Su búsqueda

This article presents the case of Geoffrey, a prolific 5-year-old writer. It examines his writing and how his intrapersonal factors and propitious environment contribute to his prodigious output. Childhood precocity is presented as an age-based comparable rather than as an adult-based predictor, consistent with Jackson's (2000) domain-specific developmental theory of giftedness. Geoffrey demonstrated highly precocious writing, both in production and in sophistication, and he demonstrated these abilities across a range and variety of content topics. The convergence of contributing influences evident in Geoffrey's life supports a growing literature on the coalescence factor within precocity. This implies that parents and educators have to carefully consider their influences. Suggestions are made concerning how developmental models of giftedness may need to expand to accommodate precocious writers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Asperger's Syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and by repetitive patterns of behaviors or interests. It is observed in some gifted children. The author proposes that gifted children with Asperger's Syndrome may not be identified because their unusual behaviors may be wrongly attributed to either their giftedness or to a learning disability. This article discusses ways in which Asperger's Syndrome might be missed in gifted children and proposes guidelines for differentiating characteristics of giftedness from characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Notes that one hundred years ago, William James' study of religious experience was based on reports of spiritually gifted adults. However, modern investigators found that when adults were asked about a spiritual experience of lasting significance in their lives, many described an event from childhood. This paper provides excerpts from investigations of adults who had spiritual experiences as children. These reports show that children are capable of authentic spiritual experiences of divine presence—God-in-everything, energy shimmering in living things, all-embracing unity and oneness, and much more, comparable to experiences of the great mystics. Moreover, the author contends that some children on their own have discovered techniques for entering the joyful state of heightened consciousness. It is argued that recently advanced arguments for spiritual intelligence prepare the ground for recognition of spiritual giftedness, as distinct from other facets of giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This research aims to ascertain the qualitatively different ways in which teachers identify and describe gifted and talented children. It examines the variety of conceptions of giftedness held by teachers and analyses the patterns and inconsistencies among them. Initial findings of the study, conducted with 16 early childhood teachers (2 male and 14 female), are reported. A qualitative phenomenographic research design was adopted because of its focus on revealing individual understandings (conceptions). These results show that teachers understand giftedness as a series of conceptions, namely excellence, potential, rarity, behavior, innate ability, motivation and asynchrony. These are discussed with reference to existing theories and pertinent research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

After exposing some opposing principles in the practice of gifted education, this article proposes approaching giftedness as an identity issue. This shift of focus could reconcile opposing approaches, build congruence and strength in our field, and better serve the gifted population. To illustrate the feasibility of this approach and its potential outcomes, the article draws examples from the field of lesbian and gay studies, which has a long tradition of dealing with identity issues. If the shift to an identity approach were made, we should admit the constructed nature of giftedness, emphasize responsibility, pay more attention to adolescents, and facilitate the presence of openly gifted adults as role models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This article presents an overview of the status and organisation of vocational education in Germany in general, and discusses a pioneering effort of providing for the vocationally gifted in particular. The basis for this presentation is personal observation and research, particularly in the light of a major multidisciplinary research project, launched by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Science, aimed at evaluating recent efforts to promote vocational giftedness and to suggest a workable understanding of the theoretical construct. The effort of focusing vocational giftedness is still in its infancy, but results so far are promising and bode well for the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Knowing one's giftedness and having a well-developed sense of identity as a gifted person are crucial for the development of the self. Many gifted people struggle with their giftedness, what it means to be gifted and how to develop that potential because there are few models available to assist in the identity development and counseling of gifted people. Moreover, identity itself is often viewed as an abstract concept making the task of bridging this concept to pragmatic applications highly challenging. The Gifted Identity Formation Model, presented here, helps bridge the theoretical with the practical, includes identity and its formation as crucial variables in the counseling process, and uses identity as the baseline for intervention. The model aids with assessment and helps deliver counseling related interventions that explore and strengthen the identity and identity formation of gifted people, in turn enhancing the health and development of the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Investigated the relationships among ethnicity, gender, and vulnerability factors and locus of control for gifted and nongifted children. 805 ethnically diverse 5th–7th graders were evaluated for intellectual ability, locus of control, and the presence of vulnerability factors (e.g., cultural, economic, language). ANOVA revealed significant main effects for Giftedness, Ethnic Background, and Vulnerability Factors and a significant Ethnic × Vulnerability Interaction. In addition, a Gender × Giftedness × Ethnic Background ANOVA yielded a significant main effect for Gender. Overall, higher internal locus of control was associated with female Caucasians not at risk. Results show a more internal locus of control in gifted children and further indicate that for gifted and intellectually bright non-Caucasians vulnerability is associated with, and may serve to strengthen, a greater internal locus of control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Artistic giftedness in 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds was investigated from a neo-Piagetian perspective, which articulates the increasingly complex structures for representing spatial relations in drawing during middle childhood. Composition, color use, and competence in human-figure drawing also were studied. Gifted young artists structured the spatial relations in their drawings, composed their drawings, and used color in a fashion similar to average children. However, they often used these variables in a flexible way, resulting in distinctive drawings. Their drawings were distinguished by graphic competence and the degree of elaboration in their human figures, skills that appear to be less constrained by developmental factors. Artistic giftedness may be demonstrated by the flexible and elaborate way in which gifted young artists use their structural capabilities and by their advanced mastery of specific artistic skills. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Definitions of giftedness now tend to recognize creative talents, but the most recent techniques for assessing creativity, which rely on productivity, may have caused certain problems for gifted education. The requirement for gifted students to produce something, for example, assumes that all of them have the expressive skills that support their insights, and this may not be true. It also assumes that products can be accurately evaluated, but unless quantity is used alone and quality entirely ignored, some sort of social significance is introduced into the assessment. Social significance can be very subjective, so the assessment loses its objectivity. Most important is that the insistence on productivity relegates potential. Children who have potential talent but need support, encouragement, and practice will be overlooked in favor of those children who already know how to construct and present socially meaningful products. It is concluded that although one must be careful with broad and inclusive definitions of talent, productivity requirements should be left out of definitions of giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

A domain-specific developmental model of giftedness is proposed as being more consistent with what is known about high level development than the widely-used categorical model. A research project is described which involves administering several measures in 3 different domains (Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, and Social/Emotional) to 343 categorically gifted early adolescents (grades 6, 7, and 8). Results are interpreted as supportive of a perspective on giftedness as high level development which occurs in one or more specific domains, which is generally consistent with gender socialization practices. Implications for gifted assessment and programming are discussed, particularly the need to provide flexibly responsive programming designed to match students' diverse educational needs as they vary both within and across individuals, and to reconsider educational practice regarding the Social/Emotional domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Studied the general intellectual abilities, the performance motivation, and the creative abilities of 7th graders who were gifted in language and mathematics. Human Ss: 28 male and female Slovak school-age children and adolescents (aged 12.5–13.5 yrs) (mathematical giftedness) (7th graders at a special school) (experimental group). 33 male and female Slovak school-age children and adolescents (aged 12.5–13.5 yrs) (language giftedness) (7th graders at a special school) (experimental group). 28 normal male and female Slovak school-age children and adolescents (aged 12.5–13.5 yrs) (7th graders at a regular school) (control group). Tests used: The Intelligence Structure Test, the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (T. Pardel et al, 1987), the Creative Thinking Test—Drawing (K. Urban and H. G. Jellen, 1986) and the Adjective Check List of Creativity (T. Yarnell and G. Domino). (English & German abstracts) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

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)

Teachers’ beliefs about students influence many of the decisions they make in the classroom. While much work has been done exploring teachers’ beliefs as they relate to the nomination of students for gifted programs, little work has yet explored the ways in which teachers’ beliefs about student giftedness possibly affect instructional decisions. In this article, within the context of specialized STEM schools, the beliefs of teachers as related to their students’ giftedness and ability are explored. Findings indicated that teachers believe their students to be gifted regardless of designation. Teachers articulated beliefs around the type of learning opportunities gifted students need as well as the amount of work required to stimulate these students. Specifically, teachers stated that gifted students flourish under heavy workloads with intense amounts of independent and inquiry-based learning. Students were also queried to determine their own perceptions of these instructional practices on their learning and daily lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Many current theories and models include creativity as a component of giftedness, conceptualizing the construct in numerous ways that complement giftedness. Variations in creativity have also been studied among different academic disciplines, suggesting that although there may be higher levels of creativity for some, major choice is a complex concept. The current study explores differences in several aspects of creativity based on academic major for a high-ability young adult population. Using data from 399 Honors College students at a Midwestern university in the United States, a MANOVA and series of 1-way ANOVAs suggest significant differences by academic major for creative engagement, creative cognitive style, and fantasy, but not for tolerance or spontaneity. The pattern of results generally indicates higher creativity among arts and humanities majors, compared with other disciplines such as education and pre-professional training, although these fields can also benefit from creative input. Potential curricular and experiential reasons for these differences are discussed, along with some implications for educational programming and interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Current textbooks, websites, research articles, and popular resources have stated that gifted individuals have longer and more pronounced responses to stimuli than the general population. This overexcitable nature of gifted persons has provided a commonly used lens to conceptualize, identify, and understand giftedness and gifted persons’ behaviors. Yet there are reasons to be skeptical about the evidence demonstrating that the gifted population is more overexcitable than the nongifted population. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the existence and strength of the giftedness–overexcitability (OE) relationship as presented in a number of studies comparing the OE scores of intellectually gifted and nongifted samples. Gifted samples were found to have higher mean OE scores than nongifted samples. However, the effect size for psychomotor OE was not statistically significant, while the effect sizes for the emotional and sensual OEs were small. Calculated effect sizes for intellectual and imaginational OEs were medium. A number of important limitations and implications exist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Presents an interview with Todd Lubart. Lubart is Professor of psychology and received his PhD from Yale University and was an invited professor at the Paris School of Management. His research focuses on creativity; its identification and development within the multivariate, investment approach; creative potential and creative giftedness; the creative process and the effect of context on creative work. The focus of the interview is on giftedness and creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)