Now, a new tool can measure people’s wisdom

Scientists have developed a new tool that can measure a person’s wisdom – a trait believed to be governed by specific regions of the brain. Studies suggest that wisdom may be defined by six specific domains and that these domains are linked to distinct regions of the brain, based upon neuroimaging and other scientific evidence. For example, the domain of prosocial attitudes and behaviours, such as empathy, altruism and social cooperation, is facilitated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the front part of the brain and responsible to complex executive functions.

The other domains are social decision-making, pragmatic knowledge of life, emotional regulation, reflection, self- understanding, tolerance of diverse values, and ability to effectively deal with uncertainty and ambiguity in life. The new tool called San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE) measured five of the six targeted domains, and made effective distinctions between individuals differing degrees of wisdom.
The sixth domain – social decision-making – was partially covered as “social advising.”

“SD-WISE reflects the latest thinking. We believe it may be a useful tool in clinical practice, in addition to its value in bio-psycho-social research, especially investigations into the neurobiology of wisdom and possible interventions to enhance it,” said Dilip Jeste, professor …read more