Intelligence and Wisdom: Age-Related Differences and Nonlinear Relationships

Using data from two studies, we tested three predictions about the relationship between intelligence and wisdom: (a) Relationships between intelligence and wisdom are "triangular" rather than linear, that is, intelligence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for wisdom; (b) intelligence is primarily related to cognition-focused measures and performance measures of wisdom; (c) the relationship between wisdom and intelligence varies by intelligence domain and age-group. In Study 1, 318 participants from three age-groups (adolescents: 15-20 years; younger adults: 30-40 years; older adults: 60-70 years) completed measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence and the Berlin wisdom paradigm (BWP). Necessary-condition analyses showed "triangular" relationships between intelligence and wisdom. Crystallized intelligence was a necessary condition for wisdom in all age-groups; fluid intelligence was a necessary condition for wisdom in adolescents and young adults below a certain intelligence threshold. In Study 2, a life span sample of 155 participants (Age-group 1: 23-57 years, M = 45.0; Age-group 2: 58-90 years, M = 68.1) completed four measures of wisdom and measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence was a necessary but not sufficient condition for wisdom as measured by performance measures; fluid intelligence may also be a necessary condition for wisdom in advanced old age. Relationships with self-report measures of wisdom were zero for fluid and moderate and linear for crystallized intelligence. In other words, the role of intelligence for wisdom varies across conceptualizations of wisdom and across life phases.