2024/08/14 by Maksim Rudnev, H. Clark Barrett, Wesley Buckwalter +31 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Psychology · Neuroscience · #Cultural Differences and Values #Aging and Gerontology Research #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50294-0
openalex publication_date 2024/08/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Wisdom is the hallmark of social judgment, but how people across cultures recognize wisdom remains unclear-distinct philosophical traditions suggest different views of wisdom's cardinal features. We explore perception of wise minds across 16 socio-economically and culturally diverse convenience samples from 12 countries. Participants assessed wisdom exemplars, non-exemplars, and themselves on 19 socio-cognitive characteristics, subsequently rating targets' wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Analyses reveal two positively related dimensions-Reflective Orientation and Socio-Emotional Awareness. These dimensions are consistent across the studied cultural regions and interact when informing wisdom ratings: wisest targets-as perceived by participants-score high on both dimensions, whereas the least wise are not reflective but moderately socio-emotional. Additionally, individuals view themselves as less reflective but more socio-emotionally aware than most wisdom exemplars. Our findings expand folk psychology and social judgment research beyond the Global North, showing how individuals perceive desirable cognitive and socio-emotional qualities, and contribute to an understanding of mind perception.