Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2023-10-20
Abstract： The self is an important concept in the research of personality psychology and social psychology. Since the rise of cultural psychology in recent decades, many Chinese indigenous psychologists are involved in constructing a Chinese self-theory that fits the characteristics of Chinese society, history, and culture. The existing Chinese self-theories or self-models can be divided into three categories: individualism/ collectivism oriented Chinese self-theories, differential pattern oriented Chinese self-theories, and protogenetic symbol oriented Chinese self-theories.
The individualism/ collectivism oriented Chinese self-theories inherited from the individualism/collectivism dimension in culturology, in the same line with the self-construal theory that divided the cultural self-construal into the independent self and interdependent self, which emerged from the comparison with the western mainstream modern civilization. The most representative individualism/ collectivism oriented Chinese self-theories include the “four-part theory of Chinese self” proposed by Yang Kwo-Shu, the “dual-cultural self-theory” suggested by Hong Ying-Yi, and the “composite self-theory” proposed by Lu Luo. These theories generally nested the individual orientation and social orientation, and the independent self and interdependent self to construct the modern Chinese self that is now expanding into a multicultural convergence theory of the self.
The differential pattern oriented Chinese self-theories developed from Fei Xiao-Tong’s differential pattern theory, which described the Chinese traditional social structure. From a psychological point of view, the differential pattern of social form is a kind of internalized psychological differential pattern, the connotation of which is that under the premise of individual-centeredness, other people around the individual are given different values and meanings and pulled into the concentric circles of self-identity, forming a self-centered form with differential order. On this basis, Yang Chung-Fang, Yang Yi-Yin, Zhai Xue-Wei, and so on, made further development. These theories lean in the direction of sociological research, focusing on the extrapolation of the Chinese self in the context of ethical structures and social relations.
The protogenetic symbol oriented Chinese self-theories took a different approach and tried to construct a theory or model of the Chinese self by using typical symbols or illustrations with symbolic meanings in traditional Chinese culture, the most representative of which are the Mandala model of self proposed by Hwang Kwang-Kwo and the Taiji model of self proposed by Wang Feng-Yan et al.
The theoretical research of the Chinese self has shown the features: (1) the self theories have grown from nothing and expanded from one-way to diversified; (2) the self theories have developed from imitation to innovation; and (3) the tools to research about the self are gradually diversified, but the theory and empirical studies still need to be further combined. An understanding of the outline of the developmental process of the Chinese self-theories will help to understand the rich connotation of the Chinese self-view and lay a solid foundation for further research on the Chinese self.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： The relationship between wisdom and age is a crucial issue in wisdom psychology. The majority of scholars believe that wisdom is gained during adolescence and early adulthood. However, the relationship between adult’s wisdom and age remains controversial. There are four generalized views: (1) positive theory; (2) decline model; (3) stable model; (4) plateau model. The former two have been less empirically supported than the latter two. Through the review and reflection of these viewpoints, the present article proposes that there are three most urgent tasks in the empirical aspect and six questions in the theoretical aspect. In addition, we offer a wisdom-age relation theory based on individual-situational differences, which may provide us with a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between wisdom and age.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Wisdom and well-being are universal human pursuits. The positive correlation between wisdom and eudaimonic well-being is generally recognized by researchers. However, the relationship between wisdom and hedonic well-being is still debated. Researchers have proposed the model of positive personality development and the developmental process model from the perspective of wisdom development to further explore the relationship between wisdom and well-being. Based on Chinese culture and research on wisdom and well-being, the present article proposes the developmental level model: With the growth of wisdom, the well-being of individuals varies in terms of sources, durations, and influences on physical and mental health. In the future, we should focus on solving two problems: 1) choosing and developing an appropriate tool for measuring wisdom and well-being, and 2) clarifying the causal relationship between wisdom and well-being.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Wise people are both selfless and eudaemonic. Research adopting the social-ecological approach has found individual’s ability to reason wisely across interpersonal and societal conflicts can be fostered by ego-decentering mindset, while research grounded in the person-centric approach has demonstrated the positive relation between wisdom and eudaimonia. Based on the integration of the two approaches, a model of self-based processes of wisdom was proposed. This model is characterized by a self-reinforcing circle. More specifically, selflessness boosts practical wisdom in daily life, which will bring the state of eudaimonia. In turn, this state of mind linked with eudaimonia will reinforce the selflessness. Lastly, the influence of different types of self across cultures and dynamic relationship between eudaimonia and wisdom are needed to be further investigated.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： In the past 40 years, researchers have explored and constructed diverse definitions and components of wisdom. They have gradually reached a consensus that wisdom is the application of meta-cognition to reason and solve problems based on the morality. Wisdom is also closely related to individual life experience, personal growth and even physical maturity. Therefore, wisdom can be defined as a psychological quality that integrates intelligence with morality. Among the measurements of wisdom applied in old age, the self-reported scales mainly include the three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS), self-assessed wisdom scale (SAWS), and the adult self-transcendence inventory (ASTI), the performance-based methods mainly include the Berlin wisdom paradigm and the wisdom reasoning. According to the results, wisdom in old age is relatively well, but there may not be a linear relationship between the aging and the increasing of wisdom in the middle and late adulthood, the cognitive or knowledge components of wisdom reach a peak at a certain age (such as 50 to 55 years old), and after that they begin to decline, and the reflective and emotional components of wisdom will not decline, due to the growth of psychosocial development and perspective-taking ability, emotional regulation, and empathy or compassionate for others, they will even increase with age. Therefore, aging may not be a necessary or sufficient condition for wisdom. Studies have shown that micro-factors such as the challenges in life experience, critical life events, and social changes encountered in the life course of individual are external factors that may promote the development of wisdom in the old age; psychological resources such as sense of control, personal growth, emotional regulation, openness to experience and exploratory self-reflection that contribute to the development of individual meta-cognition are internal factors that may promote the development of wisdom in the old age; meanwhile, the orientation of pro-social moral value, the subjective motivation of pursuing the growth of wisdom or the meaning in life may be the important intermediary mechanism for learning wisdom from life experience. Wisdom can significantly and positively predict the quality of life in the old, and can help the old people obtain life goals and sense of control, which having more important impact on their well-being. Wisdom can also act as a mediating or moderating role to buffer or reduce the negative impact of negative factors on the life satisfaction and well-being of the old, thereby relieving the solitude and oppression, alleviating the feelings of loneliness, depression, and social alienation in the old age. There are still some limitations in the psychological research on the wisdom in old age: First, whether wisdom increases, declines or remains stable in the later stages of adulthood, the conclusions still rely on the definition, conceptualization and measurement of wisdom; secondly, the researches on the antecedents of the wisdom in the old age fail to reveal the internal mechanism of the relevant resources in the development of wisdom; thirdly, the researches on the consequences of the wisdom in the old age fail to reveal the interventional roles of wisdom or different components of wisdom; finally, there are still lack of specific and operable interventions and cultivation methods for promoting wisdom. In the future, it is necessary to develop the measurement tools that integrate various sources based on self-reporting and behavioral performance measurement, and balance the content of natural wisdom and humanistic wisdom; examine the development trajectory of individual wisdom and its psychological mechanism in the life course; conduct the longitudinal researches and experimental researches to in-depth research on the causal relationship between wisdom and well-being and the positive functions of wisdom; continue to explore the interventional conditions and promoting measures for the wisdom of the old in the practice of old care services in community, thus inspire the wisdom of the old people and promote their successful aging.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： The psychological study of wisdom is becoming more and more widespread. To better carry forward the past and usher in the future, the research history of wisdom psychology in the past 50 years is comprehensively reviewed, critically drawing on the work of Sternberg and Glück. The symphony of the development of wisdom psychology consists of “one prelude” and “two movements”. Specifically, “one prelude” refers to Vivian Clayton’s wisdom research, which started no later than 1976 and ended abruptly in 1982, when Clayton left academia. Clayton elevated the concept of wisdom to scientific status for the first time, paving the way for empirical research on wisdom psychology. The brief period of Clayton’s academic career devoted to the study of wisdom psychology ignited the enthusiasm of scholars for research on wisdom psychology. The “two movements” are “one flower blooming with two buds” and “all flowers bloom together”. The first stage of wisdom psychology, begun in the early 1980s, was characterized by the leading position of the Berlin wisdom model, which shed light on an expert knowledge system dealing with the fundamental pragmatics of life, as well as neo-Piagetian theory and the balance theory of wisdom by Robert J. Sternberg. At that time, the uniqueness and importance of wisdom were uncovered, and these three theories together formed a solid theoretical foundation for the future development of wisdom psychology. The second stage of wisdom psychology began with Monika Ardelt’s critical review of the Berlin group’s definition, operationalization, and particular measurement of wisdom in 2004 and has continued to this day. It is characterized by vigorous development in the field of wisdom psychology and fruitful results, mainly demonstrated by two aspects. First, wisdom was treated as more important than knowledge. Accordingly, a variety of theories and measurements of wisdom were presented, promoting the development of wisdom research, such as the explicit three-dimensional wisdom model (3D-WM), the H.E.R.O.(E.) model of wisdom, wisdom as self-transcendence, and the two-dimensional theory of wisdom that integrates virtue and wit. Second, a wide array of research hotspots of wisdom emerged, which further deepened and broadened the field of wisdom psychology. To elaborate, research of wisdom psychology nowadays focuses on the controversies and resolutions of wisdom connotations, wise reasoning, the relationship between wisdom and self, wisdom education, and so forth. In reviewing the research history of wisdom psychology over the past half-century, two conclusions can be drawn. First, the study of wisdom psychology has evolved from spontaneity to consciousness, from dispersion to organization, and from sporadic discussion to systematic research. Second, the research object of wisdom has gone through an alternate spiral change process that from characteristics of the wise person to characteristics of wisdom per se, and back to characteristics of the wise person, until finally, integration of the two. Furthermore, future research on wisdom psychology should be promoted in two areas. One aspect is to develop a maturely experimental paradigm for studying wisdom directly and revealing its brain mechanism. The other is to pay more attention to the study of applying wisdom to real-life situations.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Based on the significant differences between rice and wheat cultivation, Talhelm et al. (2014) divided the Chinese culture into two types, respectively: rice culture and wheat culture. The former is closer to East Asian culture, and the latter to Western culture. Although the “Rice Theory” provides a novel perspective, it remains to be tested before it’s established. For example, why is holistic-thinking prevalent in China? The “Rice Theory” argues that agricultural types result into cultural differences. Specifically, a long history of rice cultivation should make people live in the rice area more interdependent and thus prefer holistic-thinking, while that of wheat cultivation should make people live in the wheat area more individualistic and thus prefer analytical-thinking. Although the “Rice Theory” provides a new perspective in explaining the differences between rice culture and wheat culture and the prevalence of holistic-thinking in China, the real reason for Chinese, especially ancient Chinese, preferring holistic-thinking may not be a long history of rice cultivation. This paper focuses on explaining this new theory in details. Two contradictions come out when explaining Chinese preference for holistic-thinking by the “Rice Theory”. (1) Before the Southern Sung Dynasty (1127-1279), the majority of Chinese, who lived in wheat-growing area for a long time, used holistic-thinking, barely with any analytic-thinking. Moreover, the holistic-thinking had already reached a high degree no later than the Chhun Chhiu and Warring States Period (770-221 BC). (2) There is no firm evidence insofar to support that the wheat-growing northern Chinese are more culturally Western, no sufficient evidence to support that northerners were more analytical than southerners, or southerners were more holistic than northerners. In fact, northerners are also good at holistic-thinking. The founders and main representatives of “the hundred schools of thought” in pre-Qin period, who have largely influenced Chinese culture and holistic-thinking mode after the Qin and Han dynasties (221-220 BC), were mostly from the northern wheat region. Overall, these two contradictions suggested that the “Rice Theory” was invalid. The external reasons for the prevalence of holistic-thinking in China is probably the enlightenments and inspirations derived from flood control practices, especially the contrast between Yu’s success and Gun’s failure in flood control, which made the Chinese ancients intuitively realized the importance of the harmony between man and nature, and thus considering beings comprehensively (the prototype of holistic-thinking) in solving complicated problems. And the internal reasons is probably the proposal and acceptance of the Yin-Yang theory which contains the thought of Yin-Yang, the Five Elements theory which contains the thought of Five Elements, and the combined Yin Yang-Five Elements theory which contains the thought of Yin-Yang and Five Elements. They provide a complete set of thinking methods to utilize the holistic-thinking for Chinese. Due to the logical and systematic explaining of the birth, growing, sickness and death of the universe, these theories were regarded the rule of thinking by ancient Chinese. They also promoted ancient Chinese to use the holistic, dynamic, and self-adaptive thinking model to explain manifold natural and social phenomena. To sum up, (1) the “Rice Theory” is invalid to explain preference of holistic thinking among Chinese, due to its lack of cultural and ecological validity. (2) It is the flood control practice together with the Yin-Yang thinking, Five Elements thinking, and combined Yin Yang-Five Elements theory that lead to the holistic thinking of ancients Chinese. Insofar, the habit of using holistic thinking to understand and solve problems by Chinese is indestructible.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Wisdom involves certain types of pragmatic reasoning to navigate challenges in social life. Scholars presented aspects of wise reasoning that include perspective taking, consideration of change and alternatives, intellectual humility, search for compromise, and adopting an outsider’s vantage point. Researchers have found that most WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) people can reason more wisely about friends’ social problems than their own (i.e., Solomon’s paradox). However, it is not clear whether Solomon’s paradox will exhibit different characteristics and mechanisms among Chinese people who are mainly interdependent selves. We hypothesized that 1) Americans endorsed greater wise-reasoning strategies in the friend-conflict condition than in the self-conflict condition, while among Chinese, endorsement of wise-reasoning strategies did not differ between the two conditions; 2) People with independent self exhibited greater wise reasoning in the friend-conflict condition than in the self-conflict condition, whereas people with interdependent self didn’t have significant differences between the two conditions.In study 1, we recruited 594 American participants from MTurk and 610 Chinese participants from a Chinese survey platform to participate in “a survey of daily life”. Participants who responded less attentiveness to the study was excluded. The final sample consisted of 282 American participants (125 females, 155 males 2 with unreported gender; M = 36.87 y, SD = 11.04; 218 Whites, 21 African Americans, 27 Asian, 13 Latino, and 3 other) and 295 Chinese participants (151 females, 144 males; M = 23.22 y, SD = 4.34). Participants were randomly assigned to either self-conflict or friend-conflict conditions. They were asked to think about a close relationship that was currently not going very well, and then responded to the wise-reasoning scale and self-construal scale. The results using the alignment and ANOVA both showed that Americans reason more wisely about friend’s interpersonal conflict than about their own, while the Chinese didn’t have significant differences between the two conditions. Moreover, the interaction effect of independent self and conflict type on wise reasoning was significantly positive in Chinese culture. Among participants high in independent self, endorsement of wise-reasoning strategies was greater in the other-conflict condition than in the self-conflict condition (β = 0.21, t(287) = 2.48, p = 0.014), whereas among participants low in independent self, endorsement of wise-reasoning strategies did not differ between the two conditions (β = -0.07, t(287) = -0.81, p = 0.419). In study 2 (n = 710) and 3 (n = 537), we created a 2 (priming independent vs. interdependent self-construal) × 2 (self-conflict vs. friend-conflict) between-subjects design online and in study 4 (n = 200), we created same design in lab. The results all showed that independent participants reason more wisely about friend’s conflict than about their own, while the differences between the conditions were not significant among interdependent participants.The results from the two studies indicate that Solomon’s paradox is not universal and may only exist in individuals with high independent self. This study also suggests that we should not only focus on the WEIRD samples but also pay attention to the WEIRD researchers who use these samples to make inferences about humans in general.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Mindfulness has roots in Eastern Buddhism and is generally defined as focusing one’s complete attention to experiences occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental or accepting way. The objective of mindfulness intervention is to first understand current experiences then gradually develop self-awareness and wisdom. Moreover, following Buddhist ethics, mindfulness predicts wisdom, which is linked with emphasis on individualized moral foundations of care, empathy, benevolence, and so on. Social mindfulness, as a positive quality and state behavior of mindful attention to others, may potentially affect the influence of mindfulness on wisdom by providing an indirect way to promote the common good. Moreover, social mindfulness involves minding the needs and interests of others in a way that honors the idea that most people prefer choosing for themselves. Based on this statement, the skill of processing the perspectives of others may lay the foundation for social mindfulness. Therefore, based on the above propositions, the hypothesis that mindfulness positively affects wisdom, mediated by perspective taking and social mindfulness, is proposed in this study.Through three studies, the above hypothesis is examined. For Study 1 (n = 417), a self-rated wisdom, mindfulness, and social mindfulness questionnaire is adopted to investigate the link between trait mindfulness, wisdom, and social mindfulness. For Study 2 (n = 80), data on state mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom are collected at three points using a switching replication experimental design, which further examines the influence of social mindfulness on the link between mindfulness and wisdom at the state level. For Study 3 (n = 412), social mindfulness is manipulated using the scenario simulation method, and the role of perspective taking is considered, which demonstrates the influence of mindfulness on wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness. Results show multidimensional mindfulness, with awareness and acceptance, is positively correlated with increased social mindfulness and wisdom, thereby verifying the mediating role of social mindfulness. Mindfulness intervention can effectively initiate state mindfulness and simultaneously improve social mindfulness and wisdom within a short period. Manipulated social mindfulness can enhance the positive predicted effect of mindfulness on wisdom and verify the mediating role of social mindfulness. Evidence on the mediating effect of perspective taking and social mindfulness is provided in this study. Specifically, mindful individuals are likely to demonstrate benign attention in interpersonal interactions by perspective taking, thereby constructing a practical path to wisdom. The theoretical model aims to complement and enrich the burgeoning mindfulness, wisdom, and morality literature. In studies 1 and 2, the standard finding (trait and state levels) that mindfulness triggers wisdom is replicated, and the correlation between mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom is explored. A new perspective for improving individual wisdom is also provided. In summary, mindfulness positively influences wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness, thereby suggesting an indirect path from mindfulness to wisdom.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Educational Psychology submitted time 2022-10-08
Abstract： Mindfulness has roots in Eastern Buddhism and is generally defined as focusing one’s complete attention to experiences occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental or accepting way. The objective of mindfulness intervention is to first understand current experiences then gradually develop self-awareness and wisdom. Moreover, following Buddhist ethics, mindfulness predicts wisdom, which is linked with emphasis on individualized moral foundations of care, empathy, benevolence, and so on. Social mindfulness, as a positive quality and state behavior of mindful attention to others, may potentially affect the influence of mindfulness on wisdom by providing an indirect way to promote the common good. Moreover, social mindfulness involves minding the needs and interests of others in a way that honors the idea that most people prefer choosing for themselves. Based on this statement, the skill of processing the perspectives of others may lay the foundation for social mindfulness. Therefore, based on the above propositions, the hypothesis that mindfulness positively affects wisdom, mediated by perspective taking and social mindfulness, is proposed in this study. Through three studies, the above hypothesis is examined. For study 1 (n = 417), a self-rated wisdom, mindfulness, and social mindfulness questionnaire is adopted to investigate the link between trait mindfulness, wisdom, and social mindfulness. For study 2 (n = 80), data on state mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom are collected at three points using a switching replication experimental design, which further examines the influence of social mindfulness on the link between mindfulness and wisdom at the state level. For study 3 (n = 412), social mindfulness is manipulated using the scenario simulation method, and the role of perspective taking is considered, which demonstrates the influence of mindfulness on wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness. Results show multidimensional mindfulness, with awareness and acceptance, is positively correlated with increased social mindfulness and wisdom, thereby verifying the mediating role of social mindfulness. Mindfulness intervention can effectively initiate state mindfulness and simultaneously improve social mindfulness and wisdom within a short period. Manipulated social mindfulness can enhance the positive predicted effect of mindfulness on wisdom and verify the mediating role of social mindfulness. Evidence on the mediating effect of perspective taking and social mindfulness is provided in this study. Specifically, mindful individuals are likely to demonstrate benign attention in interpersonal interactions by perspective taking, thereby constructing a practical path to wisdom. The theoretical model aims to complement and enrich the burgeoning mindfulness, wisdom, and morality literature. In studies 1 and 2, the standard finding (trait and state levels) that mindfulness triggers wisdom is replicated, and the correlation between mindfulness, social mindfulness, and wisdom is explored. A new perspective for improving individual wisdom is also provided. In summary, mindfulness positively influences wisdom through perspective taking and social mindfulness, thereby suggesting an indirect path from mindfulness to wisdom.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2021-07-19
Abstract： " "
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2020-07-30
Abstract： "
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Other Disciplines of Psychology submitted time 2019-02-25 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract：智慧与幸福是人类的普遍追求。智慧与自我实现幸福感(eudaimonia well-being)正相关得到研究者的普遍认同。智慧与享乐主义幸福感(hedonia well-being)是何种关系, 仍在争论中。从智慧发展的角度, 学者提出了积极人格发展观和发展历程观, 对智慧与幸福感的关系进行更深入地理论探讨。结合中国文化及智慧和幸福感的研究进展, 提出发展水平观：随着智慧发展水平不断提高, 个体幸福感的来源、持续时间以及对身心健康的影响存在差异。未来宜重点解决两个问题：(1)选择和编制适宜的智慧和幸福感测量工具; (2)澄清智慧与幸福感的因果关系。
Hits
YES
Hits
Downloads
Comment