A study of the concept of wisdom in adults using personality traits

Wisdom is not a new concept that nowadays can be regarded as being technically advanced in the information age, but wisdom is also associated with an implicit concept of “antiquity” which is apparently beyond its own time, knowledge and culture. The presented study aimed to examine the concept of wisdom in adults using personality traits. The study consisted of 1016 individuals using available sampling method with age range of 18 -71 (519 women and 497 men). A researcher- made questionnaire including 206 personality traits was used for data collection and exploratory factor analysis was used for data analysis. Factor analysis indicated three effective factors: self-centeredness, intellectuality, philanthropy. The results obtained from the present study indicated that the mean value of 2.49 for the first factor is less than the mean values of 5.62 and 5.46 for intellectuality and philanthropy, respectively. The results of the present study revealed that wisdom is a multidimensional concept. In other words, wise people are also intellectual and philanthropic. In contrast, unwise people are those who are self-centered indicating traits associated with implacability.