New study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying Solomon’s paradox

Solomon’s paradox describes the tendency to engage in more wise reasoning for others’ problems than one’s own. This phenomenon is named after King Solomon of the Hebrew Bible, the third leader of ancient Israel who asked God to grant him wisdom. People would travel from afar to seek Solomon’s wisdom; however, when it came to his personal life, Solomon lacked insight, which eventually led to the downfall of his kingdom. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests Solomon’s Paradox can be explained by the difference between positive affect and self-transcendence when thinking about per...