Dimensions of Wisdom Perception Across Twelve Countries on Five Continents

Abstract

The concept of wisdom has captivated scholars throughout history, yet disagreements remain over its cultural variability. Here, we investigated wisdom perception in self and others across 16 samples from eight cultural regions on five continents. Participants assessed wisdom exemplars, non-exemplar targets, and themselves on 19 socio-cognitive characteristics, rating each person's wisdom. Multilevel factor analyses unveiled two latent dimensions: Reflective Orientation and Socio-Emotional Awareness. These factors were invariant across cultures and correlated positively with each other and with explicit wisdom ratings, though ratings of some exemplars varied by culture within the socio-emotional dimension. We also found additive and interactive effects of these factors on wisdom ratings. Intriguingly, individuals perceived themselves as less reflective but more socio-emotionally aware than most wisdom exemplars. These results illuminate social perception across cultures and underscore the importance of social perception in wisdom-attribution for both self and others, with wide-ranging implications for philosophy, psychology, and cognitive sciences.