Can the Wisdom of Aging be Activated and Make a Difference Societally?

Abstract

The Experience Corps®, a community-based intergenerational program, was developed to promote the health of older adults, while simultaneously addressing unmet social and academic needs in public elementary schools. The model was designed to draw on, and potentially activate, the wisdom of older adults. This paper explores the nature of wisdom-related knowledge and how older adults may apply such knowledge when tutoring and mentoring young children, as well as the potential for the intergenerational transmission of wisdom from the older adult volunteers to the school children being mentored by them. Developing an understanding of these issues may provide a basis for the creation of more extensive wisdom-generating opportunities for both older and younger generations.

Building upon the CALLA Framework: The Intersection of Novel Problem Solving and Applied Wisdom

“…The two most widely adopted models of wisdom are Sternberg's [1998] balance theory of wisdom and the Berlin wisdom paradigm [Baltes & Staudinger, 2000], defining wisdom as (a) applying practical intellect and tacit knowledge (holistic usage of knowledge, skills, and ideas) towards problem solving for the common good [Sternberg, 1998] and (b) applying expertise in the fundamental pragmatics of life, expertise meaning in factual knowledge about life matters, procedural knowledge to make decisions and resolve conflict, knowledge about life themes and contexts, knowledge about differences in goals and values, and understanding limits of own self-knowledge to deal with uncertainty [Baltes & Staudinger, 2000]. Although aging does not ensure that someone will apply wisdom effectively, interventions that hone the use of older adults' past experiences, knowledge, and skills that map onto relevant skills and knowledge improve the chance for them to earnestly participate and continue in cognitive engagement interventions [e.g., Carlson et al, 2008Carlson et al, , 2009Carlson et al, , 2015Parisi et al, 2009;Rebok et al, 2011].…”

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“…In addition, it is more common for middle-age and older adults to encourage the development and well-being of successive generations by passing along wisdom (Erikson 1982;McAdams and de St. Aubin 1992;Parisi et al 2009;SchachterShalomi and Miller 1995). Wise adults are: knowledgeable, mature, tolerant, empathetic, experienced, intuitive, understanding, competent, and demonstrate exceptional judgment and interpersonal and communication skills (Parisi et al 2009: 869).…”

“…Older adults are often associated with wisdom because they tend to be better able to consider a problem from multiple viewpoints, think more reflectively, and communicate more thoughtfully (Parisi et al 2009;Riegel 1973).…”

“…Wisdom is thought to be the result of ongoing biological, social, and psychological development throughout the lifespan (Parisi et al 2009). Erikson (1982) examined such growth through eight psychosocial stages, believing that the successful resolution of conflict within each stage results in a healthy personality and successful interactions with others.…”

“…Middle adulthood, for example, is a time to determine the conflict between what Erikson calls, generativity versus stagnation. Generativity, the key to successful resolution of this stage, is about gaining greater personal satisfaction and well-being by giving back to and bettering society for the next generation, such as being productive at work and involved in community activities, mentoring, or creating new products or ideas (Eriskson 1982;Parisi et al 2009). Consequently, generativity includes the virtue of care beyond oneself toward others (Parisi et al 2009).…”