Strengths of Wisdom & Knowledge Psyc4110: positive psychology
The cognitive strengths of wisdom and knowledge are related to gaining and using information for a better life. Many scholars consider wisdom or reason a core virtue, one from which other virtues and character strengths are made possible. Wisdom and knowledge can be gained from formal academic pursuits and are best gained by developing the character strengths of creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective.
Creativity
Creative people produce ideas or actions that are original, adaptive, and which make a positive contribution to one's life or the life of others (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Great artists or entrepreneurs may reveal strong examples and great inventiveness, and everyday examples may be found in creative solutions to common problems. Creativity involves flow, a mental state where skills match challenges and attention is fully engaged. Creativity can be deliberately increased through training of divergent thinking and problem solving, important features of creativity. Overuse of creativity can lead to eccentricity while underuse of this character strength produces dullness and conformity (Niemiec & Wedding, 2014).
Curiosity
The character strength of curiosity is strongly associated with well-being and life satisfaction as well as greater health, longevity, and greater intelligence. Curiosity, or interest, consists of novelty-seeking, openness to experience, and an inner desire for knowledge (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). It is an important component of creativity and like creativity, curiosity is associated with fluid intelligence, abstract reasoning and problem-solving. Examples of curiosity can be found in great explorers and research scientists as well as everyday applications when people decide to move beyond their comfort zone to discover new things or meanings. Overuse of curiosity can be seen in being intrusive or nosey while underuse is associated with apathy, boredom, or lack of interest (Niemiec & Wedding, 2014).
Judgment
The character strength of judgment is also known as open-mindedness and critical thinking. It is the willingness to search for and fairly weigh evidence against one's favored beliefs emphasizing logic, reason, and rationality (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This avoids the prevalent cognitive bias of thinking in ways that favor one's existing beliefs or points of view. Judgment encourages openness to new knowledge even if from unfavorable or nontraditional views. Judgment usually improves with age and education to prevent flawed thinking, and the practice of critical thinking can be learned. Overuse of judgment results in cynicism or narrow-mindedness while underuse manifests as unreflectiveness and the absence or opposite of judgment is characterized by rigidity, intolerance, and prejudice (Niemiec & Wedding, 2014).
Love of Learning
The love of learning is a strength where people cognitively engage and experience positivity while learning new information and satisfying their curiosity to master knowledge or new skills. It is an inner drive or intrinsic motivation to learn for the sake of learning as opposed to extrinsic motivation of earning a good grade or a promotion (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This inner motivation encourages persistence when faced with learning challenges. People with this strength will frequently be absorbed in a flow state while learning new information and savor the learning experience. Overuse of the love of learning can result in intellectual snobbery or being a know-it-all, while those who underuse this strength may be complacent, incurious, or disinterested (Niemiec & Wedding, 2014).
Perspective
Perspective, or wisdom, may be considered a strength or positive trait of wise people. It differs from intelligence yet it reflects superior knowledge and judgment allowing the person to effectively address questions on the conduct and meaning of life (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). As with the other strengths of wisdom and knowledge, perspective is used for the well-being of others and oneself. Paradoxically, even though wise persons are often old, most older persons are not considered to be wise. Excessive use of perspective can result in being overbearing while underuse results in being shallow and stuck in one's habits unable to see the big picture. The opposite of perspective is evidenced by thoughtlessness and ignorance (Niemiec & Wedding, 2014).
References
Niemiec, R. M., & Wedding, D. (2014). Positive psychology at the movies 2: Using films to build character strengths and well-being. Boston, MA: Hogrefe Publishing.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.