Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2013 Dec;21(12):1254-66. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2012.11.020. Epub 2013 Apr 15.
With increasing longevity and a growing focus on successful aging, there has been a recent growth of research designed to operationalize and assess wisdom. We aimed to (1) investigate the degree of overlap among empirical definitions of wisdom, (2) identify the most commonly cited wisdom subcomponents, (3) examine the psychometric properties of existing assessment instruments, and (4) investigate whether certain assessment procedures work particularly well in tapping the essence of subcomponents of the various empirical definitions. We searched PsychINFO-indexed articles published through May 2012 and their bibliographies. Studies were included if they were published in a peer-reviewed journal and (1) proposed a definition of wisdom or (2) discussed the development or validation of an instrument designed to assess wisdom. Thirty-one articles met inclusion criteria. Despite variability among the 24 reviewed definitions, there was significant overlap. Commonly cited subcomponents of wisdom included knowledge of life, prosocial values, self-understanding, acknowledgment of uncertainty, emotional homeostasis, tolerance, openness, spirituality, and sense of humor. Published reports describing the psychometric properties of nine instruments varied in comprehensiveness but most measures were examined for selected types of reliability and validity, which were generally acceptable. Given limitations of self-report procedures, an approach integrating multiple indices (e.g., self-report and performance-based measures) may better capture wisdom. Significant progress in the empirical study of wisdom has occurred over the past four decades; however, much needs to be done. Future studies with larger, more diverse samples are needed to determine the generalizability, usefulness, and clinical applicability of these definitions and assessment instruments. Such work will have relevance for the fields of geriatrics, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, education, and public health, among others.
随着寿命的延长和对成功老龄化的日益关注，旨在操作和评估智慧的研究最近有所增加。我们旨在：（1）调查智慧的经验定义之间的重叠程度；（2）确定最常引用的智慧子成分；（3）检验现有评估工具的心理测量特性；（4）研究某些评估程序是否特别有助于挖掘各种经验定义的子成分的本质。我们搜索了截至 2012 年 5 月在 PsychINFO 索引的文章及其参考文献。如果文章发表在同行评议的期刊上，并且（1）提出了智慧的定义，或者（2）讨论了设计用于评估智慧的工具的开发或验证，则将其纳入研究。符合纳入标准的文章有 31 篇。尽管 24 个被审查的定义存在差异，但它们之间存在显著的重叠。普遍引用的智慧子成分包括对生活的了解、亲社会价值观、自我理解、承认不确定性、情绪平衡、宽容、开放、灵性和幽默感。描述九个工具的心理测量特性的已发表报告在全面性上有所不同，但大多数测量都针对特定类型的可靠性和有效性进行了检查，这些检查通常是可以接受的。鉴于自我报告程序的局限性，一种整合多种指标（例如，自我报告和基于表现的测量）的方法可能更好地捕捉智慧。在过去的四十年中，对智慧的实证研究已经取得了重大进展；然而，仍有许多工作要做。需要有更大、更多样化的样本的未来研究来确定这些定义和评估工具的普遍性、有用性和临床适用性。这些工作将与老年医学、精神病学、心理学、社会学、教育和公共卫生等领域相关。
