Wise Judgment Scenario

Wise Judgment Scenario

In this situation, a young girl believes she is in love with her boyfriend who is 17. He keeps pushing her to have sex and tells her they will have 'protected' sex only. This is an example of needing to use wise judgment in daily life. We are constantly faced with decisions that require wise judgment. This girl will need to employ all five components of wise judgment to reach a decision in this situation. If the decision she makes is wise, it will be of the greatest benefit to her.

Factual knowledge about matters of life is the first component that she must consider. This part considers human nature, interpersonal relations, and social norms (Bolt, 2004). This factor will allow the girl to assess her own reasons and the reasons of her boyfriend when he pushes her about having sex. She can consider that her boyfriend is only thinking of his emotional reaction to his current adolescent hormone rages as this is human nature. She can also consider that he may be trying to conform to norms held socially. His friends may be pressuring him to take this action, and he could be trying to fit in with his peers.

Procedural knowledge is the second factor in wise judgment. This concerns those strategies that we use for coping with each of our life issues, problems, goals, conflicts, and ways of offering advice (Bolt, 2004). By making use of this component, she can determine what the consequences of engaging in sex at her age may be. She can use her own opinions and advice to see if she can alter his opinion about wanting to have sex now. This component can also give her insight into her own objectives and goals with reference to sex.

Lifespan contextualism is the next component. This aspect of wisdom will deal with the result of the decision the teenage girl makes. She will have to make up her mind regarding her own interests in either having sex or not. Next she will also have to consider how it may affect her boyfriend's interest as well as dealing with the consequences of how it could affect the interest of her family and friends, as well. This factor changes as our lives change and as we develop. Although the teen couple believes that they understand how they feel now, whether caused by love or lust, most likely at their age they do not understand lifetime contextualism and how their roles in life will change as they mature, make new friends, develop careers and become more encased in society as individuals.

The couple is still too young to understand recognition and management of uncertainty or the recognition that there may not be a perfect answer or solution for every situation. Their current idea of their lives together is uncertain. As they mature they may develop separate interests, values, and goals, moving them apart in their beliefs. Most teenagers cannot realize that human knowledge has limits.

Bolt explains that relativism regarding solutions is the acknowledgment of individual and cultural differences in values and life priorities