Are Men and Women Different When it Comes to Wisdom? Here's What Scientists Think

Wisdom is the ability to use one's knowledge and experience in life, and is associated with unbiased judgement, rational thinking and compassion. So, would it be wise to argue about whether men or women are better at it?

While some studies have suggested that wisdom should be "androgynous" so as to avoid gender bias, a new study found that the gender might have an impact on how wise we are.

A team of scientists from universities in California and Colorado decided to find out whether there are any differences in relative strengths in the wisdom of men and women.

The study assessed the effect of gender on the relationship between wisdom and associated constructs including depression, loneliness, well-being, optimism, and resilience. Additionally, two scales were used: the 3-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS) and the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE).

Women scored higher in the first assessment, but failed to outperform men in the second one. A total of 659 individuals aged 27–103 years took part in the research.

The first scale has three subscales capturing the Cognitive, Reflective, and Affective (Compassionate) dimensions of wisdom, while SD-WISE assesses six subscales: Social Advising, Decisiveness, Emotional Regulation, Self-Reflection (previously called Insight), Acceptance of Diverse Perspectives (previously called Tolerance for Divergent Values), and Pro-Social Behaviours.

Women appear to be better when it comes to compassion-related domains and SD-WISE self-reflection, while men scored higher in cognitive-related domains and on SD-WISE emotional regulation.

"Women and men have different relative strengths in wisdom, likely driven by sociocultural and biological factors," the scientific team explained in Frontiers in Psychology. "Tailoring wisdom interventions to individuals based on their profiles is an important next step."

However, one should not rush to conclusions or, worse, stereotypes. It will be a lot wiser to learn to balance things out and mutually complement each others' strengths instead!