Barber Sarah J, Kireeva Dina, Seliger Jordan, Jayawickreme Eranda
Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, California.
Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta.
Innov Aging. 2020 May 4;4(2):igaa010. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa010. eCollection 2020.
Most people agree that cognitive capabilities are an integral component of wisdom and its development. However, a question that has received less attention is whether people view maintaining cognitive capabilities as a necessary prerequisite for maintaining wisdom.
This study used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate people's views about the relationship between age-related cognitive declines, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and wisdom. Our final sample of 1,519 adults ranged in age from 18 to 86.
The majority of participants stated that wisdom could be present even in people with significant age-related cognitive declines or with AD. In the qualitative responses, common justifications for this were (a) that even people with severe AD can still exhibit wise behaviors during lucid moments, (b) that wisdom is an immutable characteristic that is impossible to lose, and (c) that wisdom maintenance and cognitive capability maintenance are separate constructs.
Although prior research has examined implicit theories about the role of cognition in the development of wisdom, this is the first study to examine implicit theories about whether cognitive declines lead to wisdom declines. The results suggest that most people hold essentialist beliefs about wisdom, viewing it as a fixed and unchangeable trait rather than as a malleable skill.
大多数人都认为认知能力是智慧及其发展的一个不可或缺的组成部分。然而，一个较少受到关注的问题是，人们是否将维持认知能力视为维持智慧的必要前提条件。
本研究采用混合研究方法来评估人们对于与年龄相关的认知衰退、阿尔茨海默病（AD）和智慧之间关系的看法。我们最终的样本包括1519名年龄在18岁至86岁之间的成年人。
大多数参与者表示，即使是在与年龄相关的认知能力有显著衰退的人或患有AD的人中，也可能存在智慧。在定性回答中，对此的常见理由包括：（a）即使是患有严重AD的人在清醒时刻仍能表现出明智的行为；（b）智慧是一种不可改变的特征，不可能丧失；（c）智慧的维持和认知能力的维持是不同的概念。
尽管先前的研究已经探讨了关于认知在智慧发展中作用的内隐理论，但这是第一项研究关于认知衰退是否会导致智慧衰退的内隐理论。结果表明，大多数人对智慧持有本质主义信念，将其视为一种固定不变的特质，而非一种可塑造的技能。
