Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration describes patterns and explains mechanisms of human development and has been successfully applied to understanding of gifted individuals. This article shows how the concepts of chaos theory and self-organization such as the sensitivity to initial conditions, positive and negative feedback, bifurcation…

This essay examines the relationship of cognitive science, especially linguistics, to the development of the human mind, self, and intelligence. Linguistics is seen to contribute a complex computational ability to the sense of free will. Also considered as part of the integrated self are intuition, athletic intelligence, intellectual diversity,…

Explores giftedness from infancy to adolescence within a psychodynamic developmental framework. Gifted development is discussed in terms of drive, ego functions, object relations, and self-experience. Also discussed are the history of giftedness, gifted infants and preschoolers, gifted school-age children, and giftedness in male and female…

Research in the fields of management, leadership development, and human development is reviewed. The research suggests that the quality of an individual's personal life, the effectiveness of his/her professional work, and the lasting public value of his/her social contribution are contingent upon a coherent sense of personal integration and…

At the 2006 National Association of Gifted Children Conference, a panel presentation addressed the importance of providing gifted children with opportunities to take positive social action through service-learning; this article is a result of that discussion. The Future Problem Solving Program (among others) has a community problem-solving…

This study identified early conditions of successful adults, via a historical analysis of psychological traits and childhood environments of 38 notable 20th-century American women writers. The study rated multiple traits and conditions representing cognitive, affective, familial, and educational aspects. Results focus on the degree of persistence…

Seven profiles of extremely gifted children under the age of four are presented. Examination of the cognitive, social, and emotional profiles of these children suggests that no singular pattern characterizes their functioning. (DB)

This article demonstrates that the cognitive complexity and personality traits of gifted children create unique experiences and awarenesses that separate them from others. A central feature of children's gifted experience is their moral sensitivity and the asynchronous development of their inner world, which need to be understood and nurtured.…

This retrospective case study investigates the experiences of a highly gifted young artist and two mentors who guided his high school development. Examination of the mentors' influences on the artist's cognitive and affective development found that the mentorship validated the boy's style of thinking, sharpened metacognitive abilities, helped with…

Analysis of cognitive, psychoanalytical, and moral development theories of J. Piaget, O. Rank, E. Erikson, L. Kohlberg, D. Elkind, and C. Gilligan revealed teaching strategies for gifted adolescents which involve encouraging creativity and problem-solving skills; supporting student interests; developing students' positive self-esteem; exposing…

A study explored emerging, persistent cognitive style in four gifted preschoolers to investigate how gifted potential may be transformed or obscured as abilities are applied to tasks. Remarkable style consistencies among the screening analysis, summer program behaviors, and later reports of cognitive ability and styles in kindergarten and first…

A review of research indicates that early (including prenatal) continuous exposure to music not only positively influences children's advancing musical aptitude but also generates and increases children's abilities in some components of giftedness, such as problem solving, risk taking, and creativity. (Author/CB)

Two studies of high ability students' communal notions about the purposes of school and the fairness of classroom practices suggest that the moral and intellectual development of high ability students would be best fostered by collaborative learning practices and by educational programs that encourage them to seek knowledge that will be of value…

Reviews cognitive processes, control mechanisms, and structures in creative thinking, and examines the way these aspects of cognition develop from childhood to adulthood. The cognitive definition of creativity, cognitive approaches to novelty production, creativity and cognitive development, and mechanisms guiding cognitive processes are explored.…

Fifty-four gifted adolescents performed a creative generation task in which they imagined and drew fruit that might exist on another planet. They developed fruit that was rated as more original than developed by college students, and did so regardless of whether they were explicitly instructed to be more creative. (CR)