Socio- Affective Characteristics and Personalogical Development
of the Gifted Child
Introduction
This assignment is a discussion on the topic of giftedness and talent
development. The discussion explores the topic by defining giftedness
and how it’s related to talent. It archives this through looking at the
socio- affective characteristics and personalogical development of the
gifted child, and how they interact to assist or hinder the development
of talents by the gifted children.
In the assignment therefore, the argument is that both socio- affective
characteristics and personalogical development of the gifted child may
have positive or negative effects on the gifted child, depending on
how the parents, teachers and guardians respond to his or her needs.
Those children, whose giftedness is properly nurtured, are able to
develop the relevant skills and vice versa. The discussion is based on
Francoys Gange’s model of giftedness as well as on various other
readings.
Discussion. The Gifted Child
Many scholars have for some time been grappling with the question of
who really is a gifted child. Giftedness has usually been confused with
talent, with some scholars like Joseph S. Renzulli, and Robert
Sternberg using both giftedness and talent as synonyms (Rensuli,
Smith, White, Callahan, & Hartman, 1976).
Some of the pioneers of the field of giftedness in education include
Terman and Hollingworth. These two are believed to have been the
first to notice the remarkable differences between the gifted
individuals and the general population (Hollingworth, 1926).
After the pioneer work by the above scholars in mid 1920s, other
scholars like Tannenbaum Witty, Benbow and Stanely took the
discussion on the topic a notch higher by establishing the differences
between the gifted individuals and the general population in terms of
aptitudes, temperament, family backgrounds and ability levels (Witty,
1930) and (Benbow &Stanley, 1983).
In recent years after the works of these scholars, psychologists
developed some scales to measure and rate these characteristics in an
attempt to quantify the most prominent behavioural indicators of
giftedness.
As recent as 2000, Francoys Gange developed what was referred to as
Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) which is also
referred to as the developmental theory.
In the theory, Francoys Gange argues that giftedness is a pre-requisite
of talent development and therefore a person may not become talented
without being gifted in the first place. However, according to him, a
person may just retain his or her giftedness without developing a
talent but the reverse is not true (Gange, n.d).
In DMGT, giftedness is simply defined as a natural ability which is
not necessarily innate, but has some genetic linkages. However,
scholars are yet to unravel the mystery of the linkage of giftedness to
genetics. Giftedness may also refer to an above average intellectual
ability among the peers as well as a high cognitive ability than that of
the peers.
Talent on the other hand is defined as skills, competencies and
expertise acquired through the process of learning. Talent may or may
not emanate from giftedness; with talent emanating from giftedness
being more versatile than the one emanating from normal learning.
Talent may also refer to various forms of excellence like in
technology, sports or arts. In the words of Francoys Gange giftedness
and talent may be differentiated as follows;
‘GIFTEDNESS designates the possession and use of outstanding
natural abilities, called aptitudes, in at least one ability domain, to a
degree that places an individual at least among the top 10% of age
peers’ (Gange, 2005. pp. 98-119).
‘TALENT designates the outstanding mastery of systematically
developed abilities, called competencies(knowledge and skills), in at
least one field of human activity to a degree that places an individual
at least among the top 10% of age peers who are or have been active
in that field’ (Gange, 2005. pp. 98-119).
Francoys Gange goes ahead to conclude that as, I quote, ‘talent
development corresponds to the progressive transformation of gifts
into talents. According to the DMGT theory, talent development
constitutes of five components namely gift, talent, talent development,
intrapersonal and the environment catalysts designated as G, T, D,I
and E respectively.
The interaction of these five components may either assist or hinder
the transformation of giftedness into talent(s). In the following
section, I will discuss in brief these five components of talent
development (Gange, 1998. pp.87–95).
Components of Talent Development
The gift (G) component
This component constitutes of other six sub components namely the
creative (GC), intellectual (GI), social (GS), perceptual (GP), motor
control reflexes (GR) and muscular (GM) abilities.
According to Francoys Gange, these natural abilities may be observed
in children as they perform various tasks like understanding
mathematical concepts, reading and learning a foreign language,
speaking, composing a song or a poem, writing a story, social abilities
in interactions as well as physical and perceptual abilities like
dancing, doing crafts and sculpture work (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74).
Francoys Gange argues that these gifts manifest themselves in young
children mainly because at that age, systematic learning is usually
absent. It therefore follows that the more the children are exposed to
systematic learning, the more these gifts are transformed into various
talents during adulthood (Van Tassel- Baska, 1983. pp.139-144).
The Talents (T) Component
The World-of-Work classification of occupations classifies talents
into nine sub-components, six of which are based on John Holland’s
well-known Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional (RIASEC) classification of personality, with the other
three namely games, academic (K-12) subjects, and sports serving as
complements of the other six in RIASEC.
In DMGT, most of these talents are easily measured using various
scales like exams, standardized achievements as well as various
assessments in various occupations and fields of excellence. In the
DMGT model, there is no room for elitism, which attributes talent
development on learning, education and qualifications, but rather, a
presence of giftedness and talents in many individuals in the general
population (Sternberg, 2004. pp.79-95).
The Talent Development Process (D) Component
This process is believed to begin as soon as an individual, either a
child, an adult or an adolescent enters a systematic talent oriented
development program mostly through the process of identification.
This component is composed of other the sub- components namely
progress (DP), activities (DA), and investment (DI). The main
components of talent development activities include the curriculum
offered in a specific format (DAF) and specific content (DAC).
The learning environment or format may either be structured, for
example in school or unstructured, also known as autodidactic
learning. In the DMGT model, the development of a talent takes place
in a gradual and progressive manner, moving from novice, advanced,
proficient and expert (Colangelo & Davis, 2003).
During this process, which is mostly a longitudinal one, the teacher or
coach is able to note the peak of the talentee during various activities
or occasions like death of a loved one, manifestation of love and
excellent performance in various fields by the talentee which becomes
outstanding and unique.
Talentees may also be unique in the manner in which they spend their
money, time and psychological energies, with most of them recording
outstanding and unique approaches to these issues (Gange,
1999.pp.109-136).
Intrapersonal (I) component
This component is also referred to as the intrapersonal catalyst and
constitutes of two other sub-components namely the physical and
mental traits and the goal oriented process. The physical traits include
things like race, ethnicity and chronic illness while the mental traits
include things like personality and temperament.
These traits, both physical and mental may positively or negatively
impact on the individual’s ability to develop talents from natural
giftedness (Heller & Kurt, 2000.pp.67-79).
The goal oriented process constitutes of three other sub-components
namely motivation (IM), awareness (IW), and volition (IV).
Awareness of their personal strengths and weaknesses enables the
talentees to adequately plan the development of goal identification
activities.
The talentees are also motivated by the achievement of some goals,
which makes them specialize on such areas thus developing specific
talents. Failure in some areas leads to less interest and lowered
motivation in those fields, thus a low probability in developing talents
in those areas (Gross, 2004).
The Environmental (E) component
This component is also referred to as environmental catalyst and
constitutes of three other sub-components namely the individuals (EI),
milieu (EM), and provisions (EP).
EI sub-component constitutes the talentees’ social environment, and
more so, the influence of the significant others like siblings, parents,
teachers, public figures, mentors, and trainers as well as peers on the
taletees. The actions of these significant others may influence the
talent development by the gifted individuals either positively or
negatively (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74).
The EM constitutes of physical, social and economic environments in
which the gifted individual find himself or herself in. Physical
environment may include things like climate and the nature of the
neighbourhood which may be either a rural or an urban setting.
The social environment may involve things like the social and cultural
environment of the general population in the place where the gifted
child grows in while the economic aspect may include things like the
financial status of the parents and family of the gifted child (Gange,
2003.pp.60-74).
EP sub-component constitutes the talent development programs and
services and is sub-divided into two sub-categories namely
administration and enrichment , with enrichment referring to some
specific talent development curriculum while administrative provision
referring to the part time or full time grouping, grade skipping, early
enrolment in schools as well as the advanced placement programs
(Gange, 2003.pp.60-74).
Chance
Apart from these five components of the development process,
psychologists have identified another component referred to as chance
and the role it plays in the development process. According to
Francoys Gange, chance ‘represents the degree of control that
talentees have over environmental influences’.
According to John William Atkinson, chance becomes relevant in the
DMGT model in that we are not able to control the backgrounds in
which we are born as well as our genetic make-up, yet, these two
greatly influence the G and I components in the DMGT model.
Chance therefore plays an important role in talent development
because giftedness is influenced by genetic makeup, as well as the
social, cultural, physical and economic backgrounds in which we find
ourselves in (Gange, 2003.pp.60-74).
After discussing the talent development process, I will now turn to the
socio- affective characteristics and personalogical development of the
gifted children and how they influence their talent development. I
would like to mention at the outset that giftedness is a natural ability,
which may positively or negatively affect the gifted individual
depending on the environment in which he or she grows in (Gange,
2003.pp.60-74).
Many scholars in gifted education have argued that gifted children
have special needs, which must be addressed so as to enable their
natural abilities to be transformed into useful talents, as well as
mitigate any negative effects of their giftedness.
Many countries, led by the United States seem to have recognized the
needs of the gifted children, and have thus established specialized
schools and training for the gifted children with a view of nurturing
their natural abilities so as to transform them into very useful talents.
These countries also believe that there are many gifted children and if
well nurtured, their natural abilities may be transformed into excellent
talents which may put them well ahead of other countries in various
fields like technology, commerce, sports and the fight against crime
(Mills & Jackson, 1990. pp. 410-422).
Before discussing the characteristics, I would like to point out some of
the issues which must be born in mind when discussing these
characteristics. One of them is that it is not all gifted children who will
portray these characteristics, meaning that some will exhibit specific
characteristics but not others.
It is also important to bear in mind that these characteristics are
developmental, meaning that some children may show them as early
as during childhood while others may show them during later stages
of development. Also important to note is that some of these
characteristics only appear when the gifted children are engaged in an
aptitude or some areas of interest (McMillen, Eckert & Little, n.d).
The Characteristics of Gifted Children and How They Assist or
Hinder Talent Development
Preference of independent work
Many gifted children prefer working alone in many activities, even
those which require partnership with other children. This may be
attributed to their ability to manage their issues properly without any
assistance.
It shows their exceptional ability to come up with appropriate
solutions to problems or challenges as well as their ability to think
abstractly, so as to come up with solutions to many challenges which
may need group efforts to solve (Neither,Reis,Robinson & Moon,
2002).
This characteristic may affect the child in a positive manner in that if
the child is assisted and guided by a mentor or instructor, he or she
becomes motivated to come up with solutions to his or her personal
problems, thus becoming an independent minded person.
Such nurturance may also lead to enhanced creativity, which is a pre-
requisite of innovation. When they are left to work in groups, this may
inhibit their ability to think independently and come up with new and
independent ideas. It may also inhibit their reasoning by the fear of
appearing too exceptional among their peers (Silverman, 1993).
If gifted children are not properly nurtured, they may develop
antisocial behaviour, which may lead to their isolation by their peers.
This is because their ability to develop and carry on with the unique
behaviour of working alone may lower their self-esteem through
perceiving themselves as abnormal instead of exceptional to others.
There is therefore the need for care givers to motivate the gifted
children to be more independent by informing them that they are not
being deviant, but rather, are doing very constructive and important
work for themselves and the society at large (Cox, Daniel & Boston,
1985).
Multiple interests
Gifted children are unique in that they are able to have multiple
interests at the same time unlike the other children who usually have
their interests in a prioritized manner. This is attributed to their high
cognitive abilities, which enables them to have the energy to pursue
and concentrate in several areas of interest at the same time.
In situations where the gifted children are given the opportunity to
explore various aspects of life, they are able to develop and master
multiple talents. On the other hand, the lack of enabling environment
for exploration may lead to frustration of the children, which may in
turn lead to slowed development in their various aspects of life.
Emotional intensity
Usually, children are not supposed to have emotions like love, grieve
or embarrassment. In contrast, gifted children portray emotional
intensity at very early ages in life. They are able to have emotional
feelings triggered by death or the absence of something which they
adore. Their emotional sensitivity makes them suitable for theatre
activities which is itself a talent.
However, if other children realize that they are overly sensitive to
various emotions, this may become a problem because the other
children, out of ignorance would often disturb the gifted children by
evoking such emotions in them, which may hinder the development of
the respective talents in them due to lack of the enabling environment
to do so.
Perfectionism
Many gifted children are overly concerned about being perfect in
everything instead of being excellent. They like to be perfect in
academics, social life as well as in their decision making. They feel
very angry when they make a mistake no matter how slight it might
be.
This tendency may be a resource especially because it makes the child
work hard so as to be perfect. This may result in his or her excellence
in various fields which in turn develops into various skills and talents.
However, perfectionism may lead to anxiety and fear of failing to
accomplish what they want in the way they want it. This may in turn
lead to developmental challenges among the gifted children in that it
leads to a feeling of guilt, which interferes with their maximum
development.
The gifted children therefore need to be nurtured and made to
understand that while it is a virtue to work hard, it is good to
understand that it is unrealistic for them to be perfect in everything
they do, and therefore, the goal of being perfect should be replaced
with the goal of achieving excellence. This can go to great lengths in
transforming their hard work into useful talents in their areas of
interests.
Altruism and idealism
Gifted children have strong passion in helping and working for others
at early ages in life. They are very interested in helping their parents
and friends as well as peers. They also like doing volunteer work in
hospitals or in various humanitarian organizations or initiatives. This
rather puzzling passion forms a basis for a career in various
humanitarian fields like advocacy, charity work, philanthropy and
diplomacy.
However, if the goals of the parents and significant others are not
compatible with those of the gifted child; they may not be
collaborative and supportive to the child. Similarly, in social cultural
environments which do not embrace altruism and idealism, the child
may inhibit such a talent and may as well develop the opposite, thus
becoming rebellious, cruel and in extreme cases, a sadist.
Good sense of humour
Many gifted children are able to play around with their social
environment, using words, gestures or actions which transform a
painful or tense situation to a friendly and humorous one, thus
defusing any tension either within themselves or in others.
This ability comes from their natural ability to understand various
situations and their opposites, thus able to construct jokes, talks and
actions which echo the painful or harmful situation, but in an opposite
or less painful or harmful version.
This ability, if well nurtured, especially in environment which
encourages theatre and comic satires may help the gifted children
excel in theatre work. However, if the socio cultural environment does
not embrace humour, the child may not develop this particular talent.
The other negative side of a good sense of humour is that it can
sometimes lead to more developmental problems, especially if the
child uses it to cover up his or her developmental challenges or weird
personality traits. This is because the weird personality traits or
developmental challenges are camouflaged, and continues to build up
without being discovered as early as possible, so that the necessary
steps are taken to deal with it.
Strong attachments and commitments
Many gifted children usually form more intense friendships and
attachments to people who are order than them than with their peers.
This may be attributed mainly to their natural ability to emulate others
and excel in various fields or areas of interest.
They are also overly committed to their work, more so during
adulthood. This characteristic is useful for them, especially if they
grow in environments which value mentorship of young children by
their older counter parts.
If assisted to attach themselves to people who are respectable and who
have excelled in career or in some talents, the gifted children may
develop good talents at their adulthood.
However, in environments where there are few or no good role models
to emulate, gifted children may end up emulating or attaching
themselves to people with poor and undesirable characteristics, thus
acquiring and perfecting bad behaviours, morals and values.
The power of concentration
Many gifted children display an exceptional ability to concentrate and
an ability to deal with a specific problem for a long time than their
peers. If they are given an ample time to concentrate without
inference, they are able to excel in that specific field(s), be it science,
mathematics or technology, which may form a strong foundation for
their future career in those areas of interest.
However, if disrupted or denied the time to learn how to concentrate
at early age, this may hinder their later excellence in these areas of
interests.
Ability to generate original ideas
The gifted child is able to come up with original ideas, which are free
from any external influence either alone or in partnership with others.
The ideas may be in one field, like in technology or in multiple areas,
like in technology, mathematics or social studies. This ability is useful
in that it may lead to the specialization of the child in a single or
multiple fields.
However, there is the need for the parents, teachers and siblings to
support the child psychologically so as to reinforce the ability to
generate these ideas. If the gifted child grows in an environment
where nobody seems to recognize his or her ability, this may
compromise his or her abilities to excel in these areas of interests in
future life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this discussion has explored the topic of giftedness and
talent. It has emerged that giftedness leads to the development of
various talents. The talent development process has also been
discussed whereby it has emerged that it is composed of five main
components namely giftedness, talent, talent development process,
intrapersonal and environmental catalysts.
Various characteristics of giftedness have also been discussed and
how they interact with the socio cultural environment to either assist
or hinder the development of talents by gifted children.
What has emerged in all the characteristics is that giftedness is not a
guarantee of talent development, but rather, it can lead to the
acquisition of good or bad talents depending on the manner in which
the gifted child is brought up and whether giftedness is nurtured so as
to develop into the respective talent(s).
If gifted children are left alone without guidance and nurturance, their
natural abilities may be reduced to burdens to themselves or to the
society, but if they are properly nurtured, such natural abilities may be
tapped and transformed into useful skills and talents, which can help
many countries in their development.
It is for these reasons that many countries have established specialized
schools and trainings for gifted children, so as to identify various
natural abilities at the very early ages, and nurture them into useful
talents through giving the gifted children the necessary motivation and
setting the necessary learning environment for them to fully develop
such talents.
However, research is still going on in order to identify relationship
between genetics and giftedness so as to adequately understand the
needs of the gifted children in order to reap the maximum talents from
them (Terman,1925).
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