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The editorial briefs about the issues of the Journal of Psychology Learning & Teaching. The current issue of PLAT contains four research articles and three reports. In their research article, Gibbs Thomas and Thomas investigated the effects of personalized, tailored feedback given to first and second year college students with below average exam performance. Heyder, Bergold and Steinmayr introduce a test assessing secondary school teachers’ knowledge about intellectual giftedness. How important it is for teachers to have knowledge about giftedness becomes obvious in view of the finding that teachers with higher rates of misconceptions had more negative attitudes toward fostering gifted students. Merced, Stutman and Mann give insight to the typical way of teaching in the US by investigating syllabi of History and Systems Psychology courses. Mallonee, Phillips, Holloway and Riggs compared the effectiveness of two methods preparing behavioral health clinicians to administer evidence-based treatments. Gray Deering reports on an innovative teaching format using literature to teach crisis intervention. Specifically, this author employed novels and autobiographies as case studies to which psychological theories and concepts were applied. Waggoner Denton reports on introducing a reflective learning journal in an introductory statistics course. As is well-known, statistics courses are not among the favorite classes of many students, and are frequently even associated with worry and fear. Butler, Lenore and Nunez report on an innovative learning partnership between undergraduates in an educational psychology course and fifth graders at an elementary school. For learners on each side, this partnership opened a window into a different world with many opportunities to learn. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

In this article, I describe the 21 ideas underlying a 42-year search to understand giftedness. I present the ideas roughly chronologically, in the order in which they arose, and discuss how in a career as in science, progress means supplementing or even superseding one idea with the next. In terms of the 21 ideas, I start with a discussion of how I thought IQ tests could account for giftedness and end with a discussion of the ACCEL (Active Concerned Citizenship and Ethical Leadership) model. But I frame the article in terms of a paradox—that despite the fact that IQs rose 30 points during the 20th century, people often seem to be operating at an intellectual level that is not notably higher and may even be lower in some respects than in previous times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This article presents a new theory of talent development, evolving complexity theory (ECT), in the context of the changing theoretical directions as well as the landscape of gifted education. I argue that gifted education needs a new foundation that provides a broad psychosocial basis than what the notion of giftedness can afford. A focus on talent development rather than giftedness should be based on a theory of talent development that is truly developmental, treating the developing person as an open, dynamic, and adaptive system, changing oneself adaptively while interacting with environmental opportunities and challenges. To introduce ECT, I first delineate the meaning and significance of four dimensions or “parameters” of talent development undergirding this new theory: domain, person, development, and culture. I then describe how ECT explicates the developmental processes and transitions as the result of human adaptations to environmental opportunities and challenges. More specifically, ECT uses the constructs of characteristic and maximal adaptation to elucidate how domain, person, development, and culture jointly shape a particular line of talent development, and how cognitive, affective, and social processes interact to push and sustain a critical transition from characteristic adaptation to maximal adaptation, eventually leading to high-caliber performance and creative productivity. I finally discuss the theoretical contributions and practical utilities of ECT for future research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Over the past few decades, systemic thinking has gained in popularity in developmental and learning sciences. The trend has, however, shown up in gifted education research only occasionally. The aim of this article is to introduce systemic thinking to the field of giftedness and explore possibilities for its application. In the first part, a definition of a system is provided and basic concepts of systemic thinking are introduced. In the second part, a full-fledged systemic model is introduced, the actiotope model of giftedness. In the third part, implications for gifted education are elaborated. In the discussion, the authors explain (a) how systemic thinking can make a valuable contribution to gifted education, (b) why systemic thinking will complement rather than replace current approaches to gifted education, and (c) the necessity of combining systemic thinking with other empirically testable theories. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration (TPD) is taken as an important tool to understand the emotional development of gifted children. It is a theory of personality development which emphasizes the role of emotions in the human developmental potential. The purpose of this study is to present the central concepts of TPD and their contributions to the field of giftedness. It is emphasized the concept of overexcitabilities, which, besides being regarded as an indicator of giftedness, represents a key construct to the development of measures and to the promotion of interventions which focus is the personality and emotional characteristics of gifted children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract) Resumen en idioma originalA Teoria da Desintegração Positiva (TDP), proposta por Dabrowski, constitui importante ferramenta para a compreensão do desenvolvimento emocional de superdotados. Trata-se de uma teoria do desenvolvimento da personalidade que enfatiza o papel desempenhado pelas emoções no potencial de desenvolvimento humano. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar conceitos centrais da TDP e suas contribuições para a área da superdotação. É enfatizado o conceito de sobre-excitabilidade, que, além de ser considerado um indicador de superdotação, representa um construto chave para o desenvolvimento de medidas e para promoção de intervenções que tenham como foco as características de personalidade e emocionais dos superdotados. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The interplay between creativity and intelligence has been extensively documented for decades. However, there is currently no consensus on how these constructs are related. The threshold hypothesis states that intelligence fosters creativity only below a 120 cut-off IQ. To clarify these issues, the relationships between intelligence and creativity were studied, using respectively WISC-IV and EPoC (Evaluation of Potential Creativity), in 338 children including 118 intellectually gifted children (IQ ≥ 130) and 220 non-gifted children (IQ < 130). Weak correlations were found between intelligence and creativity. However, high verbal ability children (Verbal Comprehension Index ≥ 130) showed significantly higher scores on verbal tasks of EPoC. Additionally, the threshold effect was only found for correlations between verbal integrative thinking and perceptual reasoning or processing speed. Thus, the findings indicate that the threshold effect depends on the type of process involved in the expression of creativity (divergent or integrative thinking), the domain of creativity (verbal or graphic), and the factors of intelligence considered. Taken together, these results suggest that giftedness should be conceptualized by specifying the cognitive domain of high ability, rather than focusing on a general conception of intelligence, and by distinguishing intellectual and creative giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences between identified gifted adolescents and adolescents not identified as gifted in terms of social acceptance and self-concept (peer relations, academic, and general). In addition, we aimed to investigate the differences between two groups of students identified according to different identification criteria (i.e. intelligence test and teacher assessment), and whether the relationship between students’ giftedness and the indicators of their social adjustment was moderated by gender. A total of 404 Slovenian elementary school students (191 males; 47%, 213 females; 53%) participated in the study; among them 85 (21%) were identified as gifted. No significant differences were found between gifted and non-gifted students in positive sociometric nominations and social preference; gifted students received less negative nominations and had lower social impact, but were assessed as more socially accepted by their teachers. Gifted students reported higher academic and general but not peer relations self-concept. No differences in social acceptance and self-concept were found between the groups of gifted students identified with regard to different identification criteria. In addition, we found significant interaction effects between gender and giftedness for peer relations self-concept. The results indicate the importance of investigating individual differences among gifted students in future studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Mathematics achievement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been understudied. However, the ability to solve applied math problems is associated with academic achievement, everyday problem‐solving abilities, and vocational outcomes. The paucity of research on math achievement in ASD may be partly explained by the widely‐held belief that most individuals with ASD are mathematically gifted, despite emerging evidence to the contrary. The purpose of the study was twofold: to assess the relative proportions of youth with ASD who demonstrate giftedness versus disability on applied math problems, and to examine which cognitive (i.e., perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, working memory) and clinical (i.e., test anxiety) characteristics best predict achievement on applied math problems in ASD relative to typically developing peers. Twenty‐seven high‐functioning adolescents with ASD and 27 age‐ and Full Scale IQ‐matched typically developing controls were assessed on standardized measures of math problem solving, perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, and test anxiety. Results indicated that 22% of the ASD sample evidenced a mathematics learning disability, while only 4% exhibited mathematical giftedness. The parsimonious linear regression model revealed that the strongest predictor of math problem solving was perceptual reasoning, followed by verbal ability and test anxiety, then diagnosis of ASD. These results inform our theories of math ability in ASD and highlight possible targets of intervention for students with ASD struggling with mathematics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Identity formation is particularly challenging for stigmatized minorities. The minority stress model (MSM) posits that both negative stereotypes and their internalization represent stressors. There is evidence that this applies to the gifted, too. However, their status is ambiguous, given that both negative and positive stereotypes exist. Furthermore, individual wellbeing also hinges on one’s identity stage, as outlined in the Cass identity model (CIM). The CIM was applied to gifted identity development in a survey of 742 high-IQ society members (16–79 years). Identity stages could be reliably and validly assessed with a new measure and were related to adjustment and coping as expected. Latent class analysis revealed four groups, which resembled the CIM, but with a few notable exceptions. Ordinal-logistic regression showed that years since first suspicion and since diagnosis of giftedness predicted group membership. In sum, identity development in the gifted examined here shows similarities with the CIM stages (which are differentially related to wellbeing and feelings toward one’s own giftedness) but has its own specific characteristics, too. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

In Germany, parents can request counseling and assessment of school-related learning and behavioral issues from either independent counseling centers or school-based ones. Focusing on giftedness consultations at independent counseling centers, the goal of this study is to provide a detailed description of the reasons for and the issues discussed during the consultation process. Specifically, the frequency and relationships among each other are examined as well as the relationships with the client characteristics gender, age, and ability. A questionnaire, completed by the counseling professionals, was used to assess the reasons that were given for seeking consultation and the topics that were addressed during the counseling process at 14 psychodiagnostic counseling centers. Overall, data from 156 children and adolescents (25% female) were included in the analyses. Frequent reasons for and topics of the consultations were giftedness assessment, advocacy of gifted education, and motivation. Correlation analyses identified two separate groups of themes: “social and behavioral problems” and “learning disorders and achievement-related problems.” Whereas the motives for seeking consultation and the counseling issues were typically the same for both boys and girls, some of these varied greatly depending on age, type of school, and aptitude of the children. These results are discussed with respect to the current state of research as well as their implications for counseling practice and the qualifications of the professional counseling personnel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The Actiotope Model of Giftedness (AMG) focuses on person–environment interactions to define giftedness. The development of the Questionnaire of Educational and Learning Capital (QELC) was based on the AMG. The first aim of this study was to present the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the QELC for 10th grade students. The second aim of this study was the administration of the QELC in gifted and non-gifted students and the determination of mean QELC-scale differences between both groups. Two different samples were included in the study. In the first sample, 421 10th grade students took the QELC (147 boys, 274 girls). The second sample consisted of 38 gifted students and 38 non-gifted students, the latter randomly selected from the first sample. In addition to the QELC, confidence in one’s competence, failure coping, stability and modifiability beliefs regarding one’s action repertoire were assessed and used to validate the QELC. School grades were collected, too. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the QELC (i.e., educational capital and learning capital). The results supported the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of QELC. Gifted students had lower scores in educational as well as learning capital than non-gifted students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This special issue focuses on the role of motivation in actualizing gifts and talents. Motivation is closely related to the goals we set for our own and others’ learning. All the articles in this special issue contribute to the current research and discussion on motivation and giftedness. Research in these fields must be performed in different ability domains and in various cultural contexts. Cross-cultural comparisons are needed to validate our findings and to test the culture-dependent and culture invariant dimensions of giftedness. We have made an effort to address each of these aspects at least a little bit. However, future studies are needed to explore and evaluate the theories and practices in gifted education and motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

During 3 field experience visits, 23 elementary preservice teachers implemented mathematical problem-solving tasks with grade 3–6 gifted students. Researchers investigated what the teachers learned about gifted students regarding student characteristics, mathematical problem-solving tasks, and pedagogy. Each teacher completed a pre- and post-journal, detailing what they expected to occur and then describing what occurred and how their initial expectations were altered. Further, no training was provided regarding gifted students or conceptions of giftedness in previous course-work. Researchers found that teachers broadened their view of giftedness, recognized the need to adapt instruction for gifted students, made efforts to align problem-solving tasks with gifted students' readiness and interests, realized the necessity of knowing students to differentiate instruction, and emphasized student-centered instruction. These results contribute to the promise of having preservice teachers engage in a field experience with gifted students to supplement discussions about gifted education in methods courses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This exploratory study investigates the intersection of bilinguality and giftedness in the public school system in Ontario and the connection between the bilinguality of gifted immigrant minority language (IML) speakers and their giftedness. Following a series of semistructured interviews with gifted pupils and teachers in the gifted program in an Ontario elementary school, it was concluded that the bilinguality of gifted IML students who are literate in their home language is not utilized for either curricular or community-building. Drawing on recent research in psycholinguistics of bilinguality, this paper argues that the bilinguality of gifted IML students constitutes a cognitive asset that should be used for curricular purposes in the gifted program, suggesting potential ways to accommodate the continued bilingual development of the students within the largely monolingual framework of the Ontario curriculum. These potential ways are situated within the current research on biliteracy and critical literacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The contribution presents a summary of information pertaining to adjustment and coping with everyday and specific stressful situations by gifted children, and it describes selected models of coping. On the basis of several studies, there is a presupposition that in social difficulties the gifted use more effective coping strategies than their peers. However, in situations of emotional distress the gifted prefer rather concealment of their negative emotional condition. Being aware of one's giftedness brings mostly social difficulties, which children solve by strategies of social coping focused on visibility of giftedness for the surrounding environment. The frequent inconsistency of individual findings about the adjustment of gifted children can have its root, apart from other things, also in miscellaneous methodological drawbacks of particular researches. The models pertaining to the research of coping try to eliminate these drawbacks,for example, the Multidimensional approach in the research of adjustment of gifted children by J. Richards, J. Encel, and R. Shute, or the SEAM model of coping by C. J. Sowa. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Giftedness is a complex multifaceted phenomenon that can be realized taking into account a complex of psychological, psycho-physiological and social factors. The results of the empirical study indicate that gifted adolescents, who live and grow up in a boarding school, experience the emotional tension that negatively influences their activities and development. The identification of giftedness is important for conducting the appropriate psychological correctional activities in order to support gifted adolescent's personality and his/her development. Gifted adolescents that are brought up in the conditions of a boarding school experience a greater level of emotional tension than adolescents with lower level of creativity. Emotional tension gets included in the development of the adolescent personality, producing the negative emotions. The social conditions are among the factors contributing to the high emotional tension of gifted adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Robert Sternberg’s (see record 2018-07419-003) Active Concerned Citizenship and Ethical Leadership (ACCEL) framework provides a helpful way to align gifted education with the complexities of 21st-century socioeconomic and cultural environments. The recommendation that we shift away from pseudoquantitative precision in conceptions of giftedness aligns with similar recommendations in other fields including political science, economics, and mathematics. The emphases on ethics and wisdom are reinforced by analyses of the need for more ethical awareness in societies. These analyses arise from research and theory in other fields, including ethical philosophy, political science, economics, history, sociology, and journalism. These transdisciplinary similarities are interpreted to be conceptual triangulation supporting the importance of Sternberg’s model as a catalyst for the development of more holistic conceptions of giftedness and talent. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In this article, we provide a response to the Active Concerned Citizenship and Ethical Leadership (ACCEL) model put forward by Sternberg (see record 2018-07419-003). Our commentary focuses on four critical areas that do not receive sufficient attention in Sternberg’s proposed model: (a) the developmental nature of giftedness; (b) that giftedness is domain specific, particularly at later stages in the talent development process; (c) the challenge in applying ACCEL in the real world of schools; and (d) whether the arts and other performance areas are compelled to have an ethical theme in order to be valuable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The relationships between low competency teasing, academic self-concept, and academic outcomes (i.e., GPA and academic psychological engagement) were analyzed using data from approximately 200 artistically and academically gifted students (62.2% female) recruited from two high schools. Results demonstrated two significant models for academic outcomes: the negative relationship between low academic competency teasing and GPA was mediated by academic self-concept, and the negative relationship between low academic competency teasing and academic psychological engagement was mediated by academic self-concept. When the sample was split based on giftedness domain, the mediation using GPA was significant only for academically gifted students, whereas the mediation using academic psychological engagement was significant only for artistically gifted students. All mediations were confirmed using Sobel's test (1982). Results suggest that academic self-concept is a significant variable partially mediating the effects of teasing on gifted students' academic outcomes. Furthermore, giftedness domain should be emphasized because academic outcomes may vary by domain. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Regional comparisons (cortical surface area and thickness) were performed on a well described sample of adults with reading disability alone (RD), nonverbal giftedness alone (G), and reading disability and nonverbal giftedness combined (GRD). These anatomical results are considered in relation to behavioral and functional work previously reported on this sample. GRD-RD regional differences were found in both hemispheres and were more common than GRD-G differences. Regional differences were found in the temporal, parietal, occipital and frontal lobes. While these data are preliminary given the small sample sizes, they suggest future avenues of research on the neurodevelopment of atypical samples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)