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We reviewed neuroscience-oriented research on two subfields of giftedness: creativity and mathematical giftedness. In both fields the early studies focused on hemisphere differences, using methods of frequency analysis of electroencephalography. However, gradually the analysis of network activity became the main issue of research. These investigations applied various methods of electrophysiology and brain imaging. A central theoretical problem of the field is the ill-defined concept of creativity. In the field of mathematical giftedness performance measurement is available, but studies using highly gifted participants are rather rare. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract) Resumen en idioma originalA tanulmány a tehetséghez kapcsolódó két terület, a kreativitás és a matematikai tehetség idegtudományi kutatásait foglalja össze. Mind a két területen az első megközelítések a két agyfélteke feltételezett eltérő működését hangsúlyozták, és alapvető módszerként az elektroenkefalogram frekvencia-összetevőinek változását elemezték az éppen előtérben lévő elméleti általánosítások függvényében. Fokozatosan dominálóvá váltak a hálózati elemzéseken alapuló munkák, melyek egyaránt támaszkodtak elektrofiziológiai és képalkotási eredményekre. A kreativitás témakörében a legnagyobb problémát az idegtudományi kutatásokban is a kreativitást körülvevő bizonytalanság jellemzi. A matematikai tehetség esetében a résztvevők teljesítménye könnyebben hozzáférhető, azonban a kiemelkedő tehetségek sajátságait vizsgáló kutatások ezen a területen is a kezdeteknél tartanak. Közös a két területben, hogy alapvetőnek tartja a frontális területek, a parietális és esetenként a szenzoros területek hatékony kapcsolatát. Ugyanakkor naivitásnak tűnik, hogy akár a kreativitás, akár a matematikai tehetség esetében specifikus strukturális elrendezéseket vagy mechanizmusokat találjunk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Although her career was cut woefully short, Dr. Marcia Gentry’s contributions to the field of gifted and talented education will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come. Building on landmark historical events that highlighted the need for talent development, Gentry fervently worked to address complex, enduring questions within our field, namely: Who are gifted and talented students? How do we find them? What strategies will develop students’ emerging gifts and talents? Gentry’s research on enrichment clusters, cluster grouping, access and equity, identification, and scholarly identity development in underserved youth made commendable progress, but further work is needed. Gentry’s enduring body of work signals an important call to action. We must honor her legacy by answering it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Many studies indicate the importance of including the instructional illustrations (pictures, drawings, concrete objects . . .etc.) in childhood education learning materials and employing them in a way that suits the psychological and cognitive levels of young children. In this context, the current study aimed to develop a list of standards to be considered and adopted in designing instructional illustrations, and to reveal the perceptions of childhood teachers about the extent to which these standards are considered in instructional illustrations used in children’s learning materials. The participants were childhood education teachers in the Jordanian region of Irbid, who were randomly selected. Two hundred thirty-four teachers completed the questionnaire online. The scale consisted of a total of 34 items distributed over four dimensions. The results showed that the scores of teachers’ estimation about employing design standards in the instructional illustrations used in childhood education came at low levels, ranging from average to low, and did not reach high ratings. The study also revealed that there is an impact attributed to teaching experience on teachers’ perceptions about the extent to which these standards are employed in instructional illustrations, while there is no impact of gender, academic qualification, or the classes taught by the teachers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Self-Control can be defined as the self-initiated effortful process that enables individuals to resist temptation impulses. It is relevant for conducting a healthy and successful life. For university students, Grass et al. found that Need for Cognition as the tendency to engage in and enjoy thinking, and Action Orientation as the flexible recruitment of control resources in cognitively demanding situations, predict Self-Control. Further, Action Orientation partially mediated the relation between Need for Cognition and Self-Control. In the present conceptual replication study, we investigated the relations between Self-Control, Need for Cognition, and Action Orientation in adolescence ( N = 892 9 th graders) as a pivotal period for the development of self-control. We replicated the findings that Need for Cognition and Action Orientation predict Self-Control and that Action Orientation partially mediates the relation between Need for Cognition and Self-Control. In addition, Action Orientation moderates the relation between Need for Cognition and Self-Control. This result implies that in more action-oriented students Need for Cognition more strongly predicted Self-Control than in less action-oriented students. Our findings strengthen theoretical assumptions that Need for Cognition and Action Orientation are important cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that contribute to the successful exertion of Self-Control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

As stated by Bialystok et al. (2014), metalinguistic awareness (MLA) is a set of multiple skills that are related to the formal aspects of language : phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical awareness (Altman et al. 2018). Throughout the last decades, studies on bi- and multilingual learning showed that language aptitude and metalinguistic abilities or skills present related concepts which might be interpreted as identical under certain circumstances (Jessner 2006). In this frame, this paper tends to highlight the role of MLA in defining the relationship between language learning ability, linguistic giftedness and multilingual learning via focusing on the Dynamic Model of Linguistic Giftedness (Dolas 2021 ; Dolas et al. 2022) which states that the universe of able language learners intersects with the universe of metalinguistically aware ones upon the observation of cognitive and linguistic performances of a number of mono-, bi- and multilingual children from gifted and non-gifted educational contexts in a dynamic perspective. The results highlight that MLA can be regarded as an indicator of linguistic giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

While personality and cognition are distinct domains, some personality traits may affect the capacity for problem-solving. It was suggested that there is a positive association between the Playfulness trait and problem-solving performance in humans. Studies on giftedness (extremely good capacity in the case of a specific skill), typically aimed to reveal the genetic, experiential, and mental origins of such extreme inter-individual variation. We exploited recent findings on giftedness in a specific cognitive skill, object label learning, in dogs to explore the potential association between this exceptional skill and personality traits. We administered the Dog Personality Questionnaire to 21 gifted dog owners and compared the personality traits of their dogs to those of matched samples of 43 Hungarian and 101 Austrian typical dogs, i.e., dogs lacking this exceptional capacity. Since most Gifted Word Learner dogs are Border collies, we restricted our analysis to dogs of this breed. We hypothesized that the Gifted Word Learner dogs may show higher levels of Playfulness. As expected, we found that the gifted Border collies were rated as more playful than both the Hungarian and Austrian typical ones. Our results suggest that an extremely high level of Playfulness is associated with giftedness in a specific cognitive trait in dogs: the capacity to learn object verbal labels, thus opening new possibilities for comparative research on the relationship between giftedness and personality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The dialogues, debates, and even arguments resulting from misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and mishandling of programs and people associated with the term “giftedness” are longstanding. Despite many years of efforts to assuage concerns of equity and need—many of which are legitimized by research evidence, the terminology continues to be obscured by its lack of precision. Relying on a continuing comparison with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, this treatise explores the terminological conundrum of “giftedness” and offers what is hoped is a creative avenue for contemplating the field of gifted education and psychology. Culminating with a modest proposal to begin systematically ameliorating the many problems with the term “giftedness,” the essay is positioned as an action item rooted in evidence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The Swedish educational system has, so far, accorded little attention to the development of gifted pupils. Moreover, up to date, no Swedish studies have investigated teacher education from the perspective of mathematically gifted pupils. Our study is based on an instructional intervention, aimed to introduce the notion of giftedness in mathematics and to prepare prospective teachers (PTs) for the needs of the gifted. The data consists of 10 dynamic geometry software activities, constructed by 24 PTs. We investigated the constructed activities for their qualitative aspects, according to two frameworks: Krutetskii’s framework for mathematical giftedness and van Hiele’s model of geometrical thinking. The results indicate that nine of the 10 activities have the potential to address pivotal abilities of mathematically gifted pupils. In another aspect, the analysis suggests that Krutetskii’s holistic description of mathematical giftedness does not strictly correspond with the discrete levels of geometrical thinking proposed by van Hiele. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The relation between multilingual learning and cognition through (linguistic) giftedness has not been studied yet in third language acquisition, multilingualism or cognition studies. Even though ‘giftedness’ appears to be enigmatic and advantageous in a number of areas, in the field of language learning it is not clear whether multilingual learning or giftedness fulfils the triggering role in a number of cognitive skills. For that purpose, the present study observed the possible cognitive advantages of multilingual learning on metalinguistic awareness (Jessner 2006), working memory (Baddeley & Hitch 1974; Robinson 2002; 2012) and first language lexicon size of a number of children from regular and gifted education programmes in a Dynamic Model of Multilingualism perspective (Herdina & Jessner 2002). The study was analyzed with the multiple linear regression model based on the scores gathered from the data of working memory and vocabulary sub-tests of the Turkish adaptation version (Savaşır & Şahin 1995) of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised, and metalinguistic awareness test (Pinto et al. 1999) of a number of mono-, bi- and multilingual participants from various schools. The results not only provided positive correlations between multilingual learning and metalinguistic awareness, working memory and first language lexicon size but also contributed to the identification and reconceptualization of linguistic giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Objective: The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence—Fourth Edition Australian and New Zealand Standardised Edition (WPPSI-IVA&NZ) is one of the most widely used intelligence assessments for children aged 2 years 6 months to 7 years 7 months. Given the impact of clinical and placement decisions that are supported by WPPSI-IV A&NZ results, it is important to provide evidence of criterion-related validity. Criterion-related validity refers to the degree to which test scores are associated with an external criterion (e.g., pre-existing diagnosis or classification). Method: Two studies of children with intellectual giftedness ( n = 19) and intellectual disability ( n = 15) were conducted to determine if the constructs measured by the WPPSI-IVA&NZ perform as expected in criterion groups with known characteristics. Results: Independent sample t-tests revealed mean composite scores for intellectually gifted children were significantly higher than matched controls, with the exception of the Processing Speed Index and Cognitive Proficiency Index. Children with intellectual disability on average obtained significantly lower mean scores on all composites relative to matched controls. Conclusion: Results indicated that the WPPSI-IV A&NZ can provide valid estimates of intellectual ability for children with intellectual giftedness and intellectual disability that align with their previous diagnosis or classification. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

High-profile organizations often emphasize fixed giftedness rather than malleable effort-based criteria as critical for excellent achievements. With giftedness being primarily associated with White or Asian males, such organizational implicit theories of excellence may shape individuals’ sense of belonging depending on the extent to which they match the gifted White/Asian male prototype, i.e., the prototypical gifted person which is typically imagined to be a White or Asian male. Previous research has reported fixed excellence theories emphasizing giftedness (vs. malleable theories emphasizing effort) to impair the sense of belonging of females and negatively stereotyped ethnic minorities. We investigate the combined effects of gender and ethnicity. We predicted that, while individuals whose gender and ethnicity do not match the gifted prototype show a reduced sense of belonging in fixed organizations, White/Asian males who match the gifted prototype show the opposite effect, experiencing a higher sense of belonging in fixed (vs. malleable) organizations. In an experimental study ( N = 663 students), we manipulated advertising material used by a highly selective academic institution in Germany and tested effects on students’ belonging. Whereas the original material emphasized giftedness as essential for excelling (fixed excellence version), our manipulated version stressed effort (malleable version). As expected, females from stereotyped ethnic minority groups felt less belonging in the fixed (vs. malleable) organization, while White/Asian males anticipated stronger belonging in the fixed (vs. malleable) organization. Fixed views of excellence impair negatively stereotyped individuals’ belonging but may even strengthen the belonging of prototypical academic elites. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Background: Development of a creative personality is considered among the priority tasks for the modern education system of the Russian Federation. The article presents a critique of the education system imposed on Russia, which can be represented in the image of “up the stairs leading down”. The author emphasizes the relevance of providing the rationale for the essential factors in the educational process in order to ensure the development of students’ creative abilities, which should not be reduced only to the development of their intelligence. Objective: Identification and justification of the dominant factors in the educational process aimed at developing the students’ creative abilities. Study Participants: Children (from older preschoolers to school graduates), university students, and specialists of various occupations took part in the long-term research. The studies were carried out in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as in other regions of the Russian Federation and abroad. Method: The author’s method “Creative Field” was implemented in a number of relevant techniques taking into account the age characteristics of the subjects. The techniques are based on different materials, which made it possible to conduct cross-sectional experimental studies on a large sample of subjects of different ages and professions, as well as a number of longitudinal studies lasting from 10 to 54 years. Results: The analysis of experimental studies shows that creativity as the ability to develop activity on one’s own initiative is possible only if there is a unity of the level of intelligence development corresponding to the task and the dominance of cognitive motivation in the personality structure. The integration of these factors determines the mechanism of creativity. The author has substantiated the dominant factors of the educational process aimed at developing the students’ creative abilities. Conclusions: The development of intelligence increases the possibility of mastering complex activities, and the dominance of cognitive needs gives rise to the ability to be creative. The decisive role in the development of a student as a creative personality is the teacher’s position as of researcher and the value of knowledge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Diabetes is a serious health issue that causes a progressive dysregulation of carbohydrate metabolism due to insufficient insulin hormone, leading to consistently high blood glucose levels. According to the epidemiological data, the prevalence of diabetes has been increasing globally, affecting millions of individuals. It is a long-term condition that increases the risk of various diseases caused by damage to small and large blood vessels. There are two main subtypes of diabetes: type 1 and type 2, with type 2 being the most prevalent. Genetic and molecular studies have identified several genetic variants and metabolic pathways that contribute to the development and progression of diabetes. Current treatments include gene therapy, stem cell therapy, statin therapy, and other drugs. Moreover, recent advancements in therapeutics have also focused on developing novel drugs targeting these pathways, including incretin mimetics, SGLT2 inhibitors, and GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have shown promising results in improving glycemic control and reducing the risk of complications. However, these treatments are often expensive, inaccessible to patients in underdeveloped countries, and can have severe side effects. Peptides, such as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), are being explored as a potential therapy for diabetes. These peptides are postprandial glucose-dependent pancreatic beta-cell insulin secretagogues and have received much attention as a possible treatment option. Despite these advances, diabetes remains a major health challenge, and further research is needed to develop effective treatments and prevent its complications. This review covers various aspects of diabetes, including epidemiology, genetic and molecular basis, and recent advancements in therapeutics including herbal and synthetic peptides. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Some children may be intellectually gifted, and yet experience behavioral and academic difficulties. We examined 82 twice exceptional children (2e-ADHD), having an excellent General Ability Index (GAI) derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (GAI ≥ 125), and a diagnosis of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They accounted for 8.8% of a large sample of children with ADHD, which is twice as high as the proportion of intellectually gifted children in a typical population. This over-representation does not reflect a misdiagnosis of ADHD, as these children showed the typical features predicted on the grounds of data regarding the ADHD sample, including lower scores in working memory and processing speed measures, combined with the inclusion criteria for giftedness. Based on information concerning intellectually gifted children with either a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) or typical development, we observed that these characteristics of intelligence are similar to those seen in SLD, but not in typical development, irrespective of whether 2e-ADHD children had a comorbid SLD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

There is a long-standing association between exceptional cognitive abilities of various sorts and neuropsychiatric illness, but it has historically largely been investigated in an exploratory and non-systematic way. One group in which this association has been investigated with more rigor is in subjects who have been identified as twice exceptional; an educational term describing subjects who are both gifted and diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric disorder. This term covers multiple conditions, but is of specific interest in particular in the study of autism spectrum disorder. Recent findings have led to the development of a hypothesis that a certain degree of the neurobiology associated with autism might even be advantageous for individuals and could lead to high giftedness, while becoming disadvantageous, once a certain threshold is surpassed. In this model, the same neurobiological mechanisms confer an increasing advantage up to a certain threshold, but become pathological past that point. Twice-exceptional individuals would be exactly at the inflection point, being highly gifted, but also symptomatic at the same time. Here, we review how existing neuroimaging literature on autism spectrum disorder can inform research on twice exceptionality specifically. We propose to study key neural networks with a robust implication in ASD to identify the neurobiology underlying twice-exceptionality. A better understanding of the neural mechanisms of twice exceptionality should help to better understand resilience and vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders and to further support affected individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Inclusive education is a reform aimed at educating all students in general classrooms, independent of diversity features such as special educational needs, giftedness, or migration. Its successful implementation requires teachers with professional knowledge about inclusive education, skills to address the diverse needs in the classroom, and positive beliefs toward inclusive education. Teachers are provided with professional development opportunities, but are these effective in improving their learning process and positively impacting students’ behavior? We conducted a meta-analysis to address this question. The screening of 12,050 search results revealed 342 eligible studies with more than 155,000 participants and 1123 effects from four outcome categories: teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs and students’ behavior. We observed positive, though varying, effects on all four outcome categories: large effects on teachers' knowledge regarding inclusive education ( g = 0.93), moderate effects on teachers’ skills ( g = 0.49), small effects on teachers’ beliefs ( g = 0.23), and small-to-moderate effects on student behavior ( g = 0.37). We also examined factors that might explain the differences in the strength of training effects. The data suggest that long-term training with high practical relevance and active learning opportunities facilitates transfer to schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is an active process that assists students in managing their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions to navigate their learning experiences successfully. The study examined the differences in motivation and SRL between gifted and high achievers (GHAs) and typical achievers (TAs) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by addressing the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES). A sample of 151 students in 11th and 12th grades from two high schools in Israel were divided into four study groups based on their general intelligence, school grades, and SES. Participants completed SRL and motivation questionnaires. The results indicated that among GHAs, all motivation measures were significantly higher than those of TAs, especially among students from low-SES environments. GHA students reported using more SRL strategies than TA students regarding organization, metacognition, time and learning environment, peer learning, and effort regulation. Students from low-SES environments reported using more organization strategies than those from high-SES environments, whereas TA students surpassed their GHA counterparts in critical thinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Objective: Throughout the years, several myths have arisen suggesting that children diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disorders possess unusually high abilities in specific domains, depending on the disorder. On the other hand, special skills and talents in children with neurodevelopmental disorders are most commonly overshadowed by their difficulties and overlooked. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the association between giftedness and neurodevelopmental disorders. Methods: The related articles published in PubMed, Google Scholar, PsycINFO, and Embase up to December 31, 2020, as well as their reference lists, were reviewed systematically. Results: A total of 6069 studies were scanned, and 32 of them (9904 subjects) were deemed eligible for this systematic review. Studies have supported associations between autism spectrum disorders and music ability. Contradictory results have been published regarding associations between giftedness, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and specific learning disorders. Diagnostic methods seemed to modify associations between giftedness and neurodevelopmental disorders. Conclusion: The dearth of the available evidence is prominent. More research is needed to investigate the field of dual exceptionality. Longitudinal studies are needed, addressing methodological challenges pertaining to variability in the definition of giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Giftedness in the Finnish educational culture is seen as taboo, and it is easier to talk about talent development. We need to widen the concept in the ways that would address both excellence and ethics. The definition of transformational giftedness includes a beyond-the-self orientation and implies that the purpose of giftedness is to help to make the world a better place. This kind of definition might be the key in using the term “giftedness” in egalitarian and inclusive cultures like Finland. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Assessing giftedness is one of the inevitable processes in the identification of gifted schoolchildren which involves all the actors included in the direct contact with schoolchildren. Since the assessments are regarded as a subjective opinion of the assessor, our aim is to determine the level of certainty that we can take into account when assessing giftedness identification. In relation to that, the research is based on the validation of compliance in the giftedness assessments of schoolchildren by: teachers, parents, peers and schoolchildren’s self-assessment.The research was conducted on 115 schoolchildren aged 8 and 9 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The instruments for giftedness assessment were based on the theory of multiple intelligences. The instruments passed several validations, and their metric characteristics were determined. The content validity has been established, and it shows in a high-quality manner that the measuring instrument provides the possibility of appropriate measurement of multiple intelligences, while the reliability of the instrument is confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The positive correlation among the perceptions of teachers, schoolchildren, peers, and the self-assessment is confirmed by Pearson’s correlation analysis. The Kruskal–Wallis test, with the Dunn’s post-hoc test, indicates that there is a high congruence between the assessments of all four groups of assessors. The greatest agreement in assessments was found in musical intelligence, whereas the greatest differences in assessments were detected in the combination of parents with other assessors. The findings in this research will be used for creating a software for giftedness assessment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)