Can You Teach Yourself to Be Wiser?

The study of wisdom has continued to elude the efforts of researchers for years. Not only is the concept of wisdom complex and difficult to define, the process of teasing it out from other overlapping qualities has proved formidable.

  

Recently, some fascinating and brand-new research about wisdom has appeared in the news. University of Michigan professor of psychology and researcher, Ethan Kross, in a recently published article co-authored with doctoral student Igor Grossman, has found some promising ways that people can actually teach themselves to be wiser.  They have conducted several experiments that demonstrate that consciously adopting a particular perspective can change the way we respond to certain circumstances, and guide us to make wiser decisions and choose wiser actions. Our honored guest tonight is Dr. Ethan Kross. Columbia educated, an esteemed researcher and the Director of the University of Michigan's Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory, his work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), among others.  It has been published in leading scientific journals, and disseminated to the public at large through such media outlets as: the CBS Evening News, the New York Times, CNN, Time, Newsweek and Oprah Magazine. Join us tonight as executive coach and leadership development expert, Lisa Pasbjerg, explores with Dr. Kross what his research can teach us about "cultivating wisdom", and how we might implement this knowledge in our own lives.