Wisdom reconsidered: A dynamic network account of metacognition and complex thought

Theories of complex thought, psychological maturation, and wisdom often rest on three core assumptions: that wisdom-related features reflect a common latent trait, manifest consistently across situations, and exhibit isomorphism between between-person traits and within-person processes. These assumptions underlie much of the field’s empirical and theoretical work yet remain largely untested. We examined these assumptions in a year-long, multi-wave study of North American adults (N = 499), using event-reconstruction sampling to gather autobiographical reflections on adverse experiences. Participants evaluated their use of four core metacognitive features of wisdom: intellectual humility, recognition of uncertainty and change, perspective taking, and search for a compromise. Our findings challenge prevailing static models and supported a dynamic, context-sensitive account. A network model outperformed latent factor models, suggesting that wisdom comprises interrelated but distinct features rather than a unitary construct. The perceived relevance and use of these features varied across situations and showed lower temporal stability than personality traits or well-being, undermining assumptions of crosssituational consistency. Within-person and between-person patterns also diverged, violating isomorphism. Notably, individuals who reported higher-than-usual self-distancing and distress at one time point also reported elevated levels of wisdom-related features three months later, a pattern not observed for other proposed moderators such as social support or subjective appraisals. Together, these findings offer a revised understanding of wisdom and complex thought—as dynamic, context-sensitive processes, rather than fixed traits. Our findings carry implications for the ontological status of wisdom-related constructs and underscore the importance of longitudinal research and more precise temporal claims in psychological science.