Chapter 9: Models of Optimal Well-Being

Question 1

What wisdom is not

Answer 1

Age, intelligence or information

Question 2

Definitions of wisdom

Answer 2

Bassett: Emergent wisdom from interaction of individual personality traits
Kramer: Openness to experience and grapple with difficult life issues (making meaning out of negative/traumatic experiences)
Clayton: Understanding of self and others
Labouvie-Vief: Integration of logos (analytical) & mythos (speech/plot)
Pascual-Leone: Transcendent self/ultraself (higher level of processing) integrates cognitive & emotional processes
Wink & Helson: Practical and transcendental wisdom
Kunzmann & Strange: Mature personality, postformal reasoning, practical intelligence
Webster: openness to experience, emotional regulation, healthy coping, reflectiveness, self-effacing sense of humor
Bangen et al.: Knowledge of life, prosocial values, self-understanding, emotional homeostasis, tolerance, openness, self-understanding, sense of self-effacing humor

Question 3

Practical wisdom

Answer 3

Good interpersonal skills, clarity of thinking, greater tolerance, and generativity.

Question 4

Transcendental wisdom

Answer 4

Deals with the limits of knowledge, the rich complexity of the human experience, and a sense of transcending the personal and individual aspects of human experience.

Question 5

Balance theory of wisdom

Answer 5

Tacit knowledge underlying practical intelligence contributes to balance of interests (interpersonal, extra-personal, intra-personal), which contributes to the balance of responses to environmental context (adaptation, selection, shaping), which leads to contributions to the common good.

Question 6

Erikson’s life stage perspective of wisdom

Answer 6

Wisdom results from resolving the final psychosocial state of development: integrity versus despair. Requires acceptance of life as it was and death as an inevitable reality.

Question 7

Cognitive stage perspective of wisdom

Answer 7

Wisdom involves post-formal thinking, which is a highly complex style of problem solving, the ability to deal with contradiction and paradox, and development of the ego.

Question 8

Excellence perspective of wisdom

Answer 8

Wisdom is defined as excellence in the performance of one’s life.

Question 9

Tacit knowledge

Answer 9

Knowledge embedded in individual experience and acquired through personal experiences, insight, or absorption in activities.

Question 10

The “master” virtue

Answer 10

Wisdom was considered to be the “master” virtue by Aristotle in helping people choose which virtues are most important and to balance their application in their lives, allowing people to have practical wisdom.
Character types exist on a continuum from “beastly” where people ignore basic virtues, to “virtuous” where people consistently act in alignment with the situation.
Wise people use eudaimonic strategies to seek the “good life”.
Basic themes of optimal personality development:
1. Move from a simple to complex understanding of the world
2. Tolerance of uncertainty in their lives
3. Overcome self-centered concerns to see things more broadly

Question 11

Wisdom & well-being

Answer 11

1. Physical health as evidenced by healthier HRV
2. Psychological well-being through life satisfaction, sense of mastery, and purpose in life
3. Motivational preferences that enhance well-being (personal growth, self-actualization)

Question 12

Predictors of wisdom

Answer 12

1. Intelligence (~2%)
2. Personality (~2%)
3. Life experiences (~15%)
4. Cognitive styles (~15%) including judicial (the ability to evaluate and compare issues) and progressive (tolerate ambiguity).
5. Personal wisdom consists of rich self-knowledge and heuristics of personal growth/self regulation. Age is an important predictor of personal wisdom, while subjective well-being is not related to personal wisdom.

Question 13

Cultivating wisdom

Answer 13

Wisdom is difficult to teach. It requires:
1. Postformal thinking (complex/contradictory ideas)
2. Openness & transcendence
3. Ethical action toward common good
How to cultivate:
1. Reflection & discussion about difficult issues
2. Read wise materials
3. Foster compassion & empathy
4. Foster emotional regulation
Dialogue and interactions help develop wisdom!

Question 14

Psychodynamic theories of optimal well-being

Answer 14

Freud: Defined mental health as a person’s ability to love and to work.
Adler: Gemeinschaftsgefuhl/social interest, feeling of intimate relationship with humanity, empathy with human condition, and a sense of altruism.
Jung: People have the innate potential for optimal mental health to be actualized. Believed in a collective unconscious that was shared across cultures/time periods. Archetypes are the contents of the collective unconscious. Individuation leads to development and refinement of the self archetype, which is the archetype of inherent wholeness for the personality.
Fromm: People experience conflict between their fear of isolation and desire for freedom which drives personality development. Escape mechanisms are unhealthy attempts to avoid this conflict.

Question 15

Productive personality theory of well-being

Answer 15

People with productive personalities have a “being” rather than “having” orientation. Has to do with the production of the real self, not productivity.
Self-analysis techniques:
1. “Will one thing”: commit to a definite goal
2. “Be fully awake” to your lived experience
3. “Be aware” of our psychological experiences, how we are affected by external and internal input
4. “Concentrate” and tune out distractions
5. “Meditate” using Buddhist mindfulness meditation

Question 16

Existentialism & authenticity theories of well-being

Answer 16

Rollo May: optimal well-being is an integration of all aspects of the personality which allows us to live authentically. This involves self-awareness, honesty and courage, and dedication to a deeply lived experience.
Viktor Frankl: “Will to meaning”, the search for meaning in one’s life, is our primary drive. Meaning is found by taking action, deeply experiencing, or by suffering. (existential theory)

Question 17

Positive Psychology 2.0

Answer 17

Dual-system model of well-being incorporates both + and - emotions.
1. Tragic optimism: A feeling in which someone remains optimistic while simultaneously allowing unavoidable hurt and pain into one’s life.
2. Realistic optimism: Not actually realistic, ignores tragedy/evil in the world.
Meaning mindset: Search for meaning creates this mindset which is a person’s overarching collection of motivations, world-views, purposes, and assumptions about the good life.
PURE: acronym used to describe steps to create meaning. Purpose, Understanding, Responsibility and Evaluation (self)

Question 18

Finding your true self (authenticity)

Answer 18

Greeks: Know thyself
Rogers: Authenticity involves awareness of inner reality, action consistent with true self, and the courage to reject external influences.
Kernis & Golman: Authenticity involves awareness, unbiased processing, behavior and relational orientation.

Question 19

Authenticity & well-being

Answer 19

Increased: Positive affect, life satisfaction, self-esteem, self-efficacy, mindfulness and meaning in life.
Decreased: depression, perceived stress, physical complaints.

Question 20

Carl Rogers

Answer 20

Self-actualizing tendency: We all have an innate need to develop our potentials.
Fully functioning person: When all the relevant experiences of the person are integrated into a coherent and flexible self-concept. This is characterized by openness to experience, existential living, and trust in one’s organismic experiences. This leads to a sense of freedom and enhanced creativity.
Self-concordance: high congruence between one’s personality and one’s goals; requires authenticity.

Question 21

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 21

People have to move up the hierarchy, needs must be met at the lower tiers of the pyramid before you can move up the scale.

1. Physiological: People must have their basic needs met for food, shelter, comfort, and freedom from disease.
2. Safety: People need to believe that they are relatively safe from physical harm and social disruptions and that they have some degree of control over their own destinies.
3. Belongingness/love: People need to feel connected to others and feel they are loved and cherished for who they are.
4. Esteem: People need to feel a sense of competence and achievement and feel respected by other people in their lives.
5. Self-actualization: People need to develop their unique potential.

Question 22

Deficiency needs (D-needs)

Answer 22

The first four needs in Maslow’s hierarchy: physiological, safety, belongingness/love, and esteem. Lack thereof produces decreased well-being. Once these needs are met, we are motivated to move towards self-actualization.

Question 23

Being needs (B-needs)

Answer 23

Self-actualizing needs such as truth, justice, beauty, wholeness, richness, playfulness, meaningfulness, and goodness. Self-actualizing people are more motivated by B-needs than by D-needs.

Question 24

Security vs. growth

Answer 24

Growth will cause you to sacrifice your needs for safety and security once you are in the self-actualization phase.

Question 25

Jonah complex

Answer 25

Fear of your own success can prevent you from self-actualization, you undermine yourself (self-sabotage). “Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

Question 26

Promoting self-actualization

Answer 26

1. Personality traits: openness to experience, autonomy, resistance to enculturation, positive relationships with others, and strong ethical standards.
2. Experience the world fully
3. Prioritize growth over security
4. Increase autonomy
5. Be honest
6. Have autonomous goals
7. View self-actualization as a process rather than a goal
8. Foster peak experiences (moments of wonderful happiness)
9. Decrease defense mechanisms
10. Take action to self-actualize
11. Mindfulness (especially non-judgmental acceptance)

Question 27

Additional perspectives on optimal well-being

Answer 27

Having a sense of purpose in life can be achieved through active goal pursuit, transformative life events, and observing other people.
Quiet ego: Ability to see oneself as more interdependent, internal, complex, and abstract and better able to recognize the subtler qualities of human experience. Involves the ability to balance concern for self and others, and is associated with eudaimonic well-being more than subjective well-being or happiness.
Personal growth: helping people fulfill more of their potential through techniques and workshops.

Question 28

Marie Jahoda and ideal mental health

Answer 28

Ideal mental health involves:

1. Healthy attitudes towards the self
2. Growth, self-development, and self-actualization
3. An integrated personality
4. Autonomy
5. Clear perception of reality
6. Environmental mastery

Question 29

Personality traits important for optimal well-being

Answer 29

1. Openness to experience
2. Curiosity (exploration and absorption)
3. Courage
4. High ethical standards
5. Positive relationships

Question 30

Inner hero

Answer 30

Consider who your heroes are and work to model their behavior in your life.
Choose from exemplars of bravery, justice, and caring.