Researchers have argued that many leaders, such as CEOs and politicians, tend to possess narcissistic traits. At healthy and productive levels, narcissistic traits, such as self-promotion, may actually be an advantage to achieving success in some fields. Yet, few researchers have explored gifted narcissists as a twice-exceptionality. This article…

Courage may be the most important gift of all. It is not something we are born with. It is not something that, for the most part, we learn in school. Rather, it is a choice that anyone can make--if they are willing to pay the price. This article discusses the gift of courage. It discusses what courage is, why it is important, and why it crucially…

The cognitive perceptions that enable gifted children to process academic information in superior ways also qualitatively impact the psychosocial dimensions of their lives. Overexcitabilities represent common super-sensitive areas in gifted children. However, giftedness does not end with adulthood and neither do the complex processes of…

Researchers explored the typology of perfectionism among 153 (46% male, 54% female; 88% White, 8% African American, 5% Asian American, 4% Hispanic, 1% Other) suburban gifted adolescents and compared perfectionism scores (using the Goals and Work Habits Survey, a modification of Frost's Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale [F-MPS]) to samples of…

Some terms of Dabrowski's theory are misleading. The construct of level and the concepts of integration and disintegration mean different things. The concept of primary integration as a starting point for personality development is untenable in light of research on child development. In its place, Level I as a type of development that is…

This article investigates downgrading from the highest level of secondary education in The Netherlands. "Downgrading" is defined as continuation of secondary education at a lower level. We conduct a longitudinal case study of downgrading in the first 3 years of a secondary school. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses are…

This study examined relationships between five personal traits and adolescents' creative activities and accomplishments in five domains--music, visual arts, creative writing, science, and technology. Participants were 439 tenth graders (220 males and 219 females) in China. The relationships were examined using confirmatory factor analysis.…

This study aimed to identify factors that influence acts of altruism among gifted female adolescents in Singapore within the context of their overseas learning experiences. Ten teacher-nominated gifted adolescents from ages 15 to 17 who had exceeded the mandated hours (12 hours per year) of voluntary community service in their school were the…

The author describes the concept of developmental potential that addresses the personality correlates of high ability and suggests an alternative to the IQ test method of identifying individuals with high potential. (CL)

Seven gifted seventh graders designated as high creative experienced and responded to their environment with a greater intensity than seven Ss designated as low creative, as indicated by a comparison of the marked difference between imaginational, emotional, and intellectual overexcitabilities. (CL)

Six personality types are characteristic of gifted children: the perfectionist, the child/adult (with a need to be in charge), the winner of the competition, the exception, the self-critic, and finally, the well-integrated child. The gifted child's emotional development should be considered in his/her education. (CL)

Subjects (199) attending a self-contained high school for the intellectually gifted were given the High School Personality Questionnaire. The instrument failed to discriminate between those individuals who actually held a leadership position and those who did not. Difference in personality characteristics between the two groups was significant,…

Levels of multidimensional perfectionism were compared in gifted (N=83) and regular (N=112) middle school students. Results indicated that gifted students had significantly higher standards scores, a measure of adaptive perfectionism, and significantly lower discrepancy scores, a measure of maladaptive perfectionism. Results suggest that gifted…

Explores the concept of spiritual sensitivity in children, noting that some gifted children show early evidence of an understanding of spiritual concepts. It examines the role of asynchrony in the development of spiritual concerns and offers examples of how gifted children experience these concerns in their everyday lives. (DB)

This study attempted to identify gifted child humorists among 1,204 children in grades 3-6. Final identification of 13 gifted child humorists was determined through application of such criteria as funniness, originality, and exemplary performance or product. The influence of intelligence, development, social factors, sex differences, family…