Exploring Giftedness

Context:

• Conversations with gifted adults 
• Discussions with friends about the problems of their highly sensitive children
• Personal interest in creativity, improvisation, innovation, and productivity
• Questions about the differences between "bright" and "gifted"
• Questions from gifted students about how to manage professional and social interactions
• Questions from student teachers and mentor teachers about how to motivate gifted students (especially underachievers and “fast finishers”)

Framing:

The quotes that follow highlight some of the issues that impact people who are gifted, along with some of the tensions they encounter as they try to make sense of their lives within the social and cultural contexts in which they find themselves embedded.

Talents ~ Time

“Although they try to cram 27 hours worth of living into a 24-hour day, there simply isn't enough time to develop all of the talents and interests that they may have" (Webb, 2009, p. 9).

Intensity ~ Isolation ~ Intimacy

"Gifted adults commonly have the experience of being 'out of sync' with others but not understanding why or how they are different.  Jacobsen (2000) describes how people came to her in her clinical practice with a vague sense that they were different; others had told them repeatedly that they were 'too-too'--that is, too serious, too intense, too complex, too emotional, etc." (Webb, 2009, p. 19).
 
"From the moment she arrived, it seemed that none of her co-workers was interested in making her acquaintance.  Conversations never included her; in-jokes left her completely in the dark; people fell silent when she came near a table in the lunchroom or a fountain in the halls.  At first--and still--she tried to believe that it was because she was young, she was frail, she did not make friends easily.  But actually, right from the start, she knew it was because she was an ambitious woman with remarkable scores from the best school on the planet; because she was curious and wanted to learn and wanted to be excellent, which would threaten all of them, make them all look bad (Card, 1978/1987, p. 207).


"But without a real friend, it was only a pretense, and I never could let my playmates know anything about me.  I studied them and wrote stories about them and it was all of them, but it was only a tiny part of me” (Shiras, 1953, p. 29).

". . . it is a Soul-devastating experience to sacrifice one's authenticity in order to belong" (Silverman, 1988).

“It’s wonderful to be able to talk to another person my own age and have them get everything I say, snap!  Just like that!  No matter what I talk about . . . . She doesn’t know exactly the same things I do, of course, but she understands everything” (Shiras, 1953, p. 56).

Complexity ~ Creativity ~ Contradictions ~ Constraints

"For gifted children, nothing is as simple as it seems.  They see clearly that the answer depends on the context--they see endless shades of grey" (Gifted & Talented Services of Australia, 2007).

"Sensitivity . . . without a developmental outlet turns into irritability” (Mika, 2002).

“The external structure that they are steeped with becomes contradictory or meaningless when confronted with articulate, conscious individual experience” (Webb, 2009, p. 11). 

“They may also find themselves feeling angry because they feel powerless to make the changes that they see as needed” (Webb, 2009, p. 16). 

Depth ~ Defense Mechanisms ~ Dedication

“Control kept him from showing any emotion at all, though he longed to cry out with the agony that tore at him inside.  My walls are deep, but can they hold this? he wondered . . .” (Card, 1978/1987, p. 180).

“‘Ansset, what is your song?’  He looked at her blankly.  Waited.  Apparently he did not understand.  ‘Ansset, you keep singing our songs back to us.  You keep taking what people feel and intensifying it and shattering us with it, but child, what song is yours?’ . . . . The object of Control was not to remove the singer from all human contact, but to keep that contact clear and clean.  Instead of a channel, Ansset was using Control as an impenetrable, insurmountable wall.  I will get over your walls, Ansset, she promised him silently.  You will sing a song of yourself to me.  But his blank, meaningless face said only, You will fail” (Card, 1978/1987, pp. 48-49).

“‘Oh you sound so sweet.  I can see where Ansset learned it.  A machine teaching a machine.’  ‘You misunderstand,’ said Esste.  ‘It is pain teaching pain.  What do you think the Control is for?’” (Card, 1978/1987, p. 42).

Development ~ Disintegration ~ Depression

“One must first disintegrate before one can reintegrate at a higher level, . . . .” (Webb, 2009, p. 14).

“However, this new mental schema may be only partially successful; these individuals may find themselves aware of inconsistencies and pretenses within their new way of thinking, though they may try desperately to convince themselves otherwise. They experience, then, only the dissolving part of the process—without reintegration at a higher level—leaving them with negative disintegration and the accompanying conflicts and negative emotions. Worse, they are unable to return to their previous unthinking way of being (“the rung bell”)” (Webb, 2009, p. 12).

Experiences:

The following video clips, webpages, essays, and books highlight some of the challenges and experiences associated with giftedness.

• Apple (posted by PeterGreen125).  (2006, April 26).  Think different.  YouTube.  Retrieved from https://youtu.be/cpzvwkR1RYU

• Matilda.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B7o7vCczhE (Also available in Spanish)

• Genius.  (n.d.).  Estimated IQs of famous geniuses.  Genius.  Retrieved from http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/mismeasure/genius/research04.html

• Onodera, Shun.  (2008, April 4).  Gifted.  Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkQiI09zlPQ

• Orion Pictures Corporation.  (1991).  Little man tate 2.  Little Man Tate.  Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2ky7M8RfNk

• Shiras, Wilmar.  (1953). Children of the Atom.  Garden City, NY:  Nelson Doubleday, Inc.  

• Sony Pictures UK.  (2010).  Cloudy with a chance of meatballs - Dock scene.  Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RM5hHfvFA

• Sony Pictures.  (2010).  Cloudy with a chance of meatballs - Jello scene.  Retrieved September 20, 2012, from http://youtu.be/aXv4i3Hz2GQ

• Tolan, Stephanie.  (1996).  Is it a cheetah?  Retrieved June 24, 2009, from http://www.stephanietolan.com/is_it_a_cheetah.htm

• Tolan, Stephanie S.  (2000).  Welcome to the Ark.  HarperTeen.  

Interpretations:

• Some studies indicate that the brains of gifted individuals may function more efficiently as a result of differences in structure and organization.  For example, more dense gray matter in the prefrontal cortex and more white matter tracts may facilitate attentional control, critical thinking, decision-making, working memory, and other executive functions (Navas-Sanchez, et al., 2014; Nestor, et al., 2015; Sousa, 2009; Tetreault, Haase, & Duncan, 2016). A thicker corpus callosum (Barbara & Kerr, 2009) may enable a more efficient use of cognitive resources and more integrated cognitive processing across the two hemispheres of the brain (Jaušovec, 2000; Jin, et al., 2006), while thicker myelin sheaths around individual neurons and more synaptic connections may facilitate faster cognitive processing.

• Some research suggests that people who have been classified as "gifted" may be especially sensitive to certain kinds of stimulation.  These sensitivities have been classified into five major domains:

• Emotional (often displayed as deep emotional attachment, extremes, or intensity)

• Imaginational (frequently expressed as a penchant for fantasy, imaginative play, inventiveness, and visual forms of cognition such as imagery or metaphor)

• Intellectual (regularly exhibited as high levels of concentration, intense inquisitiveness, metacognition, and abstract thinking that focuses on analysis, synthesis, or theory-building)

• Psychomotor (typically manifested as excess energy and enthusiasm, impulsivity, rapid speech, and physical expression of emotional tension through competitiveness, compulsiveness, nervous habits, or workaholism

• Sensual (often visible in attention to aesthetics, the derivation of pleasure from sensory input, and overindulgence during periods of stress) (Fielder, 1998; Webb, 2009)

• These "heightened levels of awareness, energy, and emotional response" are a NORMAL part of the developmental trajectory for "gifted" individuals (Azpeitia & Rocamora, 1994; Tolan, 1996; Webb, 2009). However, the feedback that many gifted individuals receive while living life on a daily basis tends to send the message that much of what is at the core of who they are and what they care about is completely abnormal (Tolan, 1994).

• This message is reinforced by the fact that the development of "gifted" individuals often occurs asynchronously, with intellectual development typically preceding social and emotional development.  Thus, these individuals are frequently "out of sync" with the rest of the world in general, and their same-age peers in particular.  Although most gifted individuals are very aware of this fact, many blame this lack of synchronicity on personal deficiencies or idiosyncracies rather than recognizing that it is a very "normal" part of giftedness (Clark, 2002; Fielder, 1998; King, 2009; Tolan, 1994; Webb, 2009).

• Educators also frequently fail to recognize the psychosocial tensions that such asynchronous development produces.  Teachers typically focus on qualitative differences between the knowledge and skills of gifted individuals and those of their peers, failing to realize that they are physical manifestations of less visible phenomena, such as marked differences in the focus of their interest and attention, in their energy and concentration levels, in the rationales underlying their goals and motivations, in their thoughts and interpretations regarding the world, and in the way they represent their understandings (Shavinina, 2008; Tolan, 1994).  Educators who do not recognize these qualitative differences between gifted individuals and the other students in their classes may adopt approaches to managing gifted students that require them to do more difficult work, in larger quantities, at a faster pace or of higher quality that that required of their peers.  The needs and behaviors of gifted individuals are also frequently misinterpreted for similar reasons, and both teachers and employers may find such individuals difficult to engage, difficult to manage, and difficult to understand.

• The personal challenges associated with the heightened sensitivities that many gifted individuals experience include managing intense emotional reactions to daily events, finding outlets for an overabundance of creativity and/or energy, inadequate intellectual or sensory stimulation, insufficient emotional intimacy, intense perfectionism and self-criticism, and setting appropriate boundaries for self and others (Azpeitia & Rocamora, 1994; Perrone, et. al, 2007; Rinn & Bishop, 2015; Streznewski, 1999; Tolan, 1994; Webb, 2009).

• Major life events or stresses frequently catalyze displays of hypersensitivities in most people, but such displays tend to occur more frequently, last longer, and manifest more intensely in gifted individuals.  This often intensifies the aforementioned difficulties with interpersonal relationships among family, friends, teachers, and employers, and may even lead uninformed health care professionals to misdiagnose these individuals with attention deficit disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, neuroses, or other psychological problems (Azpeitia & Rocamora, 1994; Mika, 2002; Streznewski, 1999; Tolan, 1996).  

• A number of studies have noted a strong correlation between giftedness and perfectionism.  Gifted individuals frequently set goals for themselves based on their intellectual capacity rather than on what may be developmentally appropriate or realistic given their chronological age.  They may also evaluate their performance in comparison with that of their associates (who often tend to be older or more accomplished than they are), irrespective of the criteria that would be considered realistic given their lack of experience with the particular field they are exploring.  They may also become so accustomed to success at an early age due to their well-developed cognitive skills that they question their own intelligence when confronted with failure--a phenomenon known as "the impostor syndrome" (Perrone, et. al, 2007).  However, when the “positive energy” of perfectionistic tendencies is harnessed in productive ways, such tendencies can become great resources for personal development.  Some research suggests that the ability of gifted individuals to accomplish this is tied to whether or not they adopt a resilient approach to failure (King, 2009; Perrone, et. al, 2007; Silverman, 2007).   

• The hypersensitivities that typically accompany giftedness are especially problematic for females, many of whom are keenly aware of the gap between who they are and what society expects them to be.  The message that their "appearance and sociability" are the primary source of their value to society pervades historical traditions, permeates the media, and is perpetuated by textbooks in which well-known male "experts" blatantly characterize women as inferior.  Gifted girls are socialized to believe that they are less capable than men, and many begin to lose confidence in both their abilities and in the validity of their perceptions as they reach puberty.  Such perspectives are often further reinforced as high-achieving women interact with competitive men in male-dominated fields and workplaces.  Gifted women also lack widely-recognized, high achieving female role models to counter that message, and those who are courageous enough to ignore the message face strong social sanctions when their interests and behaviors deviate from traditional roles and expectations for females (King, 2009; Perrone, et. al, 2007; Silverman, 2005; Tolan, 1994).  Thus, gifted females are often faced with a continual choice between intellectual fulfillment and social acceptance.

• Finally, it should be noted that although the characteristics of giftedness persist throughout the lifespan, the lives of many gifted adults do not necessarily manifest those characteristics (in terms of career accomplishments, eminence, salary, or personal achievements) (Rinn & Bishop, 2015; Streznewski, 1999).

• In summary, gifted individuals frequently experience the world in qualitatively different ways from their same-aged peers. Their extreme sensitivity to their environment, their capacity to handle conceptual complexity, and their resultant skill in a variety of domains enables them to absorb vast quantities of intellectual, emotional, and sensory input.  As a result, they require adequate challenge and stimulation in order to avoid boredom and frustration.  Additionally, the sensitivities of gifted individuals kindle a variety of interests, fuel a passionate commitment to pursuits they value, and spark intense reactions to life’s events.  On the other hand, such sensitivities (in conjunction with the perfectionism that tends to be highly correlated with giftedness) position gifted individuals to be acutely aware of incongruity between their own beliefs and actions, as well as injustice in the world at large.  When their vision for the future or themselves exceeds their existing ability to implement it, they may become discouraged or even clinically depressed.  Furthermore, because few others are likely to share their passions and intensities, gifted individuals (especially females) may feel forced to sacrifice who they are in pursuit of emotional intimacy or social relationships.

 References/Further Reading:

• Azpeitia, Lynne, & Mary Rocamora.   (1994, November).  Misdiagnosis of the gifted.  Mensa Bulletin.  Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://www.talentdevelop.com/articles/Page10.html 

• Bainbridge, Carol.  (2010).  Dabrowski’s overexcitabilities or supersensitivities in gifted children.  About.com.  Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/a/overexcite.htm   

• Barbara, A., & Kerr, B. A. (2009).  Encyclopedia of giftedness, creativity, and talent.  Sage Publications, Inc.

• Bronson, Po. (2007, Feb. 11). How not to talk to your kids: The inverse power of praise. New York Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2010, from http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/

• Clark, B. (2002). Growing up gifted: Developing the potential of children at home and at school. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

• Daniels, S. & Piechowski, M. M. (Eds.).  (2009).  Living with intensity: Understanding the sensitivity, excitability, and emotional development of gifted children, adolescents, and adults.  Great Potential Press, Inc.

• Fiedler, Ellen.  (1998, Spring).  Foundations for understanding the social-emotional needs of the highly gifted, The Hollingworth Center, 12(1), 3-5. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/dabrowskis_theory_existential_depression_feb09.pdf   

• Jacobsen, Mary-Elaine.  (1999).  The gifted adule:  A revolutionary guide for liberating everyday genius.  The Random House Publishing Group.

• Jaušovec, N. (2000). Differences in cognitive processes between gifted, intelligent, creative, and average individuals while solving complex problems: An EEG study.  Intelligence, 28(3), 213-237.  Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289600000374

• Jin, S. H., Kwon, Y. J., Jeong, J. S., Kwon, S. W., & Shin, D. H. (2006). Differences in brain information transmission between gifted and normal children during scientific hypothesis generation.  Brain and Cognition, 62(3), 191-197.  Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262606000984

• King, Lance G. (2009). The importance of failing well: An exploration of the relationship between resilience and academic achievement. The University of Waikato. Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://waikato.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10289/2807

• Kuipers, W. (2011).  Enjoying the gift of being uncommon:  Extra intelligent, intense, and effective.  Voorburg, The Netherlands:  Kuipers & Van Kempen.

• Kuipers, W. (2007).  How to charm gifted adults into admitting giftedness:  Their own and somebody else's.  Advanced Development Journal, 11, 1-25.  Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.xi2.nl/bronnen/Resources/How%20to%20charm%20gifted%20adults.pdf 

• Maisel, E.  (2013).  Why smart people hurt:  A guide for the bright, the sensitive, and the creative.  Conari Press.

• Mika, Elizabeth. (2002). Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration.  Retrieved January 24, 2010, from http://www.talentdevelop.com/articles/DTOPD.html

• Navas-Sánchez, F. J., Alemán-Gómez, Y., Sánchez-Gonzalez, J., Guzmán, De-Villoria, J.A., Franco, C., Robles, O., ...Desco, M.  (2014).  White matter microstructure correlates of mathematical giftedness and intelligence quotient. Human Brain Mapping, 35(6), 2619–2631.  Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/hbm.22355/full

• Nestor, P.G., Nakamura, M., Niznikiewicz, M., Levitt, J.J., Newell, D.T., Shenton, M. E., & McCarley, R. W. (2015). Attentional control and intelligence: MRI orbital frontal gray matter and neuropsychological correlates. Behavioural Neurology, 2015, e354186. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/354186  

• Perrone, Kristin M., Philip A. Perrone, Tracy M. Ksiazak, Stephen L. Wright, & Z. Vance Jackson.  (2007).  Self-perception of gifts and talents among adults in a longitudinal study of academically talented high-school graduates.  Roeper Review, 29(4), 259-264.  Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Self-perception+of+gifts+and+talents+among+adults+in+a+longitudinal...-a0166696356

• Prober, P.  (2016).  Your rainforest mind:  A guide to the well-being of gifted adults and youth.  Olympia, WA:  GHF Press.

• Rinn, A.N., & Bishop, J.  (2015).  Gifted adults:  A systematic review and analysis of the literature. Gifted Child Quarterly, 59(4), 213–235.

• Shavinina, Levinia V.  (2008).  A unique type of representation is the essence of giftedness:  Towards a cognitive-developmental theory.  The International Handbook on Giftedness.  Dordrecht, the Netherlands:  Springer Science & Business Media.

• Silverman, L. K. (1988). Different worlds at the extremes. Colorado: Gifted Development Center. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/~jwosbor2/otherfiles/PSY304/Different%20Worlds.pdf

• Silverman, L. K. (2007). Perfectionism: The crucible of giftedness. Gifted Education International, 23(3), 233. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://nmgifted.org/GAC%20Resources/Perfectionism%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Giftedness-SILVERMAN.pdf  

• Silverman, L. K. (2005). Who cares if i’m smart, am I thin enough? The Hague, The Netherlands: European Council of International Schools & The Institute for the Study of Advanced Development.  Retrieved February 14, 2010, from http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/PDF_files/Who%20Cares%20if%20I%27m%20Smart.pdf 

• Sousa, D. A. (Ed.). (2009).  How the gifted brain learns.  Corwin Press.

• Streznewski, M.K.  (1999).  Gifted grown-ups:  The mixed blessings of extraordinary potential.  John Wiley & Sons.  

• Tetreault, N., Haase, J., & Duncan, S.  (2016).  The gifted brain.  Retrieved from http://www.gro-gifted.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/GRO-article-Phase-1-a-final-3_24_16.pdf

• Tolan, S. (1994). Discovering the gifted ex-child. Roeper Review, Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted Website, 17(2), 134-38. Retrieved from http://www.novosite.nl/editor/assets/amstelwijzer/Tolan_DiscoveringTheGiftedExChild.pdf  

• Treffinger, Donald J.  (2004).  Creativity and giftedness.  Corwin Press.

• Webb, James T.  (2009).  Dabrowski's theory and existential depression in gifted children and adults.  Paper presented August 7, 2008 at the 8th International Congress of the Institute for Positive Disintegration, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Other References

• Card, Orson Scott.  (1978/1987).  Songmaster.  NY:  Tom Doherty Associates.

The Diversification of Social Investments

During tax time, one can't help but think about finances. However, I find the topic a rather tedious one. It comes as no surprise, then, that I found my mind wandering away from the numbers and into other realms such as social capital--specifically, investments of a social nature. If you were asked to describe your cadre of friends and acquaintances in terms of an investment portfolio, what would you say?

Have you invested your resources into a series of "pre-set mixes"--default groupings determined primarily as a matter of convenience, but somewhat aligned with your prevailing perspective on social investment? After all, it is easy to add the people who occupy the places in which you spend the most time (church members, colleagues from work, neighbors, etc.) to your portfolio of acquaintances. Then again, perhaps you make your social investments based on the degree to which you can comfortably and easily slip into a pre-defined role? The adult world isn't all that different from high school in this regard. There is always some person or organization looking for someone to be their all-star athlete, cheerleader, coach, clown, teacher, techie, etc.

Perhaps you prefer to have a bit more control over your social portfolio, so although you avoid the pre-set mixes, you play it safe--investing in very stable, low-risk, but also low-yield friendships? On the other hand, maybe short-term, high-yield relationships constitute the majority of your social portfolio? This strategy can be risky, and requires constant vigilance and adjustment.

I have also been thinking about the recent credit crisis, market crashes, and ensuing recessions. It seems to me that these events also offer lessons about social relationships. For example, one-sided friendships are not generally sustainable when crisis hits. One cannot live on social credit (i.e., indebtedness) in the long term any more than one can indefinitely live on financial credit. Putting all one's eggs in the same social basket carries its own set of risks and potential consequences. It not only makes us vulnerable when a crisis, emergency, or natural disaster shakes the social group, but also limits our access to information, new perspectives, and ultimately, to growth. And how is a person to recover who has been burned when a "company" in which they have invested everything fails and there is no bailout available to salvage the relationship? And on a larger scale, what about social recession? What happens when people stop participating in the social economy, when they are afraid to invest in the larger social economy, or when they withdraw their social resources from society?

My own musings have led me to the conclusion that it may be time to diversify my social portfolio. This has some pretty interesting implications--in terms of how to identify potentially worthwhile investments, how much to risk, and the degree to which it is possible to protect against catastrophic loss.

Thoughts?

The Conversation Connoisseurs

Someone gave me the unexpected gift of a scintillating conversation on New Year's Eve. (Yes, I also did "fun" things like play Karaoke Revolution and Dance, Dance Revolution!) We got to chatting about why "good" conversations are so uncommon and about what makes a conversation a "good" one. As we talked we determined that most conversations are "chips and salsa conversations"—small talk that requires almost no preparation and very little knowledge of the other person. It spices up our lives a bit (depending, of course, on the brand of salsa) and the "chips" momentarily satisfy our hunger for social contact.

We decided that the second most common kind of conversations are "M&M conversations"—spontaneous, exchanges of banter that come in a variety of fun colors and flavors. Their candy-coating of fun tends to "melt in your mouth, not in your hands," but once you have ingested them and the delectable chocolate of playfulness that encases them dissolves, sometimes nothing else remains. Every once in awhile though, you may get lucky enough to find a tiny bit of substance (a.k.a. a peanut) at the core! Hence, their layered nature makes them a little more complex than "chips and salsa" conversations in many ways, and requires that the participants know one another to some extent (after all, some people are deathly allergic to peanuts!).

We termed the least common kind of conversations "lasagna conversations." These kinds of conversations consist of a wide variety of ingredients, demand quite a bit of preparation, and require a great deal of "cooking time" (i.e. it would be difficult to have such a conversation in the space of just a few minutes unless participants were to pre-cook some of the ingredients). When well-prepared, "lasagna conversations" are much more flavorful, nutritious, and satisfying than other conversations. However, many people avoid "making" such conversations because they are more expensive in that they require a greater investment of self, involve more effort, and require more skill. It takes both experience and practice to whip up a tasty one!

Gotta love lasagna (well, actually, I can think of a lot of other foods that I would prefer over lasagna, but for the sake of the metaphor . . . )!