The study examined the relationship between implicit theories of intelligence and psychosocial competencies (measured as adaptability, general mood, intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, and stress management), the differences in these competencies between gifted students and nonidentified gifted students, and typologies of these variables…

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…

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…

Overexcitability is a component in Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration. This cross-sectional study investigated the psychological profile, including the five overexcitability dimensions (psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, emotional), of three talented groups of dancers (n = 84), opera singers (n = 62), and athletes…

This study used clustering to classify Chinese gifted students based on their scores on the High Standards and Discrepancy subscales of the Almost Perfect Scale--Revised (APS-R). The interpretation of the three clusters as nonperfectionists, unhealthy perfectionists, and healthy perfectionists was supported by results comparing these groups on…

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…

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 exploratory study of 79 high school students examined overexcitability assessment as a potential method for identifying giftedness. Overexcitability (an intensified way of experiencing the world) can occur in five areas: psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. The measure of overexcitability differentiated gifted and…

Discussion of the creative self considers ideas of the described, not defined, self; the differentiated self; intensity, transformation, and development of the creative self; complexity of the creative self; the dialectical self; dialectical personality traits or bipolar mood disorder; and the inventive self. (DB)

This study of five gifted female adolescents examined their male-female relationships, independence, perceptions of ability and expectations for success, overreliance on social manipulation, motivation, ethic of caring, superwoman syndrome, and familial influences. The study found positive examples of the use of problem-solving strategies; it also…

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…

This study investigated achievement motivation based on a survey of 63 Latina women (43 doctoral graduates and 20 completers of doctoral coursework) and interviews with 10 of the women. Results indicated varying strengths in intrinsic achievement motives of mastery, work, competitiveness, and personal unconcern; low levels of sex-role…

Looks at early traits of self-efficacy in young gifted children in terms of a self that is aware and actively evaluative and seeks its own actualization. Three areas of expression of self-efficacy are depicted: the intellectual, the emotional, and the volitional. Parenting issues with regard to early self-efficacy are explored. (Author/DB)