To assess the wisdom of an individual using the wisdom assessment scale developed by

Dr (prof) Abha Singh and Dr Sakshi Mehrotra.

Amity University, Noida

PSYC624: Psychology-Advanced Practical-3

November 24th, 2021

WISDOM ASSESSMENT SCALE (WAS)

 Aim: To assess the wisdom of an individual using the wisdom assessment scale developed
by Dr (prof) Abha Singh and Dr Sakshi Mehrotra.

Introduction

Wisdom is a combination of knowledge and experience, but it is more than just a collection
of facts. It's about bringing all of this information together and putting it to good use in order
to improve one's well-being. Wisdom helps a someone to listen to others, assess what they
say, and then give them sound counsel in a social setting.

What is the difference between wisdom and intelligence?

Wisdom is more than internalising facts, theories, or processes. It is a combination of
knowledge and intelligence. According to study, intelligence predicts less of the diversity in
wisdom-related performance than personality attributes. One of the most powerful indicators
of wisdom is life experience.
A wise person's characteristics
• They gain knowledge and experience from their blunders.
• They have an open mind.
• They don't take it for granted that they are always correct.
• They do not have a large ego.
• They don't make snap decisions and don't become emotional readily.
• They have a strong desire to learn and the ability to reflect and think.
• They are adaptable to new situations.
• They are unconcerned with their material possessions.
• They are calm, collected, and composed.

Theories of Wisdom
1. Robert J. Sternberg's wisdom balance theory

The balance theory defines wisdom as the application of one's intelligence, common sense,
and knowledge, mediated by a positive ethical value, toward the achievement of a common
good through a balance among 1 interpersonal, 2 intrapersonal, 3 extra personal interest, over
the A) short and B) long terms, to achieve a balance among (a) adaptation to existing
environment (b) shaping of existing environment, and (c) selection of new and environment.
 To begin with, wise decisions necessitate not only intelligence and formal information, but
also tacit or implicit knowledge accumulated through experience.
Second, the definition primarily emphasises the concept of balance: the harmony of diverse
interests, immediate and long-term effects, and environmental reactions. Not just for
interpersonal interest, but also for intrapersonal and extra personal interest, as well as among
environmental responses, there must be a balance.
The next point to consider is the balance in the balance. The term "theory of wisdom" does
not imply that all interests, consequences, or responses are equally weighted. The degree to
which a given choice contributes to the attainment of a common good determines the
respective "weighting." " Finding a truly shared good and persuading others of its suitability
is a major part of wisdom.
Although our cultures currently place a premium on analytical intelligence when evaluating
students in school, college, and beyond, one may argue that assessments of wisdom are more
valuable. When people and leaders fail to fulfil their responsibilities, it is more likely due to a
lack of wisdom rather than analytical intellect. Failed citizens and leaders, in particular, are
more prone to be foolish in their thinking and decision-making, displaying unrealistic
optimism, egocentrism, false omniscience, false omnipotence, false invulnerability, and
ethical disengagement. In other words, they fail due to a lack of wisdom rather than a lack of
conventional intelligence.
2. The wisdom paradigm of Berlin
Paul Baltes and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin,
including Ursula M. Staudinger, Jacqui Smith, and Ute Kunzmann, developed the Berlin
wisdom model. They defined wisdom as expert knowledge, based on past work on dialectical
and post-Piagetian cognition and other research from the 1980s. The word "expert
knowledge" usually refers to extensive and deep knowledge and skill in a given topic that
comes through years of focused practise. The Berlin group believed that wisdom is concerned
with the basic pragmatics of human life, such as dealing with mortality, resolving moral
difficulties, and so on. The word "expert knowledge" usually refers to extensive and deep
knowledge and skill in a given topic that comes through years of focused practise. The Berlin
group maintained that the essential pragmatics of human life, such as dealing with mortality,
resolving moral issues, and balancing closeness and autonomy, are the subject matter of
wisdom. Think-aloud approaches were commonly used to assess expert knowledge.
Participants in the Berlin wisdom paradigm (BWP) must think aloud about brief vignettes
depicting challenging imaginary life circumstances. Baltes' primary goal was to devise a
system that would allow him to quantify wisdom. Baltes' primary goal was to devise a system
that would allow him to quantify wisdom. His biggest challenge was distinguishing between
wisdom and intelligence. Baltes developed five criteria for judging wisdom after researching
philosophical and religious books.
The following are five criteria for judging wisdom:

• Factual knowledge: understanding the 'what's' of the human situation and nature;
• Factual knowledge: understanding the 'what's' of the human situation and nature;
• Contextualism over the lifespan: understanding of life's circumstances and social situations,
as well as how they change over time.
• Value relativism: being conscious of cultural variations and being thoughtful of and
sensitive to various values.
• Awareness and management of uncertainty: Recognizing the boundaries of knowledge and
comprehending the future's uncertainty.

3. Model of Berlin Wisdom

Baltes used the Berlin Wisdom Model studies to test his criteria after coming up with them.
He gauged people's wisdom by posing hypothetical life challenges to participants in the
study. The contestants take their seats in front of a panel of judges and describe how the
problem should be addressed and solved aloud. They are encouraged to think aloud in order
to demonstrate their thinking process. They are graded on a scale of 1 to 7 based on how well
their response meets the above criteria.

Review of Literature
Igor Grossmann (2017) and others have stated that wisdom requires specific qualities of
thinking (e.g., intellectual humility, acceptance of ambiguity and change), allowing
knowledge to be applied to real-world problems. According to empirical study, people's
ability to think intelligently varies greatly depending on the variety of contextual conditions
they encounter throughout their life. In instances where self-interest is unavoidable,
experiments can explain ways to safeguard thinking from bias. Intelligent reasoning on
personally relevant matters is enabled by an ego-decentring cognitive mind-set in particular.
Experiential, environmental, and cultural factors appear to be far more powerful than
previously imagined in developing knowledge. Focusing on such contextual factors sheds
new light on the mechanisms that support wise cognition and its growth, assists in the
integration of multiple approaches to wisdom research, and has implications for assessing and
designing wisdom-enhancing treatments.
Michel Ferrari and Nic M. Weststrate (2013) have focused on the various dimensions,
examples, and paradoxes highlighted by authors when it comes to wisdom as a scientific
subject. They address what the varied viewpoints on wisdom entail for the scientific study of
personal wisdom, how to reconcile conflicting perspectives, and possible future paths that
such a science could follow to expand our knowledge of wisdom in the second half of this
research.
Dilip V. Jeste, Ellen E. Lee, Charles Cassidy, and others (2019) proved that wisdom can
be explained as a scientific concept. Practical wisdom takes precedence over theoretical
knowledge. Wisdom is best defined as a complex human characteristic or trait that comprises
specific components such as social decision-making, emotional control, prosocial behaviour
(such as empathy and compassion), self-reflection, acceptance of uncertainty, decisiveness,
and spirituality. Wisdom has been related to a variety of positive life outcomes, including
better health, happiness, life satisfaction, and resilience. Wisdom tends to increase with age,
allowing wise grandparents to assist younger relatives in staying fit. Despite the loss of their
 own fertility and physical health, older people contribute to their children's and
grandchildren's well-being, health, longevity, and fertility—the "grandmother theory" of
wisdom. Wisdom has far-reaching implications on both a personal and communal level, and
it is an important contributor to human development. In our educational institutions, we must
place a greater emphasis on nurturing knowledge at all levels, from basic to professional.

Description of the test

The practising wisdom evaluation scale is a 30-item questionnaire that is scored on a 5-point
scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree on a 5-point scale. After reading the
statement, the subject is meant to write down the first prompt response that comes to mind.

Reliability
To determine the internal consistency of the items, the Cronbach's co-efficient alpha value
was determined, which came out to be 0.85.

Validity
The scale's content validity was determined by having it rigorously examined by ten famous
psychologists. Experts in education and language.

Method:
a) Subject preliminary:
 Name – DA
 Age- 24
 Educational qualification- Masters in political science.
 Gender- Female
 Occupation- Student

b) Material required:
 WAS questionnaire
 General stationary
 Watch
 Response sheet.
 c)Rapport formation:
The participant was seated comfortably and engaged in light conversational conversations to
make him feel at ease. Questions were asked about how he was feeling and whether he
consented to the test being performed on him. Once he was completely acquainted with the
test setting, basic preliminary data was collected. The instructions were clear, and the
participant was told that the outcome would be kept private and that his identity would never
be divulged. All of his concerns were addressed prior to the test's implementation.

d) Instructions:
On the next pages, you will find 30 statements regarding your general conduct. Read each
phrase carefully and choose one of the five options as your response. Put a tick mark in the
relevant box if you strongly agree, agree, uncertain, disagree, or strongly disagree with your
response. The answers will be kept private. There is no such thing as a time restriction.

e) Administration:
Before conducting the exam, obtain the subject's agreement and establish rapport.
 Inform the subject about the test.
 Ask the subject to carefully go through the instructions.
 Test was conducted.
 Scoring the test.
 Analyze and interpret the result.
 Communicate necessary suggestions/report to the subject.

f) Introspective report
"It was quite fascinating to answer all of the questions," the subject said, "and it caused me to
think about things that I had never considered as essential." They assisted me in learning a lot
about myself."

g) Observational report:
The individual was initially highly excited, but gradually got comfortable and relaxed,
answering each question attentively and mindfully. The subject was quite interested in the
outcome and interpretations.

Scoring:
 The scale has 27 positively worded statement and 03 negatively worded statements.

Raw score Z- score Grade Level of wisdom

scale
145 +1.83 B High

Results:
The participant's total raw score was 145, which was converted to +1.83 and grade B,
indicating that the subject's degree of wisdom scale was high.

Discussion and analysis:

The purpose of the test was to use the wisdom evaluation scale created by Dr (prof) Abha
Singh and Dr Sakshi Mehrotra to assess an individual's wisdom.
The participant's total raw score was 145, which was converted to +1.83 and grade B,
indicating that the subject's degree of wisdom scale was extremely wisdom. Another exam
for determining a person's wisdom is the Wisdom Assessment Scale. It assists the person in
determining the best method of accomplishing a task because this test clarifies a person's
sense, thinking, and reasoning in practically every part of their lives, including knowledge,
judgement, emotional stability, integrity, and social conscience. This test is also useful for
diagnosis because it can dispel any questions about a client's wisdom and, if necessary, aid in
the formulation of a treatment plan.
With the mean score of the population, a table for scoring wisdom was produced. In addition,
a score interpretation table was provided in accordance with the scores. In this practical, three
ROL are written to support the wisdom assessment scale.
The subject has a good outlook on life, is aware of life's values and ethics, is capable of
making decisions and handling any circumstance, is self-assured, readily forgives others, and
has feelings and emotions for others. Despite the fact that ageing is associated with the loss of
fertility and a progressive reduction in physical ability, later life is linked to higher
psychological health and well-being. Furthermore, throughout the last century, there has been
an enormous growth in average longevity without comparable increases in fertile and healthy
age spans. We offer a plausible explanation for these perplexing events.

Conclusion:
The participant's total raw score was 145, which was converted to +1.83 and grade B,
indicating that the subject's degree of wisdom scale was extremely wisdom. This test consists
of 30 questions with a rating scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree with
scores ranging from 5 to 1. Except for three answers (2,4 and 18), which hint at the negative
side of the person's wisdom, all of the items in this exam are positive.
My subject's ratings are in the high wisdom range, indicating that she is content and happy in
her day-to-day activities. She has a calm, steady, and easy-going demeanour. Her life goals
are well-defined, and her relationships with family, friends, and co-workers are strong.

References:

Grossmann, I. (2017). Wisdom in Context. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(2),

233–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616672066

Jeste, D. V., Lee, E. E., Cassidy, C., Caspari, R., Gagneux, P., Glorioso, D., … Blazer, D.
(2019). The New Science of Practical Wisdom. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 62(2),
216–236. doi:10.1353/pbm.2019.0011

Ferrari, M., & Weststrate, N. (2013). The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom.
Contemplative Traditions to Neuroscience. Published. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-
7987-7_15

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