psychologically distant perspective - this increased wise-reasoning

Sharma - YES - MORE model,

Can AI be wise?

Wisdom involves human lived experience

AI machines lack empathy, compassion and moral responsibility

Wise behaviour is more than pattern detection

If AI can monitor its own reasoning, assess when it should defer and ask for more information - it moves towards wise behaviour

Consensus

Wisdom isn't guaranteed by age

It is a construct that integrates cognitive reflective and emotional qualities

Culture shapes how wisdom is defined, recognized and values - socially constructed

Lived experience, empathy, and moral responsibility remain central features that distinguish human

wisdom from artificial intelligence

Reading 1 - Wisdom, older adults in rural areas

Overview

To research 'generative cultural demand' of older people; the expectation that older people contribute meaningfully to younger generations and the community.

And how this differs from rural to urban areas

Reading 1 - Wisdom, older adults in rural areas

Methods

The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 older adults aged 61-89 from both urban and rural areas in Mexico. Used content analysis to find patterns in interviews

Reading 1 - Wisdom, older adults in rural areas

Findings

For participants, "wisdom", meaning the emerged as the central component of cultural demand.

In rural areas, women emphasised passing knowledge about daily life while men focused on labour/work knowledge.

In urban areas, men and women focused on sharing personal experiences broadly.

Older people still saw themselves as capable of contributing knowledge that could benefit younger generations.

Reading 2 - reasoning about social conflicts in old age

Overview

Examines whether and how people's ability to reason about social conflicts changes with age

Reading 2 - reasoning about social conflicts in old age

Methods

Participants were a range of ages and were given tasks and questions involving social conflicts.

Responses were then analysed.

Reading 2 - reasoning about social conflicts in old age

Findings

Older adults showed greater sophistication in reasoning of social conflicts, most of the time they recognised multiple perspectives, awareness of moral trade-offs and assessments of competing interests.

Reading 2 - reasoning about social conflicts in old age

Interpretation

Findings support the idea of social cognition in terms of the ability to understand relationships, interests and perspectives and how these develop with age