Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-06T08:56:46.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 7 - Wisdom, Creativity, and Intelligence

from Part II - Foundations of Wisdom in the Individual and in the World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

By
Dowon Choi ,
Sarah F. Lynch  and
James C. Kaufman
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Judith Glück
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Judith Glück
Affiliation:
Universität Klagenfurt, Austria
Get access

Summary

In this chapter, we examine how creativity, intelligence, and wisdom are related in theoretical frameworks and empirical studies. First, definitions of the three constructs are discussed. Although all of them are complex and multifaceted, the relationship between creativity and intelligence has been extensively studied based on their working definitions and models. However, wisdom research remains sparse, and there is a gap between people’s common beliefs and explicit theories of how wisdom is related to intelligence and creativity. Regardless, some common elements of wisdom have been distilled. These include self-awareness, knowledge, and strategies to cope with uncertainty, which can lead to contributions to social goodness. Second, several empirical studies are reviewed. They show some relationships among the three constructs, but the results have been inconsistent. Third, the WICS model, as a cognitive framework, is used to understand the relationships among the three constructs. The model integrated intelligence, creativity, and wisdom, and has also been tested in some fields. Finally, we argue that wisdom, as a distinguishable component of ability, can help determine whether our intelligence and creativity will be harnessed toward benevolence or malevolence.

Keywords

CreativityIntelligenceWisdomMalevolent Creativity
Type
Chapter
Information
The Psychology of Wisdom
An Introduction
 , pp. 107 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackerman, P. L. and Heggestad, E. D. (1997). Intelligence, personality, and interests: evidence for overlapping traits. Psychological Bulletin, 121(2), 219–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity: a componential conceptualization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(2), 357–76.Google Scholar
Ardelt, M. (2003) Empirical assessment of a three-dimensional wisdom scale. Research on Aging. 25(3), 275–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P. B. and Smith, J. (2008). The fascination of wisdom: its nature, ontogeny, and function. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(1), 56–64.Google Scholar
Baltes, P. and Staudinger, U. (2000). Wisdom: a metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55(1), 122–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bangen, K. J., Meeks, T. W., and Jesete, D.V. (2013) Defining and assessing wisdom: a review of the literature. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(12). 1254–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beaussart, M. L., Andrews, C. J., and Kaufman, J. C. (2013). Creative liars: the relationship between creativity and integrity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 9, 129–34.Google Scholar
Bierly, P. E., Kolodinsky, R.W., and Charette, B. J. (2009) Understanding the complex relationship between creativity and ethical ideologies. Journal of Business Ethics, 86(1), 101–12.Google Scholar
Bipp, T., Steinmayr, R., and Spinath, B. (2008). Personality and achievement motivation: relationship among Big Five domain and facet scales, achievement goals, and intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(7), 1454–64.Google Scholar
Bluck, S. and Glück, J. (2005). From the inside out: people’s implicit theories of wisdom. In Sternberg, R. J. and Jordan, J., eds., A Handbook of Wisdom: Psychological Perspectives. Cambridge University Press, pp. 84–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craft, A. (2006). Fostering creativity with wisdom. Cambridge Journal of Education, 36(3), 337–50.Google Scholar
Cropley, D. H., Kaufman, J. C., and Cropley, A. J. (2008). Malevolent creativity: a functional model of creativity in terrorism and crime. Creativity Research Journal, 20(2), 105–15.Google Scholar
Cropley, D. H., Cropley, A. J., Kaufman, J. C., and Runco, M. A., eds., (2010). The Dark Side of Creativity. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cropley, D. H., Kaufman, J. C., White, A. E., and Chiera, B. A. (2014). Layperson perceptions of malevolent creativity: the good, the bad, and the ambiguous. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 8(4), 400–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dai, D. Y. (2003). The making of the gifted: implications of Sternberg’s WICS model of giftedness. High Ability Studies, 14(2), 141–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Dreu, C. K. W. and Nijstad, B. A. (2008). Mental set and creative thought in social conflict: threat rigidity versus motivated focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(3), 648–61.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feist, G. J., Reiter-Palmon, R., and Kaufman, J. C., eds., (2017). The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Personality Research. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., and Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative Cognition: Theory, Research, and Applications. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Forsyth, D. R. (1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(1), 175–84.Google Scholar
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. Basic Books.Google Scholar
Gill, P., Horgan, J., Hunter, S. T., and Cushenbery, L. D. (2013). Malevolent creativity in terrorist organizations. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 47(2), 125–51.Google Scholar
Gino, F. and Ariely, D. (2012). The dark side of creativity: original thinkers can be more dishonest. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(3), 445–59.Google Scholar
Glăveanu, V. P. (2013). Rewriting the language of creativity: the Five A’s framework. Review of General Psychology, 17(1), 69–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glück, J. and Bluck, S. (2011). Laypeople’s conceptions of wisdom and its development: cognitive and integrative views. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B, 321–24.Google Scholar
Greenwald, A. G. and Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit social cognition: attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological Review, 102(1), 4–27.Google Scholar
Grossmann, I., Na, J., Varnum, M. W., Kitayama, S., and Nisbett, R. E. (2013). A route to well-being: intelligence versus wise reasoning. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: General, 142(3), 944–53.Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444–54.Google Scholar
Hennessey, B. A. and Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 569–98.Google Scholar
Horn, J. L. and Cattell, R. B. (1966). Refinement and test of the theory of fluid and crystallized general intelligences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 57(5), 253–70.Google Scholar
Kampylis, P. G. and Valtanen, J. (2010). Redefining creativity—analyzing definitions, collocations, and consequences. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 44(3), 191–214.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. (2016). Creativity 101, 2nd ed. Springer.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. and Baer, J. (2005). The Amusement Park Theoretical (APT) Model of creativity. Korean Journal of Thinking and Problem Solving, 14, 15–25.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. and Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: the Four C Model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1–12.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C. and Beghetto, R. A. (2013). Do people recognize the Four Cs? Examining layperson conceptions of creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7(3), 229–36.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., Beghetto, R. A., Baer, J., and Ivcevic, Z. (2010). Creativity polymathy: what Benjamin Franklin can teach your kindergartener. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(4), 380–87.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., Pumaccahua, T. T., and Holt, R. E. (2013). Personality and creativity in realistic, investigative, artistic, social, and enterprising college majors. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(8), 913–17.Google Scholar
Kaufman, J. C., Glăveanu, V., and Baer, J., eds. (2017). The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity Across Domains. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, K., Molen, G.R., and Spielberg, S. (1993). Jurassic Park [Motion picture]. Amblin Entertainment.Google Scholar
LeRoy, M. and Fleming, V. (1939). The Wizard of Oz [Motion picture]. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.Google Scholar
Lim, W. and Plucker, J. (2001). Creativity through a lens of social responsibility: implicit theories of creativity with Korean samples. Journal of Creative Behavior, 35(2), 115–30.Google Scholar
Lim, W., Plucker, J. A., and Im, K. (2002). We are more alike than we think we are: implicit theories of intelligence with a Korean sample. Intelligence, 30(2), 185–208.Google Scholar
Locard, H. (2005). State violence in democratic Kampuchea (1975–1979) and retribution (1979–2004). European Review of History: Revue Européenne d’Histoire, 12(1), 121–43.Google Scholar
Mickler, C. and Staudinger, U. M. (2008). Personal wisdom: validation and age-related differences of a performance measure. Psychology and Aging, 23(4), 787–99.Google Scholar
Mumford, M. D., Mobley, M. I., Uhlman, C. E., Reiter-Palmon, R., and Doares, L. M. (1991). Process analytic models of creative capacities. Creativity Research Journal, 4(2), 91–122.Google Scholar
Mumford, M. D., Waples, E. P., Antes, A. L. et al. (2010). Creativity and ethics: the relationship of creative and ethical problem-solving. Creativity Research Journal, 22(1), 74–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reiter-Palmon, R. and Robinson, E. J. (2009). Problem identification and construction: what do we know, what is the future? Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3(1), 43–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhodes, M. (1961). An analysis of creativity. Phi Delta Kappan, 42(7), 305–11.Google Scholar
Schneider, W. J. and McGrew, K. (2012). The Cattell–Horn–Carroll model of intelligence. In Flanagan, D. and Harrison, P., eds., Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues, 3rd ed. Guilford, pp. 99–144.Google Scholar
Simonton, D. K. (2012). Taking the U.S. Patent Office criteria seriously: a quantitative three-criterion definition and its implications. Creativity Research Journal, 24(2–3), 97–106.Google Scholar
Spearman, C. (1904). “General intelligence,” objectively determined and measured. The American Journal of Psychology, 15(2), 201–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staudinger, U. M., Lopez, D. F., and Baltes, P. B. (1997). The psychometric location of wisdom-related performance: intelligence, personality, and more? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(11), 1200–14.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1985a). Beyond IQ: A Triarchic Theory of Human Intelligence. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1985b). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 607–27.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful Intelligence. Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R.J. (1998) A balance theory of wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 2(4), 347–65.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Practical Intelligence in Everyday Life. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2001). Why schools should teach for wisdom: the balance theory of wisdom in educational settings. Educational Psychologist, 36(4), 227–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2003a). WICS as a model of giftedness. High Ability Studies, 14(2), 109–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R J. (2003b). Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2007). A systems model of leadership: WICS. American Psychologist, 62(1), 34–42.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2010). WICS: a new model for school psychology. School Psychology International, 31(6), 599–616.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2019a). A theory of adaptive intelligence and its relation to general intelligence. Journal of Intelligence, 7(4), 23.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2019b). Why people often prefer wise guys to guys who are wise: an augmented balance theory of the production and reception of wisdom. In Sternberg, R. J. and Glück, J., eds., The Cambridge Handbook of Wisdom. Cambridge University Press, pp. 162–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2020). The augmented theory of successful intelligence. In Sternberg, R. J., ed., The Cambridge Handbook of Intelligence, 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, pp. 679–708.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. and Grigorenko, E. L. (2004). WICS: a model for selecting students for nationally competitive scholarships. In Ilchman, A. S., Ilchman, W. F., and Tolar, M. H., eds., The Lucky Few and the Worthy Many: Scholarship Competitions and the World’s Future Leaders. Indiana University Press, pp. 32–61.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. and Hedlund, J. (2002). Practical intelligence, g, and work psychology. Human Performance, 15(1–2), 143–60.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., Conway, B. E., Ketron, J. L., and Bernstein, M. (1981). People’s conceptions of intelligence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41(1), 37–55.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., Bonney, C. R., Gabora, L., and Merrifield, M. (2012). WICS: a model for college and university admissions. Educational Psychologist, 47(1), 30–41.Google Scholar
Weststrate, N. M. and Glück, J. (2017). Hard-earned wisdom: exploratory processing of difficult life experience is positively associated with wisdom. Developmental Psychology, 53(4), 800–14.Google Scholar
Zenasni, F., Besançon, M., and Lubart, T. (2008). Creativity and tolerance of ambiguity: an empirical study. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42(1), 61–73.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×