THE COGNITIVE AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF FOUR CATEGORIES OF GIFTED CHILDREN WAS STUDIED. TWO GROUPS OF ADOLESCENTS SHOWING DIFFERENT TYPES OF COGNITIVE EXCELLENCE (INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY) AND TWO GROUPS EXHIBITING DIFFERENT TYPES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL EXCELLENCE (MORALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT) WERE INVESTIGATED USING A WIDE VARIETY OF MEASURES, PART OF WHICH WERE ESPECIALLY DEVELOPED FOR THIS RESEARCH. TRADITIONAL METHODS OF EVALUATING GIFTEDNESS HAVE DIVIDED CHILDREN INTO CATEGORIES OF HIGH OR LOW INTELLIGENCE, BUT RESULTS OF THIS STUDY INDICATE THERE ARE TWO OTHER USEFUL CATEGORIES OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING--"HIGH IQ WITHOUT CONCOMITANT HIGH CREATIVITY" AND "HIGH CREATIVITY WITHOUT CONCOMITANT HIGH IQ." THOSE STUDENTS REPRESENTING THESE CATEGORIES WERE FOUND TO BE EQUALLY SUPERIOR IN SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT TO THE POPULATION FROM WHICH THEY WERE DRAWN BUT THE TWO GROUPS DIFFER SHARPLY IN VALUE ORIENTATIONS, THEIR EFFECT UPON TEACHERS, THEIR FANTASY PRODUCTIONS, THEIR CAREER ASPIRATIONS, AND WERE FOUND TO COME FROM VERY DIFFERENT FAMILY ENVIRONMENTS. (AL)