The MORE life experience model: A theory of the development of personal wisdom

Abstract

We all experience challenges in our lives, and probably most of us feel we have learned something from the challenges we have encountered. But why do some (few) people learn things that make them wiser over their life course - while others become (or remain) rigid, bitter, depressed, superficially content, or overly selfinvolved? Little theoretical and even less empirical work has directly addressed how wisdom might develop over a lifetime. In this chapter, we present a conceptual model of the development of wisdom, based on previous research and theory concerning wisdom, life-span development, growth from negative experiences, autobiographical memory, and the life story.