There are five components to making a wise judgment according to Baltes and his colleagues. These components can be applied to any real-life situation. How can a mother of a seven year old child that has stolen a box of cookies from the store while she was grocery shopping use these five components to make the best decision to handle the situation?
The first component is factual knowledge about matters of life. This consists of knowing the qualities and traits shared by all humans, how they relate to or are associated with other people, and what is socially acceptable as normal behavior. In this situation, the mother knows that stealing is not a trait that is shared by everyone. This is not an acceptable behavior and comes with punishment on many different levels.
Procedural knowledge is the second component to making a wise judgment. In this component, one must come up with ways to deal with the situation without conflict. One must offer advice without sounding controlling or demanding of the other person. The mother must explain to the child that what she did was wrong and that instead of just taking something, ask for it. The daughter may not always get what she wants but she did not commit a crime by just taking something without paying for it.
Lifespan contextualism is another component to making a wise judgment. In this component one must be aware that life changes on a daily basis and each situation must be handled in a different way. Throughout life, one will have many roles they play in teaching someone how to act or react. In this particular scenario, the mother must set an example for the child. In doing that the child will know as she grows older that stealing is not acceptable and is not a good decision.
The fourth component to making a wise judgment is recognition and management of uncertainty. Knowing that not everyone knows everything and what