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The focus of the field of giftedness is on the wrong thing. Instead of focusing on identifying who is gifted, the field should identify how people will deploy their gifts and educate students to deploy their gifts in ways that will make the world a better place. In this article, I present at least a partial taxonomy of how gifts can be deployed and discuss how the taxonomy can be used to shift the emphasis in the field. In particular, I discuss nine types of giftedness: Type 1—unidentified; Type 2—inert (largely undeployed) giftedness; Type 3—fully transactional giftedness (where one gives something back in return for getting something); Type 4—self-transformational giftedness (where one transforms oneself but not others); Type 5—other-transformational giftedness (where one transforms others but not oneself); Type 6—full transformational giftedness (where one transforms both oneself and others); Type 7—self-destructive giftedness (where one’s gifts are deployed self-destructively); Type 8—other-destructive giftedness (where one’s gifts are deployed toward destroying others); and Type 9—full pseudo-transformational giftedness (where one’s gifts are destructive of oneself and others). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This article discusses kinds of transformational giftedness, or giftedness that makes a positive, meaningful, and possibly enduring difference to the world. We extend previous work by suggesting that there are two kinds of transformation that matter: self-transformation and other transformation. Combining these two kinds of transformation yields a 2 × 2 grid of four kinds of giftedness: non-transformational giftedness (no transformation), transformational giftedness (self and other-transformation combined), self-realized giftedness (whereby one transforms oneself but not others), and other-realized giftedness (whereby one transforms others but not oneself). We open with a discussion of some of the history of conceptions of giftedness. Then we discuss transformational giftedness as it has been defined in the recent past. We then introduce our concepts of self- and other-transformation. We also describe two other kinds of giftedness—inert giftedness, which is giftedness in personal attributes that has not been realized in interactions with others and the world; and transactional giftedness, which is a give-and-take form of giftedness whereby one meets certain societal expectations in exchange for being identified as gifted. We finally conclude that the gifted movement needs to focus much more on developing transformational giftedness, or at least the potential for it, in our young people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Achieving creativity in the real-world depends on multiple individual and environmental factors. Among them, divergent thinking (DT) has long been considered a key ingredient of creativity and an essential criterion for predicting real-life creative outcomes. However, the link between DT and creative achievement (CA) has yielded heterogeneous results, as outlined by a prior meta-analysis on the DT–CA link published in 2008. Given several limitations of this meta-analysis and the large body of relevant studies that have been published since then, the present article aimed to offer an updated and methodologically rigorous meta-analytical examination of the DT–CA link. A total of 766 effect sizes from 70 studies encompassing 14,901 subjects were analyzed using a meta-analytic three-level model. The results showed that DT was positively, albeit weakly, linked to CA, with only 3% of shared variance. Moderator analyses indicated that this link was robust to variations in DT and CA measures used, gender, educational level, measurement interval between DT and CA, and country of study, but differed by DT task modality, CA domain, and intellectual giftedness. Specifically, the strength of the DT–CA link was significantly larger for (a) verbal DT tasks, (b) CA in the performance domain, and (c) gifted subjects. A significant interaction effect was also found between CA domain and intellectual giftedness, with the DT–CA link being strongest among gifted subjects in the performance domain. Implications of these results for the study and measurement of creativity are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Although recognising multiple creativities as an interdisciplinary and contemporary approach to creativity represents the basic opportunity for future change, the assessment of children’s musical creativity is a problematic and insufficiently explored area. The paper discusses the problem of encouraging and assessing the creative musical potential of preschool children using the adopted Measures of Creativity in Sound and Music—MCSM. Considering the inappropriateness of assessing children’s creative musical potential with numerical indicators, the research was focused on the method of participatory observation of fluency and imagination in making sounds and music. The research included 25 children aged 5–6 years in a preschool setting within an ethnographic practice-based methodology. The reactions of children to activities were varied but each child reacted to some of the conducted activities. In addition to the confirmed giftedness of one girl, the musical potential and musical giftedness of one boy were discovered, which was further confirmed by the state of flow during the activities. It was concluded that well-designed and stimulating musical activities can encourage children’s musical creativity and contribute to the recognition of their musical potential and giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The present study aimed to examine the opinions of preschool teachers regarding the characteristics of twice exceptional (2E) children. The research was conducted with the participation of 41 preschool teachers working at schools in a provincial centre in Turkey. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form consisting of four questions. The research results indicate that the participants consider 2E children both in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. More than half of the participants (51%) stated that giftedness and learning disabilities (LD) cannot coexist in a child, or that they did not have any knowledge of this coexistence. Furthermore, the research found that the participants focused on certain characteristics of children with giftedness and LD, thus ignoring 2E. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Ensuring quality care for gifted students requires a functional school-based conception of giftedness. The role of a school counselor for gifted students (SCGS) is to develop and reinforce this concept at each school. The theoretical background describes the school-based conceptions of giftedness with regard to activities of SCGS. The research examines whether an SCGS leads to the improvement of care for gifted students and secondly, whether it reinforces the school-based conception of giftedness. The research was conducted by means of a questionnaire and involved 352 general secondary schools, which is 98% of all these schools in the Czech Republic. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The research has found that schools build their conceptions on proven and simple-to-organize activities, based on traditional concepts of giftedness. It was discovered that schools create a unified conception of giftedness, irrespective of the existence of an SCGS. The weakest part of conceptions was teacher training. The limitation of the study to be the collection of data by questionnaire, follow-up research should be qualitatively oriented. The study aims to describe the effects of legislative changes on the state of gifted education at general secondary schools in the Czech Republic, with a focus on identifying the functionality of SCGS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Neurological uniqueness, maladaptive behaviours, as well as atypical sleep patterns are reported to be defining characteristics of giftedness, but this has received little empirical support. We studied the polysomnography recorded sleep of gifted and typically‐developing children together with features of maladaptive behaviours. The association of sleep macrostructure and sleep instability with maladaptive behaviours was also investigated in gifted children. In all, 19 gifted children (74% boys) and 17 typically‐developing children (76% boys) aged 6–12 years were studied. Giftedness was identified using Renzulli's three‐factor definition. The microarousal index, number of awakenings, and number of Stage shifts between sleep stages throughout the night were computed as sleep instability parameters. Maladaptive behaviours were assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist. We found significantly more Stage N1 and less Stage N3 in gifted children compared to typically‐developing children. More Stage N1 sleep was correlated with more externalising problems and less Stage N3 sleep was correlated with more internalising problems. Gifted children also displayed more rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, but this was not significantly correlated with behavioural scales. Gifted children displayed two opposing trends of sleep instability: more instability involving N1 sleep and less instability involving N2, N3 and REM sleep. More total Stage shifts were correlated with more internalising and externalising problems. The results of this study provide initial evidence of polysomnography‐based characteristics of giftedness. Further studies are needed to explore common pathways linking sleep alterations and maladaptive behaviours in children with giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Although previous research helped to define differences in intelligence between neurotypicals and those with ASD, results were limited by small sample sizes or restricted subtests. Using data from the NIMH Data Archive, this study examined the intelligence of children with ASD (N = 671). Results demonstrate an average standard deviation of 25.75, which is 1.72 times greater than that of the normative sample for the WISC-III. Moreover, students with ASD are 12 times more likely than the general population of students to score within the intellectual disability range, but are also 1.5 times more likely to score in the superior range, suggesting that more students with ASD should be considered for giftedness. Determining the diversity of intelligence among those with ASD has implications for research, clinical practice, and neurological understanding. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Objectives/Background: Intellectual giftedness is characterized by an intellectual development superior to peers, while emotional and relational developments correspond to the age norms. Few empirical researches have investigated sleep profile of gifted children (GC) and its association with their well-being, all of which used IQ as the sole definition criteria for GC. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between giftedness and sleep on socio-emotional functioning. Participants: The sample consisted of 32 GC (25 boys; mean age = 9.62, SD = 1.81) and 17 typically-developing children (TD: 13 boys; mean age = 10.23 years, SD = 1.95). Giftedness was identified using Renzulli’s three-factor definition of giftedness. Methods: Children’s sleep and socio-emotional functioning were respectively assessed with the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist, both completed by parents. Results: Being in the GC group increased by 4.67 times the risk of having sleep problems and 14.12 times the risk of having maladaptive behaviors. Two-way ANOVA tests showed that sleep problems tended to moderate the relation between giftedness and adjustment difficulties so that the combination of giftedness and sleep problems appeared to be prejudicial to socio-emotional functioning. Conclusion: Giftedness could be a risk factor for sleep disorders as well as adjustment difficulties. The present results support the importance of addressing sleep in the GC assessment to improve their well-being and eventually limit the negative impacts of sleep difficulties on emotional and behavioral functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Currently, there is an obvious shortage of Russian studies of perceptual processes in the gifted. The study is focused on theoretical and organizational issues of research in the cognitive sphere of giftedness, in particular, perception, which is relevant not only in its fundamental but also applied aspects,—this explains the high research activity of foreign psychologists in this area nowadays. The empirical data presented in the literature on the importance of perceptual processes in the formation of the phenomenon of giftedness are considered from the methodological positions of the perceptual psychology, which allows to identify new approaches in the study of giftedness. The array of empirical evidence that is emerging today is systematized according to the main tasks to be solved in the research: (1) to identify (to measure) the cognitive characteristics of the gifted and to establish connections between them; (2) to determine the parameters of cognitive processes specific to giftedness; (3) to establish the connections between the phenomenon of giftedness and specific cognitive resources. The typical organizational features of modern cognitive psychology of giftedness are highlighted: the use of psychometric tools and comparative research methods, the predominance of child and adolescent samples, the preoccupation with the phenomenon of mathematical giftedness and the involvement of neuroscientific research resources; their capabilities and limitations are shown. Using the neurocognitive studies of mathematical giftedness as an example, the theoretical and organizational threats to the validity of the conclusions drawn in them are discussed, as well as the ways to increase the argumentativeness of the research in the cognitive sphere of giftedness, i.e., to ensure its ecological validity, integrity, ontologicality, particularly by covering a larger number of studied variables on significant groups of participants. The empirical evidence of the key role of visual-spatial processing (spatial thinking) in the cognitive structure of giftedness is systematized. Based on the thesis about the special functional significance of the direct sensory perception, the task of determining the functional characteristics of perceptual processes under the conditions of giftedness is set. The integration of knowledge from different subject areas of psychology for studying the problems of unique cognitive and social functioning, the personality organization of a gifted person is also provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

In this article, I discuss two kinds of giftedness, transactional and transformational. Transformational giftedness is giftedness that is transformative. Transformationally gifted individuals seek positively to change the world at some level—in their own way, to make the world a better place. Transactional giftedness is giftedness that is based on exchange. It is tit-for-tat in nature. The individual is identified as gifted and then expects and is expected to do something in return. That something, for children, is typically high-level performance in academic coursework. Society also may expect that the individual later in life will continue to show high educational achievement. The two kinds of giftedness are not inborn. Rather, they are shaped through life in school and in the home interacting with the personal attitudes toward life of the gifted individual. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Over the past century, strong applications of psychometrics have resulted in an ideology and practices of identification in the field of gifted education. In recent years, an alternative ideology that construes giftedness in an inclusive light and promotes democratic practices has emerged. This ideology posits a new meaning-making system of giftedness that is process-based rather than person-based. In this article, we elaborate some conceptual principles of this emerging ideology. First, we reflect on the nature of giftedness as a social construct using a symbolic interactionist perspective and articulate the dialectical evolution of collective meanings of giftedness. Second, we address the interdependency between an individual and a context when it comes to helping students realize their giftedness. Third, we accentuate a growth orientation and outline the importance of considering giftedness as a process-based entity. Furthermore, we provide a T:CAD conception of giftedness along with ideas for transaction-focused practices that aim to encourage the rendering of this emerging ideology in practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

In this article we present research concerning important aspects of domain-specific giftedness. Specifically, we address the evidence regarding the relationship between specific abilities and achievement. Empirical evidence suggests that specific abilities have been used widely and validly for identification of exceptional talent in performance domains, and mathematical and spatial reasoning ability have demonstrated predictive validity for achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains. We note that domains of talent have unique trajectories and discuss four critical aspects of domain-specific giftedness. These include the developmental nature of giftedness (giftedness moves from potential to competency to expertise and possibly to eminence over time); the temporal nature of giftedness (that domains vary in their starting, peak, and ending points); the contextual aspect of giftedness (societal value of some domains over others, changing of domains and emergence of new domains, and the environmental influences in fostering domain-specific achievement); and the relative nature of giftedness (childhood giftedness is advancement relative to age peers, and adult giftedness is exceptional achievement relative to other domain experts). Finally, we present some implications of a domain perspective on giftedness for educational practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

Giftedness is a multifaceted concept that involves a wide range of inputs and outputs. Hence, there are many theories suggesting a multidimensionality of giftedness. The aim of the present paper is (a) to position giftedness in terms of the processes involved and (b) to propose a multidimensional conception in order to differentiate creative and academic giftedness. Creative giftedness is represented by a high ability to produce ideas that are original and valuable in a specific domain or in several domains of work. There are many arguments that set creative giftedness apart from other types of giftedness. First, some empirical and theoretical data suggest that creativity is a specific characteristic that is independent from intelligence. Moreover, high levels of creativity are explained by specific processes that are not involved in high academic achievement. Finally, some researchers have observed cognitive styles and personality traits that may explain the distinction between high academic performance and highly creative performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This article presents two independent studies of Finnish teachers’ conceptions of giftedness and considers whether it is a malleable or fixed quality. The first qualitative study examined elementary school teachers’ ( N = 212) conceptions via inductive-oriented content analysis, whereas the second study measured teachers’ (elementary n = 184, secondary n = 279) conceptions with a quantitative approach. According to teachers’ open-ended definitions, giftedness was seen to be multidimensional and a characteristic that differentiates the person from others. Giftedness was also described via cognitive, creative, and motivational features of the gifted. Furthermore, the two independent studies suggest quite different views on how Finnish teachers understand the developmental nature of giftedness: The first indicates that the developmental nature of giftedness was not frequently mentioned, whereas the second found that a malleable view of giftedness (i.e., a growth mindset) was dominant. Thus, this article highlights a need for in-depth and mixed-methods research designs to study how teachers see the developing nature of giftedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

This article stresses the social importance of the problem of giftedness and in this connection the necessity to clarify this concept scientifically. The history of this problem reveals the origins of reduction of the concept and the wide-spread notion of giftedness as "intelligence level above average."There are two reasons of it: 1) Galton's components of giftedness were put into a complex; 2) there were no measuring techniques of this complex. The unit of the analysis of giftedness was formed after Galton's notion of giftedness as comprised of components was supplemented with the method of measurement -"systematic observation"- and understood as an ability to generate activity at one's own initiative. Then it became possible to realize Galton's concept of giftedness as a manifestation of mind and character. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The aim of this review is to explore recent research on the socio-emotional characteristics of gifted children and adolescents. The existing literature from 2009 to 2019 was analyzed through a search carried out in Pubmed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Sapiens and PsycInfo. 14 studies were selected for review. The results showed depressed mood, low self-esteem, and maladaptive perfectionism in gifted children. Regarding their social skills and perceived anxiety, the results obtained are contradictory according to the different studies. More studies are needed to provide evidence. The results obtained help guide the design of assessment and intervention programs for strengthening skills that contribute to gifted children’s adaptation, well-being, and to preventing psychological problems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)