Journal of Happiness Studies

, Volume 14, Issue 3, pp 929–950 | Cite as

Why are Wise People Happier? An Explanatory Model of Wisdom and Emotional Well-Being in Older Adults

Research Paper
First Online:

Abstract

This research investigated the relation between wisdom and emotional well-being in older adults, with an aim to elucidate pathways of positive development in adulthood. Three-hundred and sixty recently retired individuals completed a series of questionnaires including measures of wisdom, dispositional coping, perceived control, life engagement, and positive and negative affect. Structural equation modeling controlling for social desirability, health, and sociodemographic variables revealed that problem-focused coping, positive reappraisal coping, perceived control and life engagement mediate the positive relation between wisdom and positive affect. In addition, perceived control and life engagement, but not dispositional coping, were found to mediate the negative relation between wisdom and negative affect. The results demonstrate that higher levels of perceived control and life engagement in conjunction with an increased use of problem-focused and positive reappraisal coping account for the enhanced emotional well-being associated with wisdom. Findings are discussed in terms of the characteristics of wise individuals that promote positive aging.

Keywords

Wisdom Well-being Older adults Dispositional coping Life engagement Perceived control 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the invaluable contribution of our dedicated participants and students, without which the Concordia Longitudinal Retirement Study could never have come to fruition. This research was supported by fellowships from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds Québecois de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture, as well as by a grant awarded to Dolores Pushkar, June Chaikelson, Michael Conway, Jamshid Etezadi, Dina Giannopoulos, Karen Li, and Carsten Wrosch from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

References

  1. Aldwin, C. M., & Gilmer, D. F. (2004). Health, illness, and optimal aging: Biological and psychosocial perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
  2. Ardelt, M. (2003). Empirical assessment of a three-dimensional wisdom scale. Research on Aging, 25(3), 275–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Baltes, P. B. (2004). Wisdom as orchestration of mind and virtue. Book in preparation.http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/pb/PB_Wisdom_2004.pdf.
  4. Baltes, M. M., & Baltes, P. B. (1986). The psychology of control and aging. Hillsdale, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
  5. Baltes, P. B., & Staudinger, U. M. (2000). Wisdom: A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55(1), 122–136.Google Scholar
  6. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
  7. Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meanings of life. New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
  8. Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2005). The pursuit of meaningfulness in life. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (pp. 608–618). New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  9. Ben-Zur, H. (2009). Coping styles and affect. International Journal of Stress Management, 16(2), 87–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Ben-Zur, H., Yagil, D., & Oz, D. (2005). Coping strategies and leadership in the adaptation to social change: The israeli kibbutz. Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal, 18(2), 87–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Bergsma, A., & Ardelt, M. (2012). Self-reported wisdom and happiness: An empirical investigation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(3), 481–499.Google Scholar
  12. Block, J. (1978). The Q-sort method in personality assessment and psychiatric research. Palo Alto, CA, England: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
  13. Brugman, G. M. (2006). Wisdom and aging. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaire (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (6th ed., pp. 445–475). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(2), 267–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Chou, C., & Bentler, P. M. (1995). Estimates and tests in structural equation modeling. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 37–55). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
  16. Clayton, V. P., & Birren, J. E. (1980). The development of wisdom across the life-span: A reexamination of an ancient topic. In P. B. Baltes & O. G. Brim (Eds.) Life-span development and behaviour (Vol. 3). New York, NY, USA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
  17. Danhauer, S. C., Carlson, C. R., & Andrykowski, M. A. (2005). Positive psychosocial functioning in later life: Use of meaning-based coping strategies by nursing home residents. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 24(4), 299–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Folkman, S. (2008). The case for positive emotions in the stress response. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 21, 3–14.Google Scholar
  19. Folkman, S., & Greer, S. (2000). Promoting psychological well-being in the face of serious illness: When theory, research and practice inform each other. Psycho-Oncology, 9(1), 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Frankl, V. E. (1963). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Oxford, England: Washington Square Press.Google Scholar
  21. Glidden, L. M., Billings, F. J., & Jobe, B. M. (2006). Personality, coping style, and well-being of parents rearing children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 50(12), 949–962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., & Schulz, R. (2010). A motivational theory of life-span development. Psychological Review, 117, 32–60.Google Scholar
  23. Helson, R., & Srivastava, S. (2002). Creative and wise people: Similarities, differences and how they develop. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(10), 1430–1440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76–99). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
  25. Hudson, F. M. (1999). The adult years: Mastering the art of self-renewal. San Francisco, CA, USA: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
  26. Jennings, P. A. (2004). The role of personality, stress, and coping in the development of wisdom. ProQuest information & learning). Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 65(6), 3199.Google Scholar
  27. Jennings, P. A., Aldwin, C. M., Levenson, M. R., Spiro, A. I., II, & Mroczek, D. K. (2006). Combat exposure, perceived benefits of military service, and wisdom in later life: Findings from the normative aging study. Research on Aging, 28(1), 115–134.Google Scholar
  28. John, O. P., & Gross, J. J. (2004). Healthy and unhealthy emotion regulation: Personality processes, individual differences, and life span development. Journal of Personality, 72(6), 1301–1333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J. L., & Del Gaiso, A. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(1), 179–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. King, M. B., & Hunt, R. A. (1975). Measuring the religious variable: National replication. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14(1), 13–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York, NY, USA: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
  32. Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health: An inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1), 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Lachman, M. E. (2006). Perceived control over aging-related declines: Adaptive beliefs and behaviors. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(6), 282–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Lachman, M. E., & Firth, K. M. P. (2004). The adaptive value of feeling in control during midlife. In O. G. Brim, C. D. Ryff, & R. C. Kessler (Eds.), How healthy are we?: A national study of well-being at midlife (pp. 320–349). Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  35. Lachman, M. E., & Weaver, S. L. (1998). The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(3), 763–773.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY, USA: Springer.Google Scholar
  37. Lowe, R., Norman, P., & Bennett, P. (2000). Coping, emotion and perceived health following myocardial infarction: Concurrent and predictive associations. British Journal of Health Psychology, 5(4), 337–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Lyster, T. L. (1996). A nomination approach to the study of wisdom in old age. ProQuest information & learning). Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 61(12), 6737.Google Scholar
  39. Moskowitz, J. T., Hult, J. R., Bussolari, C., & Acree, M. (2009). What works in coping with HIV? A meta-analysis with implications for coping with serious illness. Psychological Bulletin, 135(1), 121–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Mossbarger, B. (2009). The ‘fit’ model of personal control and well-being in younger and older adults. Journal of Adult Development, 16(1), 25–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Ntoumanis, N., & Biddle, S. J. H. (1998). The relationship of coping and its perceived effectiveness to positive and negative affect in sport. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(6), 773–788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Paulhus, D. L. (1984). Two-component models of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 598–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19(1), 2–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Reid, D. W., & Zeigler, M. (1981). The desired control measure and adjustment among the elderly. In H. Lefcourt (Ed.), Research with the locus of control construct (Vol. 1, pp. 127–159). New York, NY, USA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
  45. Reker, G. T. (2005). Meaning in life of young, middle-aged, and older adults: Factorial validity, age, and gender invariance of the personal meaning index (PMI). Personality and Individual Differences, 38(1), 71–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Reker, G. T., & Wong, P. T. (1988). Aging as an individual process: Toward a theory of personal meaning. In J. E. Birren & V. L. Bengston (Eds.), Emergent theories of aging (pp. 214–246). New York, NY, USA: Springer.Google Scholar
  47. Rodin, J. (1986). Aging and health: Effects of the sense of control. Science, 233(4770), 1271–1276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1998). Successful aging. New York, NY, USA: Pantheon Books.Google Scholar
  49. Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Schanowitz, J. Y., & Nicassio, P. M. (2006). Predictors of positive psychosocial functioning of older adults in residential care facilities. Journal of Behavioral Medecine, 29(2), 191–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Scheier, M. F., Wrosch, C., Baum, A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Matthews, K. A., et al. (2006). The life engagement test: Assessing purpose in life. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 291–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Schulz, R., & Heckhausen, J. (1996). A life span model of successful aging. American Psychologist, 51(7), 702–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Skinner, E. A. (1996). A guide to constructs of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(3), 549–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Smith, J., & Baltes, P. B. (1990). Wisdom-related knowledge: Age/cohort differences in response to life-planning problems. Developmental Psychology, 26(3), 494–505.Google Scholar
  57. Staudinger, U. M., Lopez, D. F., & Baltes, P. B. (1997). The psychometric location of wisdom-related performance: Intelligence, personality, and more? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(11), 1200–1214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(1), 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson Education.Google Scholar
  61. Taylor, M., Bates, G., & Webster, J. D. (2011). Comparing the psychometric properties of two measures of wisdom: Predicting forgiveness and psychological well-being with the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) and the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS). Experimental Aging Research, 37, 129–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  62. Thompson, S. C. (2005). The role of personal control in adaptive functioning. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (pp. 271–278). New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  63. Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Wechsler, D. (2008). Wechsler adult intelligence scale—Fourth edition. San Antonio, TX: Pearson.Google Scholar
  66. Wrosch, C., & Heckhausen, J. (2002). Perceived control of life regrets: Good for young and bad for old adults. Psychology and Aging, 17(2), 340–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Wrosch, C., Heckhausen, J., & Lachman, M. E. (2006). Goal management across adulthood and old age: The adaptive value of primary and secondary control. In D. K. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), Handbook of personality development (pp. 399–421). Mahwah, NJ, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.Google Scholar
  68. Wrosch, C., Scheier, M. F., Miller, G. E., Schulz, R., & Carver, C. S. (2003). Adaptive self-regulation of unattainable goals: Goal disengagement, goal reengagement, and subjective well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(12), 1494–1508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Wyler, A. R., Masuda, M., & Holmes, T. H. (1971). Magnitude of life events and seriousness of illness. Psychosomatic Medicine, 33(2), 115–122.Google Scholar
  70. Zika, S., & Chamberlain, K. (1992). On the relation between meaning in life and psychological well-being. British Journal of Psychology, 83(1), 133–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Center for Research in Human Development & Concordia UniversityMontrealCanada

Personalised recommendations