Wisdom and Well-Being By Hannes Zacher, Leipzig University, & Ursula M. Staudinger, Columbia Aging Center, Columbia University Citation: Zacher, H., & Staudinger, U. M. (2018). Wisdom and well-being. In E. Diener, S. Oishi, & L. Tay (Eds.), Handbook of well-being . Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers. DOI:nobascholar.com Abstract: The literature that has investigated the association between wisdom and well-being has yielded conflicting results ranging from positive associations through zero to even negative associations. After defining and explaining the central constructs, the chapter will provide a review of this literature. While it seems intuitively right that wisdom should be positively associated with well-being, researchers have argued that the association depends on the type of definition and measurement of wisdom and well-being. The chapter will review and discuss the association between wisdom and well-being as a function of the notion and assessment of these constructs and will interpret the seemingly contradictory findings accordingly. Furthermore, the distinction between two types of positive personality development, that is, adjustment and growth, is used to help clarify the relationship between wisdom and subjective and psychological well- being. We conclude with a discussion of directions for future research on wisdom and well-being. Keywords: Wisdom, Well-Being, Adjustment, Growth Wisdom, “the pinnacle of insight into the human condition and about the means and ends of a good life” (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000, p. 122), has been a topic of rapidly growing interest among psychological scientists studying human development, potential, and well-being (Bangen, Meeks, & Jeste, 2013; Karelitz, Jarvin, & Sternberg, 2010; Staudinger & Glück, 2011). The goal of this chapter is to review and discuss the relationship between wisdom and subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well- being (PWB). To this end, we first outline different definitions and operationalizations of wisdom. Importantly, in this chapter we focus on what has been called explicit theories of wisdom (i.e., how to conceptualize and measure wisdom of individuals based on psychological theorizing) and not on implicit theories of wisdom (i.e., how ordinary people perceive and define wisdom and wise people; cf. Staudinger & Glück, 2011). Next, we describe important indicators of SWB and PWB, the distinction between these constructs, as well as two types of positive personality development (i.e., adjustment and growth; Staudinger & Kunzmann, 2005). Third, we present the results of a review of empirical studies on wisdom, SWB, and PWB published over the past two decades. We conclude the chapter by integrating the findings of our review with the concepts of adjustment and growth, and we outline directions for future research. Wisdom Psychological scientists have investigated the ancient notion of wisdom for nearly 40 years (e.g., Baltes & Staudinger, 1993; Clayton & Birren, 1980; Sternberg, 1990). In their comprehensive review of the psychological wisdom literature, Staudinger and Glück (2011) broadly distinguished between general and personal wisdom. While general wisdom entails insights into life in general, without personal concern, personal wisdom involves people’s insights into their own lives, including personal problems (Staudinger, 2013; Staudinger, Dörner, & Mickler, 2005). General Wisdom Research on general wisdom is based on cognitive research on expertise (i.e., expert knowledge and judgment), and adopts a performance-based view on wisdom in that wise people are assumed to possess and demonstrate greater knowledge and better judgment about fundamental life matters compared 1