This case study analyzed the cognitive strategies of Ethan, a gifted youth, when performing a Stop Signal Task assessing cognitive control processes including response inhibition as well as proactive and reactive adjustments of response. In the case of Ethan, the response inhibition score was biased, revealing that Ethan did not follow the…

A coding system, derived from Dabrowski's levels of gifted individuals' emotional development, is based on categories that reflect feelings toward values, self, and others. Testing of the system's reliability indicated that it provides educators, parents, and counselors with a greater understanding of the developmental issues which confront gifted…

Significant gain in leadership areas (fundamentals, written communication, speech communication, values clarification, decision making, group dynamics, problem solving, personal development, and planning) by average to superior sixth- through eleventh-grade participants (N=110) indicated that the summer Leadership Studies Program is an effective…

Self-concept scores of gifted 10- to 18-year-old females (N=14) improved after they participated in sessions stimulating awareness of gender-related social and personal concerns (including sexism, possible lifestyle choices, and gender stereotyping in work roles), suggesting that a positive self-concept influences positive achievement and…

A study of 108 female and 120 male gifted high schoolers' career and family plans indicated that both sexes display similar plans. The majority plan on a professional career, marriage, and children. More gifted females than males plan a professional career and do not perceive a work/family conflict. (Author/CL)

Analysis of the High School Personality Questionnaire and measures of socioeconomic status (SES) for 63 intellectually gifted secondary and 60 control students revealed that giftedness was not identified as the reason for differences in personality characteristics. Instead, sex appeared to be the important factor in considering student actions.…

The study, involving 138 gifted adolescents, investigated differences in psychological sex role development between male and female students. Findings indicated that while more gifted female adolescents adhere to an androgynous perspective, more gifted male adolescents adhere to an undifferentiated perspective of themselves. (SW)

A study involving 89 junior and senior high school students was conducted to validate an identification instrument which classifies behaviors into six categories--convergent, divergent/creative, goal oriented, social skills, physical skills, and affect/feelings. The six behavior clusters characterized most students in the study. (SW)

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

A study compared 115 academically gifted adolescents to 97 nongifted peers to determine differences in their perception of overall emotional adjustment. Results indicated the overall emotional adjustment of both groups fell within normal limits and that the gifted students showed better emotional adjustment on the self-report instruments.…

A study involving 109 secondary school gifted students found that 89% scored high on a quiz designed to detect negative perfectionism. Factors identified as possible dimensions of perfectionism included need for order, organization, need for approval of others, obsessive-compulsive demands on self, anxiety and excessive worry, indecision, and…

A study explored factors contributing to the boredom of three gifted adolescents who had gradually disengaged from classroom learning. Five interdependent features emerged that distinguished boring experiences from learning experiences: control, choice, challenge, complexity, and caring teachers. Students felt the honorable action in response to…

Using structured equation modeling techniques, this study examined factor structure differences in academic self-perceptions of 210 gifted high school students and a general population student group. Although there were large mean differences between gifted students and the general population students on the academic self-perceptions scale, the…

A study of 69 gifted high schoolers examined epistemological beliefs and how these beliefs related to problem solving and academic performance. The more students believed that the ability to learn was fixed at birth, the more likely they were to provide over simplistic solutions and perform below academic expectations. (Author/CR)

A qualitative study explored experiences of two adolescent high school students who are gifted but underachieving. Results indicate the students were stuck on an academic merry-go-round, whirling by the same content over and over without any input. Internally driven to learn, they became frustrated and unchallenged, waiting to do something…