1. family and parenting
2. children

Who are the gifted children?
Gabriela Kelemen1
Abstract: Gifted are exceptional children with special qualities and needs. So that, it is
necessary to undertake educative actions their interest domain and their real level of
develop. In order to help the gifted children on their unique way, our research are
suggesting a formative programmer called Personalized Programmer for Gifted
Children's Education. The main components of this special programmer are: enrichment
of the curriculum, differentiation of instruction and mentoring for gifted children. The
activities proposed will be implemented as special academic programs in the regular
classroom, or as a pull-out/out-of class programs. The list of the full curriculum units is
based on selections from the domains of interest of the gifted children. Here they can find
units on music, art, math, language, chemistry, physics, and many others. The students
will be able to go up a couple of grades to find something appropriate for their level of
knowledge.
Key words: gifted child, identification, education, experiment, personalized
formative programmer
I. Gifted children - psycho-pedagogical considerations
Gifted education was always associated with very high intelligence, or superior
academic ability as measured by scores above average, with unusual achievements. In the
early twentieth century, with increasing interest and increasing research into methods of
investigation and metric evaluation based on psychometric, intelligence is associated with
a concept determined by these measurements and called IQ (intelligent quotient= IQ,
representing the proportion between mental age and chronological age, multiplied by
100).
In 1905, French psychologist, Binet Simon, has developed a scale to measure
intelligence, later improved under the name of - Stanford-Binet intelligence scale –
following to be adjusted gradually in the years of 1937, 1960, 1986.
Lewis M. Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University in 1916, said that
intelligence with a score over 140, is a specific of the genius, but today this is no longer
valid; the genius is much more than a score on the IQ scale.
Regarding high intelligence, there are considered gifted those children whose IQ
scores are above 140 on the WISC-R scale, or 148 on the Stanford-Binet scale, however,
experts agree that in the category of gifted children, children who have an IQ score
over 130 enter as well. Who are these children gifted? Can we speak of an identifiable
psychological profile? The fact is that these children have intelligence far above average,
but also a different way of perceiving reality. With regard to these children / young
gifted, psychologists say, metaphorically, that some people look at the world, but see it as
if wearing some misty lenses that distort reality, others look and relate to it as seen
through normal lenses, while gifted children observe the world and perceive it as if
viewed through lenses of a great performance. Indeed, gifted children observe and
perceive reality as seen through a microscope, and the geniuses perceive the surrounding
reality as seen through a professional electronic microscope. They distinguish things from
the surrounding reality in a way completely and utterly different from ordinary people, if
on the one hand this is an advantage, on the other hand is a big disadvantage, caused by
awareness of issues that they are different from the others and so the internal conflicts
appear. Their special cognitive capacity, accelerated to chronological age brings with it
many conflicts at the level of consciousness, generating problems. Asynchronous
1
Gabriela Kelemen
Email gabriela.kelemen@uav.ro
1
development on different levels causes emotional reactions and develops a specific
inadaptation, which will induce behaviour sometimes incompatible with school
meals. Gifted children need two things: to make amends with their state, and create the
proper conditions for them to develop their exceptional potential. Although highly gifted
children have the same needs like all other children, they certainly differ from ordinary
children and from other gifted children, as they are:
 Children with very high intellectual development;
 Children who are characterized by ability in specific areas;
 Children with extremely high developed talents.
It was established, according to statistics, that gifted children represents about 2%
of the population. It was found that the percentage is increasing in developed societies
due to different educational conditions that these children may choose from, this
providing them a development of their endowment.
Figure nr.I.I. Gaus’ IQ distribution curve of a population as a whole.
In recent years due to great attention paid to this area and due to pragmatic
researches conducted by specialists, but also due to the desire of making a relevant and
flexible definition of the gifted education, there were specified several types of
endowment:
 In the Marland Report (1972)2 were included the performances in terms
of ability to lead others, creativity and psycho-motor skills;
 H. Gardner (1993)3 developed multiple intelligences theory by showing
that endowment can occur in non-scholastic areas;
 Sternberg (1991)4 allows more people to be considered gifted or
potentially gifted as a result of the tryarhic model of endowment in which
analytical, synthetic and practical elements are involved.
Is it fair to talk about several types of endowment? A source of different
opinions between researchers and practitioners (educators) is due to a confusion made
between the definition of endowment and assumptions used, the definitions and theories
that may be useful or not, valid or invalid, if they are verifiable in terms of pragmatism or
not. Theoretical controversies about definitions are useless if the debate is oriented on an
empiric plan. These debates can be avoided if the definition of gifted children and
2
Marland Report, Education Commission of the U.S. Congress, 1971, (specify that these children require
differentiated programs and / or services in addition to those offered in regular school, to complete their
contribution to themselves and to society.
3
Gardner, H., Frames of Mind.The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Basic Books, New York, 1993.
4
R., J., Sternberg, Giftedness according to the triarchic theory of human intelligence. In N. Collangelo &
G, A., Davis (Eds), Handbook of Gifted Education (pg 45-54). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn &
Bacon. 1991.
2
superior performance is clarified through hypothesis with practical application according
to educational and social ideology.
A definition is a statement that gives meaning, explains, a word, name or
phrase. Ideology is a program that integrates socio-political statements, values, goals,
objectives. Assumptions are made in order to extract the empirical consequences and test
them as facts. The definitions may be accepted on the basis of their usefulness, values
and ideologies in relation to socio-political goals, and assumptions based on empirical
evidence. Problem identification and gifted education through school and extracurricular
activities can be solved in the framework of the definition, assumptions and ideology.
This concept is outlined in the work by Daddario (1977)5, who states that any
gifted child should endeavour to make essential contributions to the nation that offered
opportunities for his affirmation session.
Other scientists, advocate for a separate well state, as regular programs do not
ensure maximization of individual potential and then the very able should be encouraged
and supported through a specialized and differentiated instruction.
Individual / social debate regarding the education of gifted children affects the
selection policy, procedural and proposed curricula. For example, if the orientation is
social, the students are encouraged to spend more time in joint projects, the particular role
of children being made known by presenting these projects to others - students, parents,
teachers.
The whole argument is based on the system of beliefs, values and political
educational policies imposed by a society, resulting in being only an ideological problem.
II. Endowment, adaptation and inadaptation - a delimited terminology
Maria Roth (1986) defines children’s endowment as a multidimensional system of
individual, cognitive, motivational and socio-cultural factors ensuring the achievement of
a superior performance.
The definition of the high endowment science varies, depending on the context of
cultural, social, professional or geographical environment, depending on the program for
well-defined oriented or professional horizon. For each situation of this kind there are
selected certain types of skills that are measured in a value at different levels. In general,
the common social referential, the definition of gifted education includes special psychophysical-intellectual capacities targeted scientifically, artistically, kinaesthetically, to
medium, to leadership or management. Independent of those capabilities, the creativity is
also included as another variable and the third key included in the definition is given by
academic skills.
Gifted children can be of all ages, races, sexes and they don’t depend on physical
or other handicaps. High skills are the potential skills in one area or in combination with
the following areas:
 General intellectual ability;
 Specific academic skills;
 Creative or productive thinking;
 Leadership skills;
 Skills in visual arts or performance;
 Psycho-motor skills.
This definition has been improved by including high capacity logical fields of
abstract scientific or logical games. Contemporary trends that define the ’gifted’6 are
guided by the psychological profile of the child, including behaviour, achievement, social
relations, relations with schools and others.
5
E., D Daddario,. Science, the future and the gifted. În: Gifted Child Quarterly, 21, 32-36. 1977.
www.history-cluj.ro/SU/cercet/CimpianErika/talentul%20muzical.pdf
6
3
Gifted children form an asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive
abilities and high intensity combine to create an internal experience and lighting that are
qualitatively different from the common rule. This asynchronous development increases
with the size of intellectual capacities. Uniqueness makes gifted children vulnerable7;
therefore it requires changes in educational and psychological advice in order to be able
to develop optimally.
Asynchronous development related to gifted children refers to a cognitive
development much faster than the physical and emotional one, as biological age. This
development makes the gifted children wish to gain access to information to which they
are not yet prepared emotionally to access. Gifted Children present particular
characteristics of development to which experts have given different names:
heterochrony development, disharmony of the endowment (Chauvin), cognitive
disharmony (Zazzo), cognitive disharmony (Gibello) dyssynchrony syndrome (Terrasier )
etc.., (apud. Aurelian Iliescu-Doru Vlad Popovici)8. Thanks to these features that
distinguish gifted children from other children, it was built around the world an
educational system that takes into account the development needs and that can help bring
enormous intellectual potential, directing the education of these children to a special type
of training, different from the mass education. Asynchronous development of gifted and
talented children is a seemingly paradoxical phenomenon that determines the special
needs that characterises them. Many of the psychological characteristics of gifted and
talented children are due to this asynchronous development. A specific of gifted children
is the presence in their desire of constantly being perfect. Great curiosity, penetrating
questions, comments and valuable judgments make the gifted children often have
difficult characteristics compatible with the social environment and difficult to find
others of the same age with whom to communicate on an equal footing.
Paradoxically gifted children are often characterized by family or school as
freaks, nerds, rude, insolent or other appellatives showing low level of communication
and their social integration. Although they have outstanding intellectual capabilities and
horizons of concerns for the future, they don’t always have good results at school because
their field of interest is different from that promoted by the school, where, often, they are
bored, the common curriculum not being up to their capabilities and interests. For a gifted
child who learned to read by himself or asking adults around what represents the sign of a
letter, two or three years ago, writing and reading in primary school is boring and
uninteresting, which will make him often write with mistakes. His field of interest is
shifted from that of his fellow generation and that will generate a behaviour which will
lead to assimilation gaps in his procurement of school achievements. If a gifted child who
already knew how to read and write, was introduced by distinguished work in spelling
and grammar in the period when he developed a field of interest on that direction, then
the child would have learned writing correctly and efficiently. The example of writingreading difficulties for gifted children is quite common and for the correction of these
characteristics there are necessary appropriate methodology activities. In this case they
learn to read and write correctly in a record time.
The same asynchronous development led to the development of surprising skills
and hobbies also successful in some school materials that excel and often surpass their
teachers and school materials which are difficult to promote. Specific to gifted children is
their distorted perception of certain aspects of life such as certain innocence in their
opinion about people, a specific opinion that confirms their particular characteristics.
Ordinary children develop their intelligence as an asymptotic curve. Thus in 10
years, about 95-98% of their intelligence measured by IQ tests is already formed. The
remaining percentage develops later and gains experience and develops to a higher level
7
. J., Borland, What happens to them all?, în Marker, C.J.(ed.), Critical Issues in Gifted Education, vol.I;
Defensible Programs for Gifted, Prod-Ed Publishers, Austin. www. Critical issues in Gifted children, 1986.
8
www.supradotati.ro/resurse/heterocronia_dezvoltarii_la_supradotati.doc
4
of the same skills, visible in 10 years, formed the most important part of their subsequent
development. By contrast, gifted children continue to improve their intelligence
throughout the life cycle, a phenomenon found especially on those equipped with very
high intellectual capacity and creativity.
This often gives rise to forms of inadaptation in a flat and hostile social
environment, which leads to escapism, attitudes that can convert sometimes into antisocial behaviours. For these reasons, although gifted children are randomly distributed in
all social and cultural environments, the gifted adults who have succeeded in life are
socially integrated mainly in certain activities. This feature of asymmetric representation
of people with special skills is that some educational programs are targeted to areas
where social gifted children would not normally go and where there is need for cognitive
and special contextual analysis.
3. Psycho-pedagogical areas for expressions of general endowment - ’gifted’
3.1. Intelligence and its characteristics
What is the nature of the cognitive system seen in terms of ontology? Human
psychic system is a system of processing the information, recognizing the nature of the
information with a very complex physical phenomena and operational organization.
Cognitive system is also an open system that requires fundamental cognitive receptivity
to a major form of external influences (photonics, air wave’s pressure, heat, air quality,
qualities, or composition of food, etc...). Without this responsiveness it wouldn’t be
possible to know the external world and all the capabilities of the macro-object would be
due in the organization's structure or higher. If there is one last unit (“theory of
everything")9 both of organic and inorganic matter, then what distinguishes the human
brain by another brain system is primarily a natural biological structure component.
Mental and inter-neuronal movement, an essential condition of cognition, is the meaning
of a communication generated by electrical impulses, (charged atoms have FYI).Uniform
material structure, elementary generation and manipulation of those signals are the
neurons. Thus, sensitivity of mind is actually based on sensitivity and / or conversion of
external influences in neurons. Properties of different types of neurons, their multiplicity,
and the special features of their structure, plasticity and communications structures are
essential in forming the cognitive abilities of the brain.
Interneuron connection is based on the liberation and integration capabilities of
neurotransmitters (particulate matter). The superior organization of neurons, the amount
and structure confers different abilities and different roles, capacity-enhancement
surprising neuronal structures (components of thought, will, creativity, etc..), highlighting
the emergence of conscious level, conscious processing states in which the interaction of
some external influences and internal movement system generates cognitive functional
character. Evolution of cognitive system has meant a practical development,
diversification and cooperation of thinking skills.
As a complex component of personality, intelligence has been a major approach
for philosophers in the beginning and then for psychologists. Researchers in this field
have fluctuated on the characteristics of intelligence, of accepting and emphasizing its
role in knowledge, to reduce its significance or even the elimination of human existence.
Socrates and Platon believed that intelligence helps the human being to
understand himself and also enables him to understand the world’s order.
Oriental philosophy considers that the human being can not reach higher spheres of
sublime happiness if he doesn’t suppress the intelligence.
9
Stephen Hawking, in The Theory of Everything connects the two major theories of modern physics:
quantum mechanics and relativity. By his theory, Hawking explains the origin of the universe and the
existence of black holes.
5
To Western thinking, intelligence seemed to be an essential and fundamental
attribute to the human being which makes him what he is, for Eastern thinking, the role of
intelligence was minimized.
There have been controversial discussions regarding the functions of
intelligence. Some authors have expressed their almost infinite confidence in the power
of intelligence, and others have downplayed it.
• Hegel said that the truth, the rationality of the heart and the will can be
found only in the universality of intelligence and not in the singularity of sentiment,
for him the intelligence was a lifetime mental factor.
• Montaigne considers that because of their intelligence people can not
access the faith, they can not know God. Another issue raised by understanding the
role of intelligence is related to the relationship between intelligence and other
mental functions.
• Leonardo Da Vinci links intelligence to sensitivity.
• Kant said that intelligence in union with sensitivity determines the source
of knowledge.
• Cadillac, the sensuality advocate, argued that all knowledge comes
through senses and intelligence is a distiller, a mechanism that allows the refining
and processing of raw material provided by the senses.
• Pascal, referring to the relation between intelligence and senses, believes
that intelligence is disturbed by the unleashed affectivity.
• Schopenhauer considered that intelligence is subordinated to the will,
which he proclaimed superior to all mental processes.
• Descartes, French philosopher, defined intelligence as a mean to acquire
perfect knowledge concerning the myriad of things.
• Pierre Janet (1859-1947) defines intelligence as a conduit to match, i.e. a
continuous adjustment depending on circumstances
All these opinions, somehow contradictory determined disagreements and discussions on
the definition of intelligence and upon determining its components and its functions.
Modern psychology defines intelligence on two dimensions: the complex system
of operations and the overall skill. If we accept that intelligence is a complex system of
operations that make the overall approach and resolves the various problematic situations
and tasks, then we should consider operations and capabilities like adapting to new
situations, deduction and generalization, correlation and integration as a whole,
highlighting the consequences and anticipating the outcome, comparing the quick
variants and retaining the best, accurate and easy problem solving with increasing
degrees of difficulty.
All these skills and operations reveal at least three fundamental characteristics of
intelligence:
 the ability to solve unexpected situations;
 speed, mobility, flexibility, flexibility of process’ components;
 appropriate and efficient adaptability to circumstances.
Thus we should note that intelligence is a quality of all mental activities, as an
expression of superior organization of all psychological processes, including those
affective, motivational and volitional. As the mechanisms and operations of all other
mental functions form and develop, we can speak of a flexible and supple intelligence.
Leibniz's best guessed that point, noting that the intelligences’ effort is an expression of
evolutionary consciousness. In psychology, Piaget described this masterly feature in his
genetic epistemology.
3.1.1. Determinants of intelligence
6
The one who has made an outstanding research on intelligence was English
psychologist, Spearman10, in the early twentieth century. He distinguished the series of
human skills, a factor G (General) participating in making all the phenomena of mental
activity and various factors S (special) that correspond operationally only in the concrete
conditions of that activity (scientific, artistic, sports, etc.. ). The general factor is the
intellectual order, as the understanding and solving of problems is required in any
activity. The term intelligence has a double sense: on the one hand the digestive process
and information processing variables in order for a better adaptation, on the other hand,
the general competency consisting of operational structures equipped with certain
qualities (complexity, fluidity, flexibility , productivity), which ensures an effective
conduct. These qualities are characteristics of the subject; they are unchangeable and can
be evaluated statistically and located at a certain level or rank of the functional value.
Intelligence is a stable system of features that manifests in the quality of intellectual
activities centred on thinking. The central process of thinking is closely related; moreover
it is organically combined with all others.
American Psychologist, Thurston, sets several factors of intelligence: reasoning
(deductive and inductive), the memory capacity, calculation of perceptual speed, space
operation, understanding of words and verbal fluency. Thus, there are about seven or
eight factors of intelligence assessed after their last effects, however, the presence of a
global factor G is not invalidated. It has been risen the problem of structuring the
intelligence following newer formulation named cognitive style problem.
Moreover, the psychology of thinking has operated various differences
between analytic and synthetic, pragmatic and theoretical, reproductive and productive,
crystallized and fluid, etc. convergent and divergent. Also, it has been raised the question
of brain laterality, considering that the left hemisphere specializes in verbal and semantic
order and the right hemisphere has functions that handle spatial relations and image
configuration. It has been outlined the research through variants of dominant intelligence
or logical-semantic-space imaging. In fact, intelligence tests are also verbal and
nonverbal (figurative), as are batteries of tests that use both types of samples (Wachslen).
Roman Andrei Cosmovici, through his research, identified that the G factor was
common for various capacities.
___________
1
Contemporary Intellectual Assessment, Second Edition: Theories, Tests, and Issues, edited by Dawn P Flanagan,
Patti L Harrison, p. 138- Thurstone’s theory posited seven to nine primary mental abilities (PMAs) that were
independent of a higher-order g factor, 2005.
Genetic Psychology with its predecessor J. Piaget, confirms the view of the
researchers mentioned above, and he identifies intelligence as a general skill with a native
base. Adaptation is the balance between assimilation and accommodation as an
information to pre-existing schemes or accommodation and restructuration required by
the new information that does not match perfectly with the old scheme and the balance is
produced in accommodation, in the mental restructuration and reorganization
. Intelligence measure is equivalent to appeasement rate allowing a better understanding
and solving problems. If assimilation is superficial and accommodation (through the
process of information) occurs only slowly and poorly, then the balance of intelligence is
insufficient, producing the phenomenon of "viscosity" mental or functional fixedness, the
opposite of flexibility.
10
Charles Spearman, General Intelligence, Objectively Determined and Measured. (1904). În Geary, D.C. (2005).
The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain Cognition and General Intelligence. Washington, D.C.: American
Psychological Association.
7
Considering intelligence as a structural instrument, owned by individual
personality, we must show that the very experience of life and especially the academic
and social experience (professional) reveals it and gives the possibility to assess it. The
simplest form of intelligence assessment, an empirical evaluation is done according to the
capacity of assimilation, understanding of school leaning, the ease with which different
issues are solved, generically called school performance. However the question is
whether intelligence is just a general capacity of acquisition and processing the
information, solving problems or it involves different types of innate abilities. Cognitive
and neuro psychology bring to our attention a new record saying that intelligence is
primarily determined by neurological efficiency.
3.1.2. Cognitive components of intelligence
Some psychologists have tried to determine simple cognitive components that
significantly correlate with performances at intelligence tests.
Renzulli and Smith (1978) suggest that people have different learning styles,
which promotes access to development, while others, Torgersen (1977, 1978) and Sliff
(1985) talk about strategic adaptability, which requires cognitive flexibility depending on
concrete situations to solve problems. Sternberg, (1991), based on the idea that
intelligence depends on simple cognitive operations, but doesn’t identify itself with them,
desired to discover the complex cognitive components of intelligence and so he found
three major categories of intelligence components:
 Meta-components (large complex of processes involved in planning,
management and decision making);
 performance components (means or procedures for resolving subordinate
strategies);
 data acquisition components (those involved in collecting, classifying
sequential, selective combining and comparing information).
Individual differences in human intellectual activity are due to capacity, speed and
manner of operation of processes and cognitive components. R.J. Sternberg identifies
three forms of intelligence11 :
 Analytical intelligence;
 Creative intelligence;
 Practical intelligence
New researches in psychology show that appearance is not uniform and
intelligence can not be described by a figure, it is multidimensional and has many
facets. To make a clear distinction between being smart and being devoid of intelligence
is not an easy task.
A more accurate statement can be made when specific reference is made to how a
person is smart, because a person can be intelligent in a certain direction and have
weaknesses in other direction.
Howard Gardner concluded the existence of "multiple intelligences", he defined
the jurisdiction of human intellect as a necessary expression of a set of skills which
consist of originality and ability to quickly resolve various problems, to highlight the
capacity of creativity and innovation. Using this postulate he describes eight possible
intelligences, more or less distinct, the daily necessities of life and present in every
culture: linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence,
kinaesthetic intelligence, naturalistic intelligence, or integralistic, interpersonal
intelligence and intrapersonal, musical intelligence.
11
R.J., Sternberg, Beyond IQ: A Triarhic Theory of Human Intellingence. Penguin Books. 1989.
8
Considering all these inquiries we can ask ourselves when we can say that a child
is gifted.
American psychologist Lewis Terman12 says that intelligence is nothing but
human ability to think abstractly.
Arthur Jensen13, states that intelligence is 80% based on heredity and 20% on
socio-cultural environment. Taking as a criterion the results gained after intelligence tests
on Stanford-Binet14 intelligence scale, which he considers a possibility of rapid
assessment, objective and standardized, he calls the children that get an IQ over 130 ,
gifted children, over 140 – highly-gifted children and for those with a QI of over 170
geniuses.
Remy Chauvin (1979), when speaking of gifted children uses terms such as
"talented" and "creative" to make the necessary nuance. When speaking about an
individual endowed with creativity, Chauvin defines it as "original individual,
imaginative, non-conformist".
Americans use the term "gifted" (Gifted) for children with excellent results on all
school subjects, and "talented" for those who have outstanding results in a small number
of subjects or even in one.
American Psychologist Feldman15 (1982) developed the following definition of
endowment: "the ability to make a significant contribution in any socially valued field’’.
In addition to psychological definitions we also present a legal one "A talented or
gifted child is one, who, in kindergarten, primary and secondary courses showed a
potential ability to achieve a high level of expertise in intellectual, artistic, academic
domains, visual arts, theatre, music, dance, management leading skills, therefore,
activities that are not normally possible in school.
Child endowment is an asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive
abilities and high intensity combine to create an internal experience that is qualitatively
different from the norm. This asynchronous develops with increasing intellectual
capacity. Uniqueness makes high gifted children particularly vulnerable and requires
changes in education and counselling in order to be able to develop optimally.
The definition of child endowment is determined by cultural context, social,
professional, geographical environment, the horizon of professionalism that is selected
according to certain types of skills that are measured in value at different levels. Among
gifted children we can also meet persons with disabilities more or less obvious (eg
Stephen Hawking) or other deficiencies.
Children capable of high performances present skills in one area or in
combination with the following areas:
 general abilities;
 specific academic skills;
 creative or productive thinking;
 leadership skills;
 visual arts or performance;
 psycho-motor skills.
12
L.M., Terman, Discovery and fostering exceptional talent. In: Children capable of superior performance,
Bucharest: Didactic and Pedagogic, 1981.
13
A.R., Jensen, The G Factor: The Science of Mental Ability. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1998.
14
A., Binet, & T., Simon, The development of intelligence in the child. In WW Dennis & M. Dennis
(Eds.), The intellectually Gifted (pp. 13-16). New York: Grune & Stratton. (Original work published 1908)
(1976).
15
Feldman, O. & Valenty, L. O. (Eds.). Profiling Political Leaders: Cross-cultural studies of personality
and behavior. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.
9
Researchers and practitioners in the field of child endowment debated issues from
the definition of three issues: definitions, ideologies and assumptions, and based on
empirical evidence have identified seven constants intended to be taken into account
when conducting educational programs for the gifted children:
 level of performance and awarding of superior gifted label;
 types of child endowment;
 how child endowment is shown in different cultural environments;
 the origins of child endowment;
 identification procedures (screening) of gifted children;
 effectiveness of educational programs.
Contemporary trends to define gifted children are guided by gifted child's
psychological profile that includes various behaviours.
3.3. Precocity
Precocity is concepts that relates in terms of generality to children who have
certain behaviours, different from other children of the same biological age, as an early
manifestation of skills, abilities, knowledge determine their notice. Precocity can occur in
either side of their personality: cognitive, motor, language, etc. We can say that a child is
eager when he begins to speak very fast or if he starts to go faster than other children, if
he starts reading early through his endeavours. Following the investigations carried out
by specialists it was observed that some children make smart actions in certain areas of
human development.
Precocity of a child will not automatically determine the achievement of
outstanding performances. For innate skills, for perfecting their skills there are necessary
some specific socio-cultural conditions. It is good to know that the infantile psyche
develops after puberty. Cases of general or specific precocity do not comply with this
statement, representing exceptions. The intelligence also contributes to the development
of skills, therefore it can be defined as the main general skill, strongly manifested at
gifted young people, regardless of field of consecration.
Precocity as well as talent or geniality can appear in different social
environments, can occur in children of every race and gender, but not only the presence
of precocity is enough for these children to achieve excellence. Again, family is first to
notice these aspects of development over the age of the child and should take measures so
they develop accordingly. Nursery schools also owe to identify and leverage these
exceptional features of precocious children.
3.4 Talent
People have noticed in ancient times their children's behaviour, often
distinguishing some remarkable differences between children, usually between personal
and other young children, manifested in how to solve general , or private problems. What
is the difference? We can distinguish some aspects: differences in exploring the problem,
differences in problem solving, differences in the speed of solving the problem,
differences in yield obtained in activity, differences in quality of finished product, etc...
The generic term used to identify children who showed these skills was the talent,
which was established in normal speech. Thus, if we observe a special endowment
relevant to special skills manifested in a particular area to a child or an adult, we can say
that the person is talented. Psychologists argue that the main personality traits that
distinguish individuals among them are temperament, character and skill and talent.
10
In general sense, the skill means a special provision for something - technical,
scientifically, musical, sportive, foreign languages, etc... Psychology states that organic
or functional skills are provisions for people with the same mental level; their reactions
are apart under different fields. We can also meet, creative talent and expression, which
refers to people with several features: an excellent sense of humour, a great capacity to
make analogies, an unusual ability to express feelings and states through motion, music
and colour, remarkable capacity for creative expression, an unusual sense of observation
by surprising the details. All have received the generic name of talent.
We ask ourselves further questions of what factors determine the occurrence and
expression of talent. Some authors as Torrance, Myters, and Keating note the existence of
talented people of special factors: divergent thinking, creative imagination, intelligence of
some kind, such as social or interpersonal. Skills but, above all, presuppose the existence
of a hereditary factor (all predispositions), a capacity factor (gained through life
experience), and a processing factor that comes with practice and is aimed at
assimilation, coordination and differentiation of other factors. As regards the detection
and development of skills, they are following three stages.
The first stage is an exploratory one of observation and testing of the inclinations
of the child by parents and teachers at ages that have not yet triggered innate entirety. The
next stage is the potentiality in which to the native equipment are added gained skills,
then the state enabling the ability to achieve maximum efficiency and psychological
finesse. Therefore, we should see some things about these stages of development and
certain aspects that are difficult to establish precisely how many percent is heredity and
how much is learning. It is known however that artistic skills depend on good measure
predisposition, so on the native factor but here the performance is obtained by assiduous
training, with practice and continuous effort.
Also, certain automatisms, linked to related technical skills, language learning or
sports performance, are based on certain predispositions. However, the first possible
signs of existence of skills in children with normal development should be considered
early in their education, without expecting the appearance of puberty. Given the
discovery and cultivation of skills in a field or another of science, technology or arts in
terms of choice by young people for their future profession, any other general skills can
not be neglected, sometimes substituting them sometimes constituting the binder of
specific skills. In this category there may be situations, for example, managerial skills and
civic skills that in many countries are given the necessary importance in the educational
system.
Talent development requires specific skills and often a specific combination, (not
just the sum of them), referring to perfection, virtuosity, originality in that reference.
Since Terman, who noted in 1926 that "resources are the most precious
intellectual talent to a nation and an unparalleled importance for the good of the
individual" and continuing until today (Teresa Amabile, 2001), studies have confirmed
that those endowed with talent exhibit superior skills earlier, compared to most others.
These skills are evident in a specific area, with resulting superior results in that activity.
Therefore, talent is the specific ability in a specific area of activity: art, music,
engineering, mathematics, etc. For example, more people have skills in music, they sing
as amateurs, are part of choirs or instrumental groups, but musicians are dedicated, are
passionate about the highest degree for the art they merge, are virtuosos, create the
interpretation, emerging as genuine talents. This talented individual is accompanied by a
strong intrinsic motivation, passion and dedication, but also a lot of tiring work. So things
are the same in the field of fine arts, from the skills of drawing, painting or sculpture
easily reached because of talent, the creativity and creation take into account the
11
requirements of contemporary manners, but primarily involves originality and
authenticity.
We can distinguish from those considerations the next issue: talent is the ability of
a person to exhibit a higher yield in a specific activity of a human behavioural domain,
from scholarly to the technical, artistic, relational domains, with positive results on social
plan. So, we associate the concept of talent with that of capacity, competency and
efficiency, but other important components such as passion, motivation, interest,
dedication, perseverance, exercise. All these are characteristics that distinguish one
person from a common talent. Talent is innate but can be stimulated and developed if
these children are helped by steady and persistent involvement of parents and educators.
If parents show kindness and interest in helping children to develop skills at early ages –,
preschool and school-, true talent can be discovered early and constituent skills can be
stimulated and developed.
The means are at hand, offering various games and toys for children, so parents
and teachers can see which of them attract more children and thus meet their desires.
Taking children to adequate performances, exhibitions, other cultural and sporting
events, they encourage them to undertake various activities such as learning a musical
instrument (piano, violin, etc..), to participate in drawing and painting courses, attend in
sports as swimming, hockey, etc., ballet, to be part of artistic groups, parents have the
opportunity to observe children's inclinations towards certain activities and encourage
them to develop their interest in their domains towards they manifest bias.
By the age of puberty, many toys, games and various activities will, in turn be
abandoned, children remaining interested only in those which have a special attraction
and make them feel empowered. Some children begin to assert themselves in areas of art;
others have a passion for mathematics, literature, foreign languages or technology.
Teachers from kindergarten and early elementary grades together with parents should
focus on practice with children in areas of elements from the attracted domains,
supporting the efforts and competence of their inclinations. Parents are the first to
discover the talents of children and are concerned about their stimulation and
development, according to their choices based on vocation, on self-knowledge. Once the
skills of children / young people are discovered, natural actions will be taken towards
their development through means that schools and society make available. All this will be
followed for years through exercise, children's talent is not enough if consistent effort and
perseverance is not added, although often accompanied by numerous abandons.
Talent identification can not be achieved by appealing to accurate scientific
measurements; therefore Jane Piirto proposes a metaphorically illustrated pyramid of
talent (see illustration in Figure No. 2. below) consisted of several levels of concern for
children, possible levels of endowment and components of personality.
This pyramid is intended as a "map" useful for all educational factors involved.
Piirto in a visual and synthetic mode presents genetic aspects, showing the importance of
genes inherited acceded to talent, personality attributes which play a critical role in the
development of innate talent, important cognitive dimension by the presence of at least
one normally developed intellect.
For Jane Piirto, talent and vocation are priorities in the pyramid, indicating that
talent can experience a spectacular development only if social and family environment
exploit a permanent boost into child's field of vocational skill. Also, skills will develop to
the extent that environmental factors related to gifted children will work closely to
stimulate it. This environment significantly represented by several "suns" is composed of:
family, school, social cultural community, which work together with unity and
convergence for child talent development. Jane May Piirto gives the talent pyramid, a
child's sex role, but also luck and chance. If all the "suns" shine strongly, that if all
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players compete uniformly convergent, chances are that child’s talent will reach the high
peaks.
Piirto’s pyramid is a beautiful metaphor, but it can be criticized in several
respects. What is important and significant aspect to note is that talent is viewed with
seriousness and interest to specialists.
Viewing this pyramid children themselves will be aware of their potential talent
and will pay more attention to their vocational area, trying to know better and do more to
develop their skills, to focus energy towards something beneficial, creative. Innate talent
is not enough without learning and exercises in the manifest. Behaviour involves such
high skills essential to human traits: general skills and / or specific environments, high
levels of employment in pregnancy and high levels of creativity. Gifted and talented
children who have these characteristics will need a suitable social framework in the
optimal development of these innate traits, in particular educational programs able to
provide development at maximum efficiency.
3.5 Highly skilled endowment
Highly skilled endowment represents a higher grade in average to conventional
general skills development specific to the gifted child as an individual with intelligence
above average and in terms of psychometric intelligence exceeding 130 on the IQ scale.
The gifted child is remarkable through his quality and quantitative differences in terms of
cognition, with a quicker process of analyzing the information gained from perception or
memory. It is also noted the development of meta-cognitive ability in early ages, an early
and special insight into solving problems, it is distinguished a creative capacity that
animates the area of concern and an intrinsic motivation for knowledge. Children
provided with a high skill, particularly cognitive development, and constant occupations
and persistent to a certain area, helps distinguish them from other children, consistent
which determine them to act in a different manner from their peers and extraordinary
capabilities that distinguish them from other children. Specialists’ research showed
certain precocity in these children, they are noted early in a field of activity; they have
native endowments and present a general development a remarkable high average into
activity. Children with high skill endowment are children capable of high performance if
they are identified at an early stage and subjected to differential learning experiences by
volume and depth of experience provided by the school routine. Therefore they can
evolve and can reach remarkable achievements. Based on potential skills they can reach
higher spheres of achievement in any of the following areas, singly or in combination
with: general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive
thinking, skills in leadership, talent for visual arts or drama, psycho-motric skills.
To analyze the complexity of the phenomenon of high skill endowment we need
specific analysis and measurement methodologies and a broader concept than that of
intelligence, for this purpose it is proposed the concept of intelligence.
The greatest efforts in the demarcation of the concepts of gifted and talented have
been made by Gagne in 1985. The distinction is made through the grouping concept of
gifted talent. The concept of child endowment differs by association with general
intellectual abilities and talent shows capacities and special skills in a separate area. After
numerous studies and analyzes, Gagne noted that general endowment manifests itself in
four fields of predilection: intellectual, social, emotional and sensory-motor, unlike the
talent, that is remarkable through special skills that will help the development of private
concerns in a specific area, for example in learning16 .
16
Special Education Information Handbook, Toronto, Ministry of Education, Ontario, 1984.
13
3.6. The genius. Drivers of geniality.
Etymologically speaking the word genius comes from the Latin "gignere" which
means to be productive. Etymological meaning determines us to see the pragmatic things;
geniuses are extraordinary people and necessary as long as they are a real value for the
society in which they live.
Genius is one of the oldest concepts, but also one of the most elusive of which
humanity was concerned. At first, the genius of ancient Greece was understood to belong
to everyone, but only certain people were animated by the spirit that activated the great
resorts of geniality. Over time, the genius has been associated with one or more
exceptional innate abilities and talents.
In the nineteenth century English psychologist Francis Galton and lexicography
genius Dr. Samuel Johnson describe the genius as: a man endowed with superior
availability.
Today, to identify the brilliant minds, the IQ score does not matter as much, because the
history has shown that geniuses are more than an IQ score on the measuring scale of
human intelligence17. Thus, in 1926 Catharine Morris Cox18 conducted a unique study
using 301 innate eminent born between 1450 and 1850, using the Stanford-Binet IQ scale
for determining the coefficient of geniality. Assessing the historical cases on their
behaviour, on performances in childhood and adolescence, he has made some unusual
observations. The study identified 15 brilliant minds (including Goethe with an IQ of
210). The scale gave a report of deviation up to 16 units. His studies have shown that the
aspect of intelligence tests is not always relevant in identifying excellence. This explains
the example given by Einstein, a brilliant mind, a scholar, who in childhood began to talk
very late compared to other children of his age, who used to fail exams, repeat classes
and failed his admission in college, being admitted only after two years of reexamination, later on he also failed to obtain a position as an assistant to the university,
so he had to work in his research. Following researches, today, the score given on the
Stanford-Binet IQ scale is corrected with 16 units in a number of approximations of 100,
and the Wechsler scale, with 15 percent.
In addition, after the latest investigations opinion (Gardner ) geniuses can occur in
other areas than just those tested with the general intelligence IQ scales. There is an
example given by Grady M. Towers19, in this respect, in her eloquent article about
Williams James Sidis, who had an IQ estimated at over 250, a wonderfully gifted person,
who at the age of eighteen months he was reading the newspaper, at two years he taught
Latin and when he was three he taught Greek. As an adult, he was already speaking more
than forty languages and dialects. He graduated at Harvard University with ‘’cum laude’’
at the age of sixteen, becoming the youngest professor. It was perhaps the most
remarkable genius of all times, but soon abandoned the position of professor and he spent
the rest of his life changing jobs, one more insignificant than another.
SH Leta Hollingworth20, a psychologist at Columbia Teacher's College, contends
that it is not enough to possess a high IQ, but it is more important to know what you can
17
R. Sternberg, 1985, 1986, 1998.
18
Cox, C. M.,The early mental traits of three hundred geniuses. În Terman, L. M. (Ed.). Genetic Studies of Genius
(Vol. II). Stanford University Press,1926.
19
Grady M. Towers, Gift of Fire (the journal of the Prometheus Society), 1987.
20
L. S., Hollingworth, Children Above180 IQ:Stanford-Binet Origin and Development. Yonkers,NY:World Book,
1942.
14
do with this IQ, to get some remarkable successes in life, to bring your contribution to the
welfare of humanity. Still, measurements made by IQ tests have their meanings.
Following researches it was concluded that an optimum yield is between 125 and 155 on
the IQ scale. It is considered that any child with intelligence over 115 can succeed in any
area of life if he is ambitious, motivated and enjoys the optimum conditions for
education. For anyone who has a score above, any limitation in achieving is linked only
to personal skills, the desire to succeed, the power to perform the tasks proposed and the
desire to auto-succeed in life. We have for example, Bobby Fischer which is one of the
most saddest examples in the history of geniuses with an IQ over 187, who, after he wins
the chess championship at the age of 28, he closes himself with his own demons and
won’t do anything significantly thereafter in his life.
On the other side, Thomas Alva Edison, one of the greatest geniuses of America,
as Einstein was not a very clever student at school and didn’t have a great IQ in
childhood, but he was one of the geniuses who understood the essence of geniality that he
expressed in own words: "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration".
Eynseck Hans was one of the leading experts in intelligence testing and in 1995 he wrote
a book, published in the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, in which he
carried out an analysis of geniality determinants, taking the benchmark classifications
made by Sir Francis Galton21, who identified three levels of eminency:
- Class F with a frequency of 1 in 4300 adults tested;
- Class G with a frequency of 1 to 79,000;
- Class X with a frequency of 1 to 1,000,000.
Galton said that the genius is a product of intelligence, a product of perseverance
and dedication and the result of a long struggle accompanied by strong reasons.
According to modern psychology geniality is determined by several factors, in
addition to intelligence, high creativity and special skills therefore it should be included
and related few factors such as: opportunities, luck and chance22. Not often brilliant ideas
or inventions have been assigned to those who had the first chance to convince the world,
even if the original ideas were far brought forward in time. Furthermore H. Eynseck
highlights the idea that intelligence can not be accurately tested by standard tests, as
always there is involved a certain deviation from the standards. Another observation that
H. Eynseck noted through his research was that most children tested and identified with
an above average IQ chose academic careers.
But there are also cases in which children identified with an IQ23 over 170 who
were reading fluently at the age of three years, have not managed to complete university
studies and which most times withdrawn, spending the rest of life in ordinary jobs. A
notable case was a young man with an IQ of 169, who became a musician at the age of
29, running a successful music band, and then, suddenly losing interest in music taking
practice in a job as a driver. It is the case of many women with a very high IQ, who have
not succeeded in a career but they lead a domestic life.
Researcher in the field, Leta Hollingworth pointed out that brilliant people often
become scientists or nothing. Other findings of the research highlight issues that it should
not be negligible, a pedagogical guidance and social support as strengths in meeting
21
F., Galton, Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into its Laws and Consequences. London: Macmillan/Fontana,
1869.
22
Gardner, H.,Are there additional intelligences? The case for naturalist, spiritual, and existential intelligences.
În J. Kane (Ed.), Education, Information, and Transformation (pp. 111-131). Upper Saddle River, NJ: MerrillPrentice Hall, 1998.
23
Wechsler, D., Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation,
1997.
15
prominent, sometimes is more important than native skills, although they are essential
conditions too. Leta Hollingworth's studies show the appearance of Nobel laureates
whose average IQ scale stood at around 166, spatial intelligence ranging between 137 177, and the mathematics between 128-194. The results of her studies show that besides
the appearance of a very high IQ, which resulted in achieving a bright career was
working with great dedication and perseverance each 70 hours per week.
Other observations made by H. Eynseck show that many times the lack the ability
to work as a team lead to personal failures. For authors of literary masterpieces and artists
dedicated to a bad childhood, the absence of a parent or both parents, were key factors in
achieving performance. Poor conditions in which they grew up and difficulties during
childhood, led towards a strong motivation to auto-succeed and overcome their
conditions and increase their understanding of the human condition.
There is no topic in psycho-pedagogy more interesting than the subject of
geniality, the roots of the idea are older than the thoughts of Kant, but Kant also was the
one who had very well defined it: the geniality is a natural gift, deep, strange and
mysterious that characterizes a person. This definition, less unusual, surprises issues that
seem strange in geniuses’ behaviour, incomprehensible to unauthorized viewers and their
achievements appear to be downright mysterious. For example, Schubert, consisted five
compositions, consecutively, in a record time, compositions which delight us today. This
fact could not be explained, even researchers have failed to explain it and even Schubert
himself could not explain how he was doing that. Finding the explanation to geniuses’
creations remains a subject full of fascination. Most times, when a reporter is asked to
interview one genial personality, usually the first question asked is where this idea did
come from, but geniuses themselves do not know where they get these brilliant ideas
from.
Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton has spent a lifetime studying geniuses. His
research led to the following findings: evolution and natural selection process provide
explanatory models to explain the existence and operation of scientific and artistic
geniuses. He then proposes an interesting thesis that supports the idea that the very
process of natural selection provides us with an example of understanding the functioning
of genius, giving as example Charles Darwin. The creative genius is defined by
psychologists as the ability to make scientific discoveries, to create works of art, make
inventions, to become major political leaders so that the results of their work to achieve
excellence, perfection, interest and well-being. Eminent personalities create, discover,
invent something that lasts over times. Simonton's ideas are found in the masterpieces of
geniuses embodied by Leonardo Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Newton , Einstein, etc. Often, a
high IQ is associated with geniality, but things are not always so. Dean Simonton shows
that the above-average intelligence is absolutely necessary to become a genius, but it is
not enough. In this respect the argument is brought by a woman with an IQ of 228, which
has not done anything significant for humanity in her life living only as a simple
housewife.
The genius is the person who makes the discoveries that, through his creations
and innovations, by his exceptional qualities adds to the well-being of humanity in
various aspects: scientific, medical, cultural, social, etc. Referring to the brilliant mind
researchers associate it with a creative mind, which requires an accommodation between
knowledge gained and their attempt to adjust to the requirements of struggle for daily
existence. A genius mind is creative, it seeks solutions to the problem of interest, and its
functional mechanisms choose the best way to solve it, eliminating the others that do not
fit. Proceeding as natural selection, the best genes are retained and passed generations.
Brilliant minds have a powerful intelligence, memory, communication skills in addition
to external ideas and implementing them in practice. But it also needs to be able to
16
develop conditions: educational experience, the cultural and social circumstances,
opportunities etc.. Creative geniuses have that ability to distinguish what is useful in a
field, to identify unusual connections that others do not notice, that not even suspect they
have the ability to be qualitatively selective. Creative geniuses hide a wide range of areas
of interest: intellectual, cultural, aesthetic, artistic, scientific, sports, etc. Researchers
noted a distinction between brilliant minds and age, ie. teenage geniuses tend to be more
interested in music or mathematics, and the elderly are concerned with philosophy and
fiction. Such individualities are interested in ambient stimuli, concerned to innovate,
create, to experience the new.
Geniuses have a distributive attention in a greater degree than others. It was noted
that while working on a problem without importance, they bear the major problem in the
subconscious and suddenly they manage to solve it. The geniuses’ lack of attention helps
them make easy connections.
Another characteristic of the genius is the flexibility of mind; geniuses are able to
work simultaneously on several projects, the flexibility of allowing the sliding of thinking
from one domain to another.
Geniuses are generally introverted persons, not because they are unsociable, but
because they are people who spend too much time in solitude and contemplation,
sometimes seeming to be completely detached from objective reality. Another
characteristic of genius is productivity. Artists and scientist have similar behaviour, when
they have a bright idea they automatically withdraw from the stage of life and get
dedicated to it, work industriously, sometimes obsessively, but productive. We have clear
evidence: Dostoievsky and Tolstoy, Shakespeare and Dickens, Turner and Picasso as
well as Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Wagner, all amazing in their immense
creative ability. Creative geniuses are independent, solitary, unconventional, even
iconoclast.
Another feature noted by researchers is the mental health disorder, with different
degrees, neurosis, even schizophrenia suffered by genius. Names as Tycho Brahe24 ,
Newton, Van Gogh and Rachmaninoff are just some examples. Researches have shown
in mental disorders a percentage of the genius: 28% are scientist, 60% are composers,
painters 73%, 77% novelists, poets 87%.
Creative genius invents and imagines beyond the common mind, thinks over
human power, because they have eminent passion and dedication for what they do and
self control, allowing them to exploit their ideas that arouse their interest. A great creator
reviews his work countless times before putting a final point on it. There are many
examples given of great creators and composers who have work endlessly until they
finally arrived to their success, acceptable to their critical sense of great satisfaction. No
creative genius fails to achieve an impeccable work with the first try. Geniuses are known
to be intolerant, self-critical and with endless patience to their work, that’s why they
sometimes appear to be hardcore, hipsters, intolerant, disturbed, obsessed with their
work. We can certainly say that geniuses have:
 a very high intelligence;
 an extraordinary imaginative capacity;
 metaphorical thinking / analogue;
 capacity to tackle several projects simultaneously;
 perseverance, hard work in completing the work;
 constructive self-criticism.
All researchers in this field say that intelligence is absolutely necessary but not
sufficient by itself to accede to geniality. In addition to a sparkling intelligence there are
necessary hard work, perseverance, originality, luck and opportunities offered by society.
24
Tycho Brahe, astronomer, (n.14 December 1546 in Kenedstrisp close toMalmo).In 1572 Tycho observed
a new star in Cassiopea
17
4.Conclusions
Child’s high-endowment is attributed to an accumulation of factors that come from
two directions: natural factors, hereditary factors that are doubled for education, two
factors are mutually auto-determined. The fact that people are born with specific features
is highlighted by the studies of twins raised in separate families that present psychosocial
characteristics of behaviour surprisingly similar although they were kept separate and in
different social backgrounds. Education has an important factor in developing skills up tp
the maximum level of high-endowment, but it should be realised in different conditions
and are determined by educational and social factors, but also self-motivation, even from
an early age. The motivational factor with creativity can often replace the missing factor,
but when all three factors: intelligence, creativity and self-motivation work together in
educational and social environment favourable for children they can achieve absolutely
outstanding performances in developing their potential. Although statistically, gifted
children form a proportion of 4-6% of the population, stimulating educational and social
conditions may increase this percentage up to 20%. In this case one can observe a growth
of thinking skills in both categories, but with different growth rates greater than about 10
times in gifted children than other children.
The talent, by evolving into an appropriate social environment, with selfmotivation, leads to remarkable achievements. However not all people endowed with
great intelligence and talent succeed. In the MENSA – the human organization of gifted
adults with an IQ over 130 on the Stanford – Binet scale, can be found both Nobel Prize
winners and cab drivers. Although they had the same level of intelligence some have
succeeded, others have not. The level of success is determined not only by intelligence
but also by the self-motivation, dedication, perseverance, hard work and other random
factors such as luck, chance and opportunities.
The ‘’gifted’’ concept appears at the intersection of the three qualities:
intelligence, creativity and self-motivation, each of which can be discovered without the
other two. There is no correlation between success and social endowment many gifted
people may be victims of social exclusion due to special competitiveness. Thus the most
intelligent man of the twentieth century, with a measured IQ of 180, stays Billy Sidis who
graduated at the age when others have not even finished high school, and he knew many
languages from what he used to translate spontaneously, who several decades before
physicists and astronomers has discovered the black holes through logical thinking, died
young after having occupied the "high" social position of the public librarian.
Although the great potential of people and gifted children give them the possibility to
solve the problems and crises of humanity, they are a population with a high social risks
and special needs, involving an emotional and social protection by society to help them to
fulfil their native potential.
Reconsidering all these claims of the concepts presented, we come to the
conclusion that the high skill endowment, the excellence or exceptional intelligence does
not always lead to geniality. One of the experts concerned about this issue, L. Terman, in
his study conducted on a sample of 1500 subjects in the early '20s has found no genius
among them. Worried about the IQ and the socio-economical changes in the population
tested, research has shown stability and independence of IQ to the socio-cultural factors,
throughout life.
Off the idea that for a genius to manifest himself requires a number of
circumstances, in addition to a high level of general intelligence, some emotional
intelligence, high creativity, wide socio-cultural circumstances, and also some individual
characteristics: motivational, temperamental and personality.
18
However, intelligence is particularly important in the emergence of geniality, so it
is better to establish an IQ for children, to be able to provide important clues on learning
ability, pace and learning effectiveness, but to be a genius there are necessary more
important aspects like the education received in family and school, intrinsic motivation,
stimulated creativity, opportunities related to socio-cultural environment, but also in other
elements that have so far escaped to researchers.
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____________
Carl Gustav Jung: "I must admit the fact that the unconscious mind is able, in certain moments, to
acquire intelligence and determination in order to pursue a higher conscious logic.”(" Psychology and
Religion)
20