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It is of major importance to use psychological tests and questionnaires that are carefully constructed so that their reliability and validity can be determined in different (sub)cultures (Campbell & Tirri, 2004). However, a necessary prerequisite for this is the development of solid conceptual constructs. Otherwise, the researcher runs into the danger of empirically collecting data and loosing touch with reality. A theory-free empirical approach also makes it difficult to relate findings to other psychological research. We first show why and how the Munich Dynamic Ability-Achievement Model (MDAAM) evolved from the Munich Model of Giftedness (MMG). We will then illustrate how the MDAAM can stimulate and structure theoretical and empirical research. The MDAAM can be used as an integrative model of giftedness, talent, expertise, and achievement and could this way bridge the gap between the process-oriented approaches of cognitive studies as well as expertise research and psychometric studies in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Definitions of giftedness and self-perceptions of abilities were examined among adults who have been participating in a longitudinal study of academically talented students since their high-school graduation in 1988. For the present study, participants answered open-ended questions and completed scales measuring adult giftedness and adult self-perceptions of abilities in 12 different domains. Gender differences in perceptions were examined. When participants were asked if they believed they were gifted in high school and now, more men than women responded affirmatively to both questions. Further, significant gender differences were identified for perceived competencies in four areas: job competence, nurturance, athletic competence, and morality. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Giftedness researchers have long debated whether there is empirical evidence to support a distinction between giftedness and attained level of achievement. In this paper we propose a general theoretical framework that establishes scientific criteria for acceptable evidence of superior reproducible performance, which any theory of exceptional performance must explain. We review evidence for superior reproducible performance, generally emerging only after extended periods of deliberate practice that result in subsequent physiological adaptations and complex cognitive mechanisms. We also apply this framework to examine proposed evidence for innate talents. With the exception of fixed genetic factors determining body size and height, we were unable to find evidence for innate constraints to the attainment of elite achievement for healthy individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

This study reports on an analysis of the standardization sample of a rating scale designed to assist in identification of gifted students. The Gifted Rating Scales--Preschool/Kindergarten Form (GRS-P) is based on a multidimensional model of giftedness designed for preschool and kindergarten students. Results provide support for: the internal structure of the scale; no age differences across the 3-year age span 4:0-6:11; gender differences on only one of the five scales; artistic talent; and small but statistically significant race/ethnicity differences with Asian Americans rated, on average, 1.5 scale-score points higher than whites and Native Americans and 7 points higher than African American and Hispanic students. The present findings provide support for the GRS-P as a valid screening test for giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Conceptual models of giftedness that cannot explain the full spectrum of depicted behaviors are incomplete. The same is true for frameworks that purport to analyze those behaviors. Within giftedness, extraordinary and rare talents afford us the opportunity to extend and modify models and frameworks. This article presents an analysis of the first 2 years of writing of a precocious child whose prolific language, complex sentence structures, and sophisticated conceptual development belie his age. Attempts to conduct comparative analyses found that existing frameworks could not explain the data's holistic and thematic tones. This led to the construction of a new synthetic-analytic framework for precocious writing that more fully depicts the known spectrum of writing elements exhibited by highly gifted children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

A serious critique often made against giftedness research is an alleged neglect of the aspects of developmental psychology. We are therefore more than pleased that Marion Porath has agreed to assemble a series of papers on this topic and serve as Guest Editor for this edition of High Ability Studies. This edition is made complete by a fascinating case study submitted by Larisa V. Shavinina which she developed on the basis of the concept of entrepreneurial giftedness, and therewith fills a gap in our field of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

The Fullerton Longitudinal Study is a contemporary prospective investigation that spans approximately a quarter of a century. Commencing at age 1, children and their families were systematically followed every 6 months from infancy through preschool and annually at ages 5 through 17. They were again assessed at age 24. The course of development for intellectually and motivationally gifted children was studied across a breadth of developmental domains including academic, cognitive, self-perceptions, temperament, behavioral, social, family/environmental processes, and adult educational achievement. Presented are the methodology and unique aspects of this research that contribute to the study of giftedness. Major findings regarding these two distinct dimensions of giftedness are presented, with some implications for practice and directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Traditional conceptions of giftedness assume that only talented individuals possess the necessary gifts required to reach the highest levels of performance. This article describes an alternative view that expert performance results from acquired cognitive and physiological adaptations due to extended deliberate practice. A review of evidence, such as historical increases in performance, the requirement of years of daily deliberate practice, and structural changes in the mediating mechanisms, questions the existence of individual differences that impose innate limits on performance attainable with deliberate practice. The proposed framework describes how the processes mediating normal development of ability and everyday skill acquisition differ from the extended acquisition of reproducibly superior (expert) performance and how perceived "giftedness" gives children access to superior training resources, resulting in developmental advantages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) presents the talent development process (P) as the transformation of outstanding natural abilities, or gifts (G), into outstanding systematically developed skills which define expertise, or talent (T) 3 in a particular occupational field. This developmental sequence constitutes the heart of the DMGT. Three types of catalysts help or hinder that process: (a) interpersonal (I) catalysts, like personal traits and self-management processes; (b) environmental (E) catalysts, like socio-demographic factors, psychological influences (e.g., from parents, teachers, or peers), or special talent development facilities and programs; and (c) chance (C). The DMGT includes a 5-level metric-based (MB) system to operationalize the prevalence of gifted or talented individuals, with a basic 'top 10 per cent' threshold for mild giftedness or talent, through successive 10 per cent cuts for moderate, high, exceptional and extreme levels. Complex interactions between the six components are surveyed. The text ends with a proposed answer to a fundamental question: 'What factor(s) make(s) a difference, on average, between those who emerge among the talented and those who remain average?'. (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). The target article presents a theory based on the development of natural abilities during ontogeny. This process of transforming natural gifts into developed skills is under the influence of factors, which are presented as catalysts. As the author claimed that DMGT clearly identifies every significant etiological factor of talent emergence, I dare to submit the following comments. Complex understanding of giftedness could not be reached without interdisciplinary cooperation and an interdisciplinary approach to the topic. Psychology as a research field studying social as well as the environmental factors in the long-lasting process of mind formation cannot stand apart from the biological processes that influence the structure and function of brain tissue and consequently enhance or inhibit development in a specific domain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Comments on an article by Françoys Gagné (see record 2004-22507-002) on the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT). Gagné has offered a most impressive synthesis of the developmental literature regarding the giftedness and talent. Given the comprehensiveness of the treatment, it would seem difficult that any commentator would be able to do anything more that tinker with some tangential feature of the model. Nonetheless, I would like to suggest that in future, elaborations of the model should be devoted to the specification of developmental trajectories-how participating factors, components and processes change over time. Especially crucial would be the explicit recognition that these trajectories may assume a far more complex form than specified in unidimensional and monotonic maturation models. Two examples are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Comments on Sternberg's article on WICS as a model for giftedness (see record 2004-10570-002). The current author suggests that while the world would undoubtedly be better if some gifted schools and fellowship and scholarship programmes adopted WICS, the world would not be improved if they all accepted Sternberg's proposal to adopt WICS or any common model of giftedness. The proposal is unrealistic, morally questionable, and undesirable. A world in which wise, intelligence, and creative people, however conceived, encourage the development of many types of gifted persons (including emotionally and spiritually gifted and even the gifted who seem bad bets) is more likely to produce a vigorous, interesting, and healthy future than one that follows Sternberg's monocultural proposal. A world with equal investment in everyone's development is even better. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

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)

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)