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Mainstream education research has devoted little attention to studying highly talented students. Though there exists an expansive specialized literature dedicated to the study of academic giftedness, no recent study has used a large, nationally representative sample to describe gifted American students and how they differ from their nongifted counterparts. Yet identification and management of intellectual talent is essential to maintaining high national standards of achievement in education, international economic competitiveness, and labor market efficiency, as well as to avoid ever-increasing social inequality arising from nonlinear returns to ability. This study uses both descriptive statistics and multivariate analytic techniques to explore correlates of academic giftedness for American 8th graders, using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Findings indicate that students who are self-reliant and spend more time on homework assignments and leisure reading per week are much more likely to be academically gifted than other students. In addition, high levels of parental educational aspirations as well as high levels of family SES are important predictors of academic giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Explains how the theory of the motivated mind conceptualizes the productive interaction of intelligence, creativity, and achievement motivation and shows how this theory can help educators to maximize students' emergent potential for giftedness. According to this theory, students' motivated minds are complex-adaptive systems comprised of two co-evolving psychological subsystems: cold-order thinking expressed as serious intelligence and hot-chaotic thinking expressed as fun creativity. When these co-evolving subsystems become fully differentiated and integrated students' complex capacity for giftedness emerges as fluid-adaptive thinking. This enhanced thinking capacity is both seriously intelligent and playfully creative at the same time. Students' optimal motivation for self-regulating and educators' ideal leadership style for promoting fluid-adaptive thinking are operationally described. The motivated mind is also compared and contrasted with J. Renzuffl's three rings of giftedness, H. Gardner's multiple intelligences, R. Sternberg's successful intelligence, and M. Csikszentmihalyi's optimal experience of flow. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Utilized qualitative and quantitative measures to explore the abilities of 11 young children (36–49 mo old) nominated by their parents as gifted. A part-time preschool enrichment program provided a naturalistic setting in which to investigate measures that might reflect potential giftedness, predict later achievement, and reveal individual profiles of development. The curriculum invited children to display any differences from typical preschoolers. Characteristics nominated by parents as indicators of their child's giftedness were consistent with indicators in the research literature and were generally supported by norm-referenced test results and teacher observations. In spite of test limitations, both quantitative and qualitative measures played a valuable role in revealing advanced abilities amidst diverse profiles of abilities, skills, and interests. Longitudinal data would help to confirm the potential apparent in some of these children as giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

The myth that gifted children constitute 3% to 5% of the school population was addressed in the 1982 issue of the Gifted Child Quarterly by Joe Renzulli, a fact that is more than a little intimidating to one charged with addressing the same myth 27(!) years later. In his 1982 article, Renzulli interpreted the 3% to 5% myth as an implicit endorsement of the belief that giftedness equals high IQ, which he rightly took pains to refute. Moreover, consistent with his Three-ring Conception of Giftedness (e.g., 1978), of which “above-average ability” is a major (and salutarily radical) component, Renzulli argued that “high levels of creative productivity can be achieved by students below the top 5% if we use a more flexible identification process.” Because more than a quarter of a century has passed, the belief that 3% to 5% of the school population is gifted and the belief that giftedness can be reduced to a high score on an IQ test must now be mere historical curiosities from the Reagan years, as outdated as Cabbage Patch Dolls, Milli Vanilli, and supply-side economics. Alas, this is not the case. Both myths still flourish, apparently invulnerable to reason and the lessons of experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

"The gifted and talented constitute one single homogeneous group and giftedness is a way of being that stays in the person over time and experiences." We believe there is no more potentially dangerous and false myth than the one above. Let us, therefore, begin this response with the following resounding statement: There is no single homogeneous group of gifted children and adults, and giftedness is developmental, not fixed at birth. Our current federal definition suggests that gifted and talented students are indeed a diverse group of individuals, students with varying abilities and potentials in one or many domains. This widely accepted federal definition of giftedness (Ross, 1993) highlights students’ intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas; unusual capacity for leadership; or excellence in specific academic fields. This definition discusses outstanding talents present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, in all areas of human endeavor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This issue of High Ability Studies appears to be a further indication that giftedness research and expertise research do not necessarily have to be considered contending fields, and can very well complement one another. Three of the articles in this issue are founded in the area of classical giftedness research. They address theoretical and practical questions associated with the measurement of high abilities, the significance of motivation within the framework of conceptions of giftedness, and issues of social adjustment among gifted children. The fourth contribution creates a link between the two fields in that it examines the academic achievements of talented athletes and describes the structures and qualification profiles of special schools for talented athletes. The three remaining articles pertain to expertise research—two address the concept and significance of early sport specialization, and the third is concerned with excellence and professionalism among environmental experts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The paper presents the author’s views on inspiring creative thinking among students through a folktale. The mbira metaphor is this author’s interpretation of a unique African (Shona) folktale that has the potential to enrich the pedagogy of giftedness. The mbira metaphor is an informative and thought-provoking folktale originating from previous studies on Shona culture’s views of giftedness. The recognition of the mbira folktale as a metaphor that has the potential to enrich gifted programming follows new thinking in research that values the contribution of sociocultural perspectives to our understanding of giftedness and creativity. The author recommends that the mbira metaphor be used in gifted programming to inspire creative thinking among students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

A selective review of past and present neuropsychological research on savant skills is highlighted, including both empirical findings and theoretical accounts. Results from this research are then compared to extant results within the giftedness literature. Three major conclusions are taken from this review of the research: (a) savant skills are inextricably linked to autism spectrum disorders; (b) neuropsychological models of autism spectrum disorders may help to explain the raised incidence of savant skills in this population and provide promising directions for future research; and (c) neuropsychological research into savant skills may have direct implications for better understanding the neuroscience of giftedness, particularly as it relates to domain-specific skills (e.g., mathematics), as opposed to general (i.e., high IQ) giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Reviews the book, Gifted children: A guide for parents and professionals by K. Distin (2006). This book is a helpful tool for parents and professionals alike. The authors effectively outline how giftedness influences familial relations, interpersonal relations, and academic life and profile different types of gifted students. Additionally, the authors provide suggestions for effective communication with gifted children and conclude the book by explaining how to live with giftedness. According to the authors, the specific purpose of the book is to provide an understanding of how giftedness affects children and their parents socially, emotionally, and interpersonally. The second part of the book takes a more idiosyncratic shift as individual authors write about their particular areas of expertise, including the challenges of Asperger's syndrome and other special needs. Attention also is given to the special talents of those who are gifted linguistically and musically and how to effectively communicate with those who are gifted. Although the authors do an adequate job of presenting relevant research to the reader, a major limitation of this book is the lack of empirical evidence used to support the authors' assumptions and advice. Another limitation of the book is the abrupt introduction of case studies. Although they were helpful, they were consistently distracting. Overall this book would be a beneficial addition to any parent's library. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This study examined the accuracy of three shortened measures of intelligence: the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Third Edition Brief Intellectual Ability (WJ III COG BIA) score; the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition Abbreviated IQ (SB5 ABIQ); and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test IQ Composite (K-BIT) in predicting giftedness as assessed by the SB5 Full Scale IQ score (SB5 FSIQ). Participants were 202 third grade students who were individually administered the SB5, WJ III, and KBIT. Four scores (SB5 ABIQ, KBIT, WJ III COG BIA, and SB5 FSIQ) were extracted. Correlational analyses revealed positive, significant relationships among the four scores. Discriminant function analyses, conducted to examine the accuracy of the three shortened measures of intelligence in predicting giftedness, revealed that overall, the WJ III score was the most accurate, and the K-BIT score was the least accurate in identifying giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Giftedness' identification is a tricky subject nowadays. The only criterion stays the IQ whereas some theoretical models emphasize the important role of creativity in this phenomenon. We propose a literature's review which deals with links between creativity and giftedness. The main question is to know how creativity is involved in a general intelligence's theory point of view. Another point of view is to consider creativity as a specific module which would be independent. From these two theoretical views, some elements could change psychological evaluation and diagnosis of giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This article proposes a new approach to the psychological assessment of potential intellectually-creative abilities of the gifted based on the new cognitive-developmental theory of giftedness developed by the author. The major limitations of conventional intelligence tests are shortly analyzed. The nine methodological and procedural principles, which constitute this approach, are presented along with the examples of new intelligence tests. The principles state that new intelligence tests should first of all examine the psychological mental context generated by gifted individuals themselves. These tests should have an "open character," evaluate the basis of giftedness (not its numerous traits or manifestations), and allow both retrospective and prospective assessment. New tests should not evaluate psychological functions/processes (e.g., attention or memory) and mental speed, and they should not be very long or time-consuming. Cognitive styles, metacognitive and extracognitive abilities should also be assessed. Child's sensitive periods--which form the developmental foundation of giftedness--should be examined as well. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Although the association between giftedness and genius has been the subject of several retrospective, longitudinal, and historiometric studies, this research concentrated on majority-culture samples. In the current study, Cox's (1926) findings regarding 301 geniuses were replicated on a sample of 291 eminent African Americans. Relative genius was measured by two archival eminence measures (majority White and minority Black culture) and by scores on the Creative Achievement Scale (Ludwig, 1992). Giftedness was assessed by raters blind to the identity of the individuals being evaluated. Control variables were defined for gender, year of birth, status as a living contemporary, and 18 domains of achievement. Multiple regression analyses indicated that adulthood eminence and creative achievement are positively correlated with early giftedness, with an effect size comparable to that found in the Cox study. Furthermore, this association was not moderated by gender, birth year, or most of the remaining variables. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This paper reviews major research findings on social cognition in gifted adolescents. We discuss interpersonal and intrapersonal perceptions of giftedness (i.e., how gifted students view themselves, and how they perceive others' views of them), the social coping strategies of this population (e.g., denying and hiding one's giftedness, conforming to mask giftedness, and helping others), and the gender, age, and self-concept differences shown in strategy choice when interacting with others. Results suggest that both American and Chinese gifted students employ social coping strategies to manage the visibility of their abilities in social situations, and there is a consistent link between coping strategy and self-concepts; but the findings with regard to social cognitive strategies, themselves, are conflicting. Implications of these findings and recommendations are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

While the field of gifted education has relied on educational, cognitive, counseling, behavioral, developmental, and social psychology, the domain of depth psychology offers special insights into giftedness, especially with regard to individuation. The notion of passion, or the thorn (J. S. Piirto, 1999, 2002), the incurable mad spot (F. C. Reynolds 1997, 2001), the acorn (J. Hillman, 1996, 1999), the daimon (C, G. Jung, 1965); the importance of integration through the arts and through dreams; the existence of the collective unconscious; the presence of archetypes; and the transcendent psyche-all have resonance with the binary etymological idea of "gift" as both blessing and poison. Depth psychology offers a way of understanding that is physical, psychological, and spiritual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Comments on an article by Françoys Gagné (see record 2004-22507-002) on the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT). We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Gagné's interesting paper. In a theory of such large scope, it is hard to know where to begin one's assessment. We have chosen to use Gagné's own criteria. At the close of his paper, Gagné lists four characteristics of the DMGT that make a very distinct and unique conception of giftedness and talent. We will respond to his first two characteristics. The first is that 'the DMGT stands alone in its clearly differentiated definitions of the field's two key concepts'. Although we agree that there has been confusion in how the field defines its terms, it is not clear to us how the distinction Gagné makes between natural abilities and systematically developed skills (of which gifts and talents are merely subsets) differs from the more commonly used labels of aptitude and achievement. Gagné's second criterion is that it is important to set prevalence estimates of giftedness and talent. Although setting the initial cut at 10 per cent seems completely arbitrary, the system of identifying many levels of giftedness has great potential value. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Comments on an article by Françoys Gagné (see record 2004-22507-002). This paper by Françoys Gagné represents a substantial effort to examine a large body of research and theory related to human abilities and interpret it from the perspective of his Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DGMT). While the DMGT is highly speculative and tries hard to relate its message to technical conceptions of giftedness and talent, he has nevertheless done an excellent job of drawing in much of the most relevant theory and research. One major problem with the paper is his efforts to define 'giftedness', a term used very little outside of the professional field of gifted education: high ability, natural ability, precocity, talent, aptitude--which should it be? And then he goes on and tries to give us frequency or numbers or percentages for 'giftedness and talent' reflecting a continuing and often seemingly arbitrary and fruitless quest for the magic numbers. Finally, the author disagrees with Gagné's dismissal of Ericsson's excellent and well-recognized research on the development of skills and expertise--topics which are highly relevant to talent development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The Gifted Rating Scales is a newly published teacher rating scale designed to assess the characteristics of giftedness across a wide range of ages. The GRS is available in two age-differentiated forms: the GRS Preschool Form (GRS-P) and the GRS School Form (GRS-S). The GRS-P was developed for children aged 4 years through 6 years. It contains 60 items that contribute to five scales. Its school-age counterpart, the GRS-S, was developed for children aged 6 years through 13 years. Its 72 items contribute to six scales. The GRS meets several goals outlined by the authors. The GRS is a brief and user-friendly instrument that is easy to complete and to score. Users may find the GRS to be an economical and informative alternative to individually or group-administered intelligence tests when screening groups of children for giftedness. Because the GRS has been linked to the standardization of the Wechsler intelligence scales, users may also feel more confident when engaged in the identification and eligibility process by combining these assessment instruments. In addition, the GRS includes measures of several characteristics of giftedness outlined by the U.S. Department of Education. Thus, the GRS could be widely used for screening or identification because most states have adopted some version of this federal definition of giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Whereas perspectives on giftedness have included motivation as a construct related to giftedness, the proposed conceptualization advances a new view that motivation is an area of giftedness in and of itself. Academic intrinsic motivation (i.e., enjoyment of school learning) is the domain focused upon in this conceptualization inasmuch as it has inherent ties to cognition, gifted intellect, and achievement. Research supports the following criteria, advanced as a beginning effort toward the development of a conceptualization of a gifted motivation construct: (a) significantly higher academic intrinsic motivation is evidenced by intellectually gifted compared to their comparison cohort; (b) academic intrinsic motivation is significantly, positively, and uniquely related to academic achievement above and beyond IQ; (c) academic intrinsic motivation evidences substantial continuity from childhood through adolescence; and (d) environment is significantly related to academic intrinsic motivation. The construct of gifted motivation serves heuristic purposes to advance further inquiry and also has implications regarding the development and implementation of giftedness programs. Suggestions are made regarding research needed for further development of a gifted motivation construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

In this contribution ENTER will be used as a basis to determine which traits can be used to characterize identifications within the conceptual framework of the Actiotope Model of Giftedness. In contrast to alternative conceptions of giftedness this model employs a systemic approach which does not emphasize the identification of persons, but rather the identification of a learning path which leads to excellence. Following a brief overview of ENTER and the Actiotope Model of Giftedness, information pertinent for each step of ENTER will be specified. In conclusion a critical discussion of practical applications based on ENTER will be conducted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)