A Balance Theory of Wisdom

The author presents a balance theory of wisdom. First, some alternative approaches to wisdom are reviewed, including philosophical, implicit theoretical, and explicit theoretical ones. Second, the concept of tacit knowledge and its role in wisdom are discussed. Third, a balance theory of wisdom is presented, according to which wisdom is defined as the application of tacit knowledge as mediated by values toward the achievement of a common good through a balance among multiple (a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, and (c) extrapersonal interests in order to achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing environments, (b) shaping of existing environments, and (c) selection of new environments. This theory is compared to some other theories, and wisdom as a construct is compared to some other constructs. Measurement issues are also discussed. It is concluded that it might be worthwhile for American society to emphasize development of wisdom in schooling more than it has in the past.

[1]  R. Sternberg.  Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence , 1984 .

[2]  M. A. Merrill,et al.  Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale , 1972 .

[3]  J. Flynn.  "Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure": Correction to Flynn. , 1987 .

[4]  P. Baltes,et al.  Wisdom-related knowledge: Age/cohort differences in response to life-planning problems. , 1990 .

[5]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Occupational settings facilitating wisdom-related knowledge: the sample case of clinical psychologists. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[6]  Michael Basseches,et al.  Dialectical Thinking and Adult Development , 1984 .

[7]  R. Sternberg.  Wisdom: Its Nature, Origins, And Development , 1990 .

[8]  R. Sharples.  Aristotle's psychology , 1991, Medical History.

[9]  Jack (John) A. Meacham.  Wisdom: The loss of wisdom , 1990 .

[10]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Resolving interpersonal conflicts: An analysis of stylistic consistency. , 1987 .

[11]  S. Derbyshire.  Intelligence, Heredity, and Environment , 1998 .

[12]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Encyclopedia of human intelligence , 1994 .

[13]  Joseph A. Horvath,et al.  Tacit Knowledge in Military Leadership: Supporting Instrument Development. , 1996 .

[14]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Practical intelligence in real-world pursuits: The role of tacit knowledge. , 1985 .

[15]  M. H. Marx,et al.  Theories in contemporary psychology , 1963 .

[16]  Juan Pascual-Leone,et al.  Wisdom: An essay on wisdom: toward organismic processes that make it possible , 1990 .

[17]  Jack (John) A. Meacham,et al.  Social development in youth : structure and content , 1981 .

[18]  P. Baltes,et al.  Life Span Development and Behavior , 1978 .

[19]  D. Wechsler.  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children , 2020, Definitions.

[20]  G. Labouvie-vief,et al.  Wisdom: Wisdom as integrated thought: historical and developmental perspectives , 1990 .

[21]  F. Heider.  The psychology of interpersonal relations , 1958 .

[22]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Wisdom and successful aging. , 1991, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[23]  D. Robinson.  Wisdom: Wisdom through the ages , 1990 .

[24]  K. Kitchener,et al.  Wisdom: Wisdom and Reflective Judgment: knowing in the face of uncertainty , 1990 .

[25]  R. Sternberg.  Wisdom: Wisdom and its relations to intelligence and creativity , 1990 .

[26]  James E. Birren,et al.  Wisdom: The elements of wisdom: overview and integration , 1990 .

[27]  R. Sternberg,et al.  The Cognitive Costs of Physical and Mental Health: Applying the Psychology of the Developed World to the Problems of the Developing World , 1997 .

[28]  Abram G Bayroff,et al.  The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. , 1970 .

[29]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Practical Intelligence: The Nature and Role of Tacit Knowledge in Work and at School , 2018, Mechanisms of Everyday Cognition.

[30]  R. Sternberg,et al.  The nature of cognition , 2000 .

[31]  Karen Strohm Kitchner.  Cognition, Metacognition, and Epistemic Cognition , 1983 .

[32]  Elena L. Grigorenko,et al.  A Triarchic Analysis of an Aptitude-Treatment Interaction , 1999 .

[33]  U. Staudinger,et al.  The Search for a Psychology of Wisdom , 1993 .

[34]  E. Rosch.  Cognitive Representations of Semantic Categories. , 1975 .

[35]  G. Labouvie-vief,et al.  Beyond formal operations: uses and limits of pure logic in life-span development. , 1980, Human development.

[36]  Goslin,et al.  Handbook of socialization theory and research , 1969 .

[37]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Taiwanese Chinese people's conceptions of intelligence. , 1997 .

[38]  R. Sternberg.  The Dialectic as a Tool for Teaching Psychology , 1998 .

[39]  H. Gardner,et al.  Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences , 1983 .

[40]  D. Goleman.  Emotional Intelligence. New York (Bantam) 1995. , 1995 .

[41]  Klaus F. Riegel.  Dialectic Operations: The Final Period of Cognitive Development. , 1973 .

[42]  P. Baltes.  The aging mind: potential and limits. , 1993, The Gerontologist.

[43]  Robert A. Mines.  Adult cognitive development , 1986 .

[44]  G. Labouvie-vief,et al.  Dynamic Development and Mature Autonomy , 1982 .

[45]  John F. Kihlstrom,et al.  Personality and social intelligence , 1987 .

[46]  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,et al.  Wisdom: The psychology of wisdom: an evolutionary interpretation , 1990 .

[47]  M. Perlmutter,et al.  Wisdom: The study of wise persons: integrating a personality perspective , 1990 .

[48]  Elena L. Grigorenko,et al.  Identification, Instruction, and Assessment of Gifted Children: A Construct Validation of a Triarchic Model , 1996 .

[49]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Human Intelligence: Perspectives on Its Theory and Measurement , 1979 .

[50]  R. Kitchener,et al.  The Development of Natural Rationality: Can Formal Operations Account for it? , 1981 .

[51]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Wisdom-related knowledge in a life review task: age differences and the role of professional specialization. , 1992, Psychology and aging.

[52]  R. Cattell,et al.  Abilities : Their Structure , Growth , and Action , 2015 .

[53]  S. Kay.  On the Nature of Expertise. , 1992 .

[54]  U. Staudinger,et al.  People nominated as wise: a comparative study of wisdom-related knowledge. , 1995, Psychology and aging.

[55]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Wisdom: Toward a psychology of wisdom and its ontogenesis , 1990 .

[56]  M. Field.  Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity , 1996 .

[57]  L. Kohlberg.  Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization , 1969 .

[58]  Richard K. Wagner,et al.  Tacit knowledge in everyday intelligent behavior. , 1987 .

[59]  Deirdre A. Kramer,et al.  Wisdom: Conceptualizing wisdom: the primacy of affect–cognition relations , 1990 .

[60]  John K. McCreary,et al.  The Psychology of Moral Development , 1950 .

[61]  U. Staudinger,et al.  The Psychometric Location of Wisdom-Related Performance: Intelligence, Personality, and more? , 1997 .

[62]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Styles of conflict resolution , 1984 .

[63]  P. Salovey,et al.  The intelligence of emotional intelligence , 1993 .

[64]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Conceptions of intelligence in ancient Chinese philosophy , 1997 .

[65]  G. Ryle,et al.  心的概念 = The concept of mind , 1962 .

[66]  J. Flynn.  Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: What IQ tests really measure. , 1987 .

[67]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Interactive minds : A facilitative setting for wisdom-related performance ? , 1996 .

[68]  Vivian Clayton,et al.  Wisdom and Intelligence: The Nature and Function of Knowledge in the Later Years , 1983, International journal of aging & human development.

[69]  V. Clayton.  Erikson's theory of human development as it applies to the aged: wisdom as contradictive cognition. , 1975, Human development.

[70]  P. K. Arlin,et al.  Wisdom: Wisdom: the art of problem finding , 1990 .

[71]  David N. Mowry.  Wisdom As Moderation: A Philosophy of the Middle Way , 1992 .

[72]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Social Intelligence and Decoding Skills in Nonverbal Communication , 1985 .

[73]  D. B. Guralnik,et al.  Webster's New World college dictionary , 1997 .

[74]  M. Chandler,et al.  Wisdom: Explorations in Adult Competence , 1986 .

[75]  Klaus F. Riegel.  Dialectic operations: the final period of cognitive development. , 1973, Human development.

[76]  R. Sternberg.  Implicit theories of intelligence. creativity, and wisdom , 1985 .

[77]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  ? + ? = creativity. , 2018, Public health nursing.

[78]  R. Sternberg,et al.  The g-ocentric View of Intelligence and Job Performance Is Wrong , 1993 .