From aging, I want to present a brief overview of  “wisdom” as a clinical concept in psychology.  My next post will discuss how it relates to “successful aging” and the Christian perspective. 

Medical literature on wisdom in positive psychiatry and psychology has increased ten-fold in the past forty years. From “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it” in the past, psychologists have now developed validated objective measurements based on interviews (e.g. Berlin Wisdom Paradigm) or by self-ratings (e.g. Monika Ardelt’s 3D Wisdom Scale). 

Research has found cross-cultural similarities in elders considered “wise” by their peers. The “wise” have positive attitudes and an awareness of balance in mind, body, and spirit. They have a sense of transcendence, mindfulness, and self-control in diet and health-oriented activities. Finally, they engage in activities that are beneficial for their community, labelled by researchers as "pro-social behaviour."

Rather than all-or-none, people have degrees of wisdom. One can be wise in one situation but not another. Wisdom is formed from a mixture of a) inborn personality traits, b) cognitive and social skills to process life experiences, and c) self-reflections of social interactions with help from mentors. 

Thomas Meeks, a neuroscientist, has used fMRI to identify the neuro-circuitry and the areas of the brain involved when "wise" behaviour is performed. He found that these areas are not the same as those activated in intelligence and reasoning. Meeks examined characteristics of wisdom such as possessing attitudes and behaviours that promote community well-being, ability to make good practical decisions while holding a variety of values and perspectives, ability to proceed in spite of uncertainties, well-regulated emotional responses, and practice of self-reflection. 

Chinese studies have found that elderly volunteers gained wisdom by doing, observing, sharing, and reflecting on their volunteering activities, showing that volunteering provides a valuable learning context and resource to enhance wisdom in aging. 

A study examined subjective well-being of healthy elderly people in the community, compared with people of similar age who were disabled or with terminal illness, living in nursing homes. Community living and degree of wisdom correlated positively with a sense of well-being. However, surprisingly, dying and disabled people with high wisdom scores compared equally well with healthy people in community. It seems the former group’s sense of mental mastery, along with greater sense of purpose in life, even near life’s end, overcame the negative factors in their life situations. 

People who have experienced physical or psychological trauma often gain greater interpersonal strength as a result. This is known as post-traumatic growth. A study has shown that the presence of wisdom helps these people to make positive worldview changes, which in turn generates more wisdom. Thus some post-traumatic-stress-disorder treatments ask patients to examine their worldviews in order to cultivate a greater appreciation of life and its meaning.

People with post-traumatic growth have a positive self-attitude, a resilience to stress, and a sense of autonomy and mastery over the environment. Instead of passive acceptance of their new situation, some internalize a concept of “redemptive” suffering to find a meaningful purpose in spite of pain. The questions of “why” and “what is the meaning of my suffering” as discussed in the realms of philosophy, religion, and spirituality have not been routinely addressed in clinical medicine.

In post-traumatic growth, one’s spiritual history is an important resource to recovery.  Spirituality is a broad subject, involving personal values, motivation, spiritual practices, or an innate need to be connected with higher powers. It can help people to find meaning and develop resilience to endure suffering. Positive spiritual practices often reflect characteristics of wisdom, such as seeking social connections, engaging in healthy behaviours, exercising meditative mindfulness, and having a sense of forgiveness, gratitude, and contentment. 

A study showed that patients improved in psychological well-being when given resilience training after a psychotic episode. This training helped patients to recognize and utilize their individual strengths in everyday life. The strengths that led to greatest improvements included appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humour, and spirituality.  They were better able to notice, value, and connect to the social, aesthetic, and emotional dimensions of the external world. This in turn helped them find a greater purpose and meaning in life. 

In conclusion, wisdom as a validated clinical concept has been found helpful in the elderly, in people who have had to endure suffering, and in patients who have experienced psychological trauma. "Successful aging" is facilitated by intentionally developing attitudes and activities of wisdom.