Week 7 - Wisdom and Courage Flashcards
Four Cardinal Virtues
Wisdom (prudence) - ability to learn from experiences is wisdom
Justice
Courage (fortitude)
Temperance
what do the cardinal virtues facilitate?
personal development; good living through practicing them may foster the development of social resources that spark the growth of other people.
Well rounded view of the world
Inform human choices and fuel pursuits that lead to enhanced personal functioning and communal good.
Courage also can help overcome obstacles that make the practice of other virtues more difficult.
Wisdom and strength both exemplify human excellence how?
involve a challenge,
they require sound decision-making,
they are culturally bound, and they
typically contribute to the common good
Some disagreement about which one comes first
Wisdom comes first?
Courage as a precursor of wisdom?
Ex. Accept the things I cannot change. Courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference
Sounds like wisdom comes first - have to know what we can change and have the wisdom to do that
Wisdom comes first?
wisdom can make courage unnecessary
Courage as a precursor of wisdom?
capacity for courageous action is necessary before one can pursue a noble outcome or common good that is defined by wisdom.
Courage sometimes is viewed as the virtue that makes all virtuous behaviors possible.
Wisdom is referenced since ancient times in Western Classics dialogues revealed three distinct conceptualizations of wisdom:
1- Found in persons seeking contemplative life
2 - That of a practical nature
3 - Scientific understanding
+theoreitkes -theoretical thought and knowledge devoted to truth distinguishing it from practical wisdom - aristotle
15-17th century - 2 issues dominated scholarly discussion of wisdom - Philosophical versus pragmatic
Is wisdom a form of excellence in living displayed by ordinary people or is it a fuzzy philosophical idea possessed by academics/sages
Implicit
examine the nature or essence of a construct, explain through describing characteristics, qualities and or dimensions of the construct
Implicit wisdom- Clayton - 3 dimensions of wisdom
Rate similarities of words believed to be associated with wisdom:
Empathic, experienced, intelligent, introspective, intuitive, knowledgeable, observant
Statistical procedure to look for dimensions
1-Affective - empath and compassion
2-Reflective - intuition and introspection
3-Cognitive - experience and intelligence
Implicit wisdom- Sternberg - 6 dimensions
40 Students sort cards into as many groups as they think - factor analysis without technology
Again, a multidimensional scaling procedure was used, and the following six qualities of wisdom were identified:
1. Reasoning ability,
2. Profound knowledge/understanding,
3. Learning from ideas/environment,
4. Judgment,
5. Expeditious use of information,
6. Acuteness of discernment and percepti
Implicit wisdom- Chandler and Holiday - 5 factors
Lists from participants and comes up with 5 factors
1.Exceptional understanding,
2- Judgment and communication skills,
3 -General competence,
4 - Interpersonal skills,
5- Social unobtrusiveness
Implicit wisdom- Baltes - analysis of culture and philosophy
1- Addresses important/difficult matters of life
2 - Involves special or superior knowledge, judgment, advice
3 - Reflects knowledge with extraordinary scope, depth and balance applicable to specific life situations
4 - Is well intended and combines mind and virtue
5 - Is very difficult to achieve but easily recognized
Implicit -Children’s beliefs of Wisdom Gluck - what are wise people like
1-Cognitive aspects - clever
2-Characteristics that addressed thinking of others - friendly
3-Appearance - green eyes, grey beard
4-Possession of real-world abilities - gives good advice
younger children is the absence of a “reflective” component of wisdom (e.g., life experience or perspective taking; p. 596). It may be that increased age comes with a better understanding of the value of these other, more abstract components.
Implicit definitions of wisdom differ by context
Western vs. Eastern?
Eastern: affective and cognitive
—Personal qualities: compassion, open-mindedness, humbleness
three factors were found to be contained within implicit definitions of Asian participants: (1) altruism, (2) determination, and (3) serenity
Western: stress cognition over affective dimension
–Personal qualities: intelligence, problem solving, planning
Explicit
- examine the externally visible aspects of a construct- focus on observable characteristics of a construct
Explicit theory of wisdom -Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget - Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operations
Life-span theorists (e.g., Erikson, 1959) view wisdom as part of
optimal development.
Erikson, wisdom reflects a maturity in which concerns for the collective good transcend
personal interests.
Elevated concerns for the collective good.
Explicit theory of wisdom -Riegel builds on Jean Piaget
considered a form of postformal operational thinking referred to as the dialectical operations stage -
1, associated with wisdom involve reflective thinking that attends to a balance of information and to truth that evolves in a cultural and historical context. Such reflective, or dialectical, thinking facilitates an * integration of opposing points of view
2- dual use of logical and subjective processing of information
3 - integration of motivation and life experiences
Explicit - wisdom - Sternberg’s Balance theory and Baltes Berlin wisdom paradigm
emphasize the organization and application of pragmatic knowledge
Propose that wise people can:
1-discern views of others
2-develop a rich understanding of the
world
3-craft meaningful solutions to difficult problems
4-direct their actions toward achieving a common good
Balance theory:the processes (balancing of interests and responses to environmental contexts) in relation to the goal of wisdom (achievement of a common good)
Process of Sternberg’s Wisdom Balance Model
1 - wise decisions require implicit knowledge gained through experience
2- wise decisions require balance - intra, inter and extra-personal - community
Covid - put community first by wearing masks, getting vaccinated
3 - each interest, consequence or response is weighted
4- if balance is achieved - common good is addressed with the proposed solutionwisdom
involves forming a judgment when there are competing interests that lack a clear resolution.
explicit - Baltes - Berlin Wisdom Paradigm
define wisdom as the “ways and means of planning, managing, and understanding a good life”
5 criteria that characterize wisdom (excellence) and wisdom-related (near-excellence) performance.
1. Know what - Rich factual knowledge
—To what extent does this product show general and specific knowledge about life matters and the human condition as well as demonstrate scope and depth in the coverage of issues?
- Know-how - rich procedural knowledge
—To what extent does this product consider decision strategies, how to define goals and identify the appropriate means, who to consult with, and about strategies of advice-giving? - life-span contextualism requires that wise people consider the contexts of life (e.g., love, work, and play), cultural values, and the passage of time when reviewing problems and their associated solutions.
- Relativism of values and life priorities place the value differences across people and societies in perspective.
- managing uncertainty knowing that you cant control everything
Baltes hypothesized a few areas from which wisdom is manifested
Chronological age
Experience of a wide range of human conditions
Experience of being a tutor or a mentor
Motivational Dispositions - generosity
Motivated to be generous and help other people
Baltes definition of wisdom
Baltes - Sehnsucht (“life longings”) to their life-span
view of positive traits that are experienced alongside such constructs as wisdom
Life longings as “the recurring strong feelings that life is incomplete or imperfect, coupled with a desire for ideal (utopian), alternative states and experiences of life”
More Idiographic experiential knowledge
wisdom in Korean adults living in the United States
different set of emphasized factors of wisdom was found
items that aligned with factors such as Empathic Modesty (i.e., “I have high expectations for myself and others and am therefore more likely to be disappointed.”) important to constructing wisdom - This is in contrast to more cognitive items
AGE differences based on acculturation - Younger (and potentially more acculturated) Korean American participants were higher in factors such as Viewpoint Relativism in this study
Developing Wisdom
Builds on knowledge, cognitive skills, and personality characteristics
–Requires understanding of culture
Life experiences and tutelage
–Develops slowly with exposure to wise role models
Grows through problem solving
–Two heads are better than one
Transmitted from generation to generation
—Observation, relationships and modeling
Sternberg proposed that knowledge, judicial thinking style, personality, motivation, and environmental context precede wisdom.
Baltes and Staudinger (2000) suggested that fluid intelligence, creativity, openness to experience, psychological mindedness, and general life experiences “orchestrate” to produce wisdom
importance of “guidance by mentors or other wisdom enhancing ‘others’” (p. 127), although such mentoring benefits are sometimes indirect and sometimes direct.
Taiwan - ideas similar to those found in Western contexts
life and work experiences, observation and social interaction, and professional development and reading
Also included in this list, however, are unique ideas more normative of Eastern culture, including “family teaching” and religion
Edmondson (2012) conducted a study of family interactions in the West of Ireland and found via ethnographic study that access to wisdom in the form of interactions with older members of the family provided younger members with more resilience and competence, even in the face of very difficult situations
not necessarily a mere sharing of advice, however, but also a modeling of the way in which people in older generations might listen to the information provided and the ways in which they may use this to direct their behavior
Wisdom seemed to be bred from close observation, close relationships, and an emulating of wise characteristics found in others.
Wise people and their Characteristics
Greater life satisfaction
Gender differences in cognitive and affective wisdom
Wisdom likely integrates both but women have higher levels of affective, people who were the wisest had high levels of both
Wisdom ages
Major development between 15 and 25
No age differences for wisdom 25-75
Wisdom decline after 70
few differences in wisdom score were found between older adults in general and current college students.
Cultural differences: Japan and US wisdom
Japan - people were wise over their life span
Difference in handling conflict makes them wise
become skilled at resolving conflicts in wise ways at an earlier age due to normative pressure to maintain group harmony
US - people developed greater wisdom with greater age
may not have as much motivation to resolve conflicts, and as such, they may not practice these strategies as frequently; wisdom related to resolving conflict accrues more quickly in Japanese individuals but takes a lifetime to develop in U.S. adults
Wisdom used as a coping strategy
Adolescents who thought of difficult situations as turning points had higher wisdom later on
Use difficult situations as opportunities for personal growth
Benefits of Wisdom
Beneficial inter- and intrapersonal qualities
Young adults - Coherent sense of self and consistent ego
Less investment in hedonistic pursuits - if not seeking hedonism seeking eudaimonia - sense of purpose, fulfillment, meaning, contentment
More interest in reflection and personal growth
Reserve social judgment
Understand context before making conclusions
Decreasing prejudice and the making of ultimate attributional errors
Flexible, adaptive, grateful
Higher subjective well-being, greater humility - not flashy
Defining Features of Courage
A willing/intentional act
Involving danger, risk or difficult
Some element of perceived risk
Primarily motivated to bring about a noble good or morally worthy goal
Trying to do something for the benefit of ourselves, our family, the world at large
Neurobiology of Wisdom
frontotemporal lobe, deficits are found in the ability to be socially appropriate, process emotions effectively, and control impulsivity;
Types of Courage
Physical
acting despite physical danger - preventing injury due to the dangerous environment or helping an injured person
maintenance of societal good by the expression of physical behavior grounded in the pursuit of socially valued goals
Only sparked in special circumstances - usually have training that helps them overcome fear
Types of Courage - Moral
doing what is right despite social opposition - standing up to others for what is right or taking responsibility for a negative situation
we all experience situations in which a morally courageous response is provoked, and this behavior requires no special training.
Types of Courage -Civil
Civil - brave behavior accompanied by anger and indignation that intends to enforce societal and ethical norms without considering one’s own costs - intervening where someone is being physically attacked due to discrimination
“brave behavior accompanied by anger and indignation that intends to enforce societal and ethical norms without considering one’s own social costs”
combine facets of physical courage and moral courage
Types of Courage - Psychological
facing psychological discomfort to pursue a meaningful goal - stepping outside of comfort zone to try something new
strength in facing one’s destructive habits - stress, sadness, and dysfunctional or unhealthy relationships.
psychological courage might be viewed as a form of moral courage in some ways as individuals possessing this trait are often asked to stand up against this stigma
Types of Courage - Vital
perseverance through a disease or disability even with the outcome is ambiguous - a child with a heart transplant maintaining intensive treatment even if the outcome is uncertain
perseverance through a disease or disability even when the outcome is ambiguous
ital courage is not needed unless we encounter disease or disability, and often professionals teach us how to battle the infirmity
Vital courage in the face of suffering often is manifested by people other than the identified patient
chronic illnesses and courage
chronic illnesses and concluded that being courageous is a lifelong process that entails factors such as significant others, values, and hope
Courage and physicians
- along with competence and compassion, is a very desirable characteristics of health care providers.
instilling courage through “encouragement” is required of anyone in a profession that exemplifies care and concern.
the necessary components of courage are freedom of choice, fear of a situation, and the willingness to take risks in a situation with an uncertain but morally worthy end
Civil courage -
“brave behavior accompanied by anger and indignation that intends to enforce societal and ethical norms without considering one’s own social costs”
combine facets of physical courage and moral courage,
someone exhibiting civil courage may decide to intervene in a situation where someone is under physical attack as a result of prejudice.- altruism
Ethics and Courage Research
Retrospective narrative methods - rely on stories of courage
Advantages?
Advantage to looking at courage from a subjective lens - courage has a degree of subjectivity in it
Disadvantages?
Why arent there more experiments designed to test courage
Children’s views on courage and fear - younger vs. older children
Younger children think of courage as physical risk taking
—Fear and courage can’t coexist
——did not consider fear or overcoming fear in describing the experience of courage, but this propensity to equate courage with the experience of fear increased with age.
Older children think of courage as psychological risk-taking
They also talk about many emotions - fear, self-confidence, and an urge to act
Risks of not being courageous - Milgram’s study
then assessed their feelings with regard to personal responsibility, civil courage, and societal engagement.
Results showed that these factors increased after being primed by the lack of civil courage present in the Milgram study.
When the behavior of the participants in the Milgram study was attributed to personal traits, intentions to volunteer and to stand up in the face of wrong were increased the most
Personal traits can lead to courageous actions - jewish rescuers vs. bystanders
Non-jewish rescuers and non-Jewish bystanders after holocaust
Rescuers had greater social responsibility, empathic concern, risk taking, altruistic moral reasoning
understand the effect of various positive characteristics of personality (e.g., social responsibility) on the “courageous altruism” that took place during this time
Haase: Attitudes and coping methods rather than born heroes
Through daily mini experiences of courage, a teen becomes aware than they are acting courageously
Development of mastery, competence, accomplishment, growth
Mechanisms at the heart of Haase’s work may also be found in use with psychotherapy. Some psychologists have spoken of the use of courage in therapeutic treatment, specifically with regard to having the “courage to risk positive change”
one must take some risks to seek out change in one’s life, which requires courage.
Campos - culture of courage
clients are encouraged to try to change themselves or their community in some way
expressions of moral courage can be met with initial discomfort from the group
leaders can challenge themselves to behave in authentic ways when faced with change and that this may assist others in letting go of their discomfort and encourage them to be more authentic as well.
ways in which leaders can support expressions of moral courage. Simola
expressions of moral courage can be met with initial discomfort from the group.
Bucking the system and standing against a policy or incident can be extremely beneficial but also carry with them a push for change.
This can be something that an organization, for example, may initially resist, even if the moral courage shown is on the side of right.
Simola states that leaders can challenge themselves to behave in authentic ways when faced with change and that this may assist others in letting go of their discomfort and encourage them to be more authentic as well.
The end result in an organization that practices these skills is that moral courage may instead increase vitality of the organization and foster collective growth
Hannah - Courageous mindset
Acting courageously leads to courageous mindset which leads to further acts of courage
factors such as the perception of risk are affected by external constructs such as social forces s (e.g., normative influences) and positive states (such as hope, efficacy, or the experience of positive emotions), as well as more internal characteristics such as positive traits (e.g., openness to experience and conscientiousness) and values and beliefs (e.g., valor, loyalty, honor).
We can help teach children courage
Try new food
Challenge himself by playing with the big kids
Try not to cry when missing mother
How can we make ourselves feel brave?
“The Bravery Tree” when inspiration for trying challenging new things seems to be needed.
Relationships Between Fear and Courage
This relationship is not well understood - t frightened people can perform courageous acts. perseverance despite fear is the purest form of courage.
Courage and fearlessness typically regarded as synonymous
But fearful people can act courageously
Courageous people might have lower physiological stress response - May be a physiological difference in those who choose to act courageously
relative to those in a control group, the decorated operators maintained a lower cardiac rate under stress. The findings from these studies suggested that people who had performed courageous acts might respond (behaviorally and physiologically) to fear in a way that is different from people who had not demonstrated courage
Behavioral and physical responses to fear
Moderate amount of fear but it subsides
Execution of fear-provoking behavior reduces future fear - doing the thing that scares you
paratroopers. His assessment of subjective fear and corresponding physiological markers revealed that paratroopers reported a moderate amount of fear at the beginning of their program, but this fear subsided within their initial five jumps
execution of a jump despite the presence of fear (i.e., courage) resulted in a reduction of fear.
Benefits of Courage
Higher agreeableness and openness on Big 5 - score higher on measures of courage
Negative relationship with anxiety
Adaptive coping, higher confidence but is courage different from confidence
Have to be confident that you will effect change
Courage - Neurological
Subgenual anterior cingulate cortex - execution of a jump despite the presence of fear (i.e., courage) resulted in a reduction of fear.
Courage and Culture
Important to consider that what one culture deems courageous might not be seen that way by other groups
Harmony may be viewed as courageous
Deciding to keep one’s opinions to oneself
Conceptual differences in US and china
similar elements were likely to inspire courage in both groups (e.g., self-confidence, support
of social network, anger) some facets of courage, such as responsibility, may be unique to the Chinese individuals’ conceptualization of the need for a courageous act
Gender stereotypes may also build expectations of courage as a trait in men
in particular.
Race relations require courage
some cultural groups might find courage to be necessary more often than others. For instance, the young Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, discussed previously, was faced with extreme discrimination and danger, the likes of which might not be present for members of many other cultural group
Within the United States, problematic race
relations may require a basic level of courage from racial, ethnic, and other minorities to
live day to day in our country despite violence directed disproportionately at these groups.
USA - hate crimes are most often perpetrated against African Americans
LGBTQ individuals may act out of necessity
They may have adverse reactions to their identities and have more need to be courageous
1,376 hate crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation bias, 98.1% were due to
bias against lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals
courage may emerge as a result of resilience in the face of adversity
People who were not LGBTQ but who intervened when threat was levied on this community were shown to be higher in courage and other positive attributes such as altruism, leadership, and justice sensitivity
Can Courage be Learned?
Maybe not but it can be inspired
Preparation, and knowing you are prepared can help
Practice facing your fears - making new friends, stand up to adversity
This will help you with your courage mindset
