The Paradox of Solomon
Hello hello,
Welcome to another episode of fascinating psychology!
Let’s talk about Solomon’s Paradox.
What is it?
Are people wiser when reflecting on other people's problems compared with their own? If so, does self-distancing eliminate this asymmetry in wise reasoning?
In three experiments (N = 693), participants displayed wiser reasoning (i.e., recognising the limits of their knowledge and the importance of compromise and future change, considering other people's perspectives) about another person's problems compared with their own.
Across Studies 2 and 3, instructing individuals to self-distance (rather than self-immerse) eliminated this asymmetry. Study 3 demonstrated that each of these effects was comparable for younger (20-40 years) and older (60-80 years) adults.
A person’s ability to reason more sensibly about someone else’s problems than one’s own.
Why do I need to know?
Contrary to the adage "with age comes wisdom," the findings suggest that there are no age differences in wise reasoning about personal conflicts, and that the effects of self-distancing generalise across age cohorts. [2]
These findings highlight the role that self-distancing plays in allowing people to overcome a pervasive asymmetry that characterises wise reasoning.
References & Studies: -
https://investmentsandwealth.org/getmedia/eb6bb978-51b1-4f33-8356-62990a5254e3/Alger-Solomons-Paradox-White-Paper-1218.pdf
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24916084/
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