Laypeople's conceptions of wisdom and its development: Cognitive and integrative views

Abstract

Objectives. This study examined individual differences in laypeople's conceptions of wisdom using a person-oriented approach, as previous studies using a priori group variables may have underestimated the variability. Although there is a tradition of examining people's implicit theories of wisdom, this study is the first to also investigate their views of how wisdom develops. Method. A total of 1,955 participants rated the importance of 8 items concerning what wisdom is and 9 items concerning how wisdom develops. Results. Cluster analyses identified 2 conceptions of what wisdom is. Participants with a "cognitive conception" rated cognitive and reflective characteristics as central to wisdom; participants with an "integrative conception" additionally endorsed affective characteristics. Conceptions varied by age and sex. Concerning the development of wisdom, participants with a cognitive conception viewed learning from experiences and from wise persons as central; participants with an integrative conception rated experience with life challenges as equally important. Discussion. Laypeople's views of wisdom are not unitary, and the way in which wisdom is viewed is related to how it is seen as developing in a person's life. These empirical differences in implicit theories of wisdom map onto theoretical differences in the views of wisdom researchers. © The Author 2011.