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Cultural values, life experiences, and wisdom.
1Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80524, USA. tle@cahs.colostate.edu
International Journal of Aging & Human Development
|May 30, 2008
Summary
For older adults, embracing new experiences and reducing focus on conservation may enhance wisdom. Cultural values interact with life events to influence the development of transcendent wisdom.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Gerontology
- Sociology
Background:
- Wisdom is a key developmental outcome across cultures.
- Life events, both positive and negative, can foster wisdom by promoting differentiation and integration.
- Cultural values may moderate the relationship between life experiences and wisdom in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how cultural values (conservation, openness) and life experiences influence transcendent wisdom in older adults.
- To examine these relationships in European American and Vietnamese American adult samples.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of middle-aged to older European American (n=97) and Vietnamese American (n=102) adults.
- Assessed experiences of macrosocial and spiritual/existential events.
- Measured conservation values and transcendent wisdom.
Main Results:
- For European Americans, negative macrosocial events and positive spiritual/existential events interacted with conservation values to predict transcendent wisdom.
- For Vietnamese Americans, macrosocial events were negatively associated with transcendent wisdom.
- Lower endorsement of conservation values was linked to greater wisdom.
Conclusions:
- Cultural values significantly moderate the impact of life experiences on wisdom development.
- Shifting away from conservation values in later life may be beneficial for cultivating transcendent wisdom.
- Interventions aimed at fostering wisdom should consider cultural context and individual value orientations.
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