Validating the “Centering for Wisdom Assessment”: Assessing the Role of Contemplative Practices in the Cultivation of Practical Wisdom

Abstract

This study provides empirical evidence to validate a new psychometric tool, the Centering for Wisdom Assessment (CWA), aimed at assessing the relationship between contemplative practices and the cultivation of the virtue of practical wisdom. In this article, we first describe the theoretical foundations of the CWA. Next, we present the results of five empirical studies that provide evidence of content, criterion, and construct validity. The results indicate that the CWA is internally consistent, relates to a theoretically similar construct of mindfulness, does not relate to religious commitment, and predicts—above and beyond mindfulness—relevant criterion variables including wisdom, hope, forgiveness, stress, anxiety, and depression. We also produced norms for CWA scores and showed that experts in contemplative prayer score differently on the CWA when compared to a matched sample from the general public. We conclude that the CWA is ready for use in pedagogical, spiritual, or leadership development contexts.