Eminent Giftedness and High Achievement: Beyond IQ

Emminent Giftedness and high achievement – beyond IQ Renzulli (2002) – intersection of three factors (intelligence, exceptional motivation, high creativity) Simonton (2001) – drudge theory; push themselves harder and benefit more from intensive practice

Winner says hard work may be a result of inborn ability; Gifted are more likely to find efforts rewarding and thus work harder

Cumulative deprivation hypothesis – children raised in substandard environments experience a gradual decline in IQ as they get older because other children will be progressing more rapidly

Studies of adopted children do show similarity to biological parents, but better environment does also have an effect on IQ

Exceptionally reliable – correlations into the .90s

Qualified validity – valid indicators of academic/verbal intelligence

Correlations:.40s–.50s with school success; Deary et al. (2007) n = 70,000 Ss; r= .70; 60s–.80s with number of years in school. Predictive of occupational attainment; many I/O psychologists would say that cognitive ability tests are the best predictor of Job Performance (Schmidt & Hunter’s meta-analytic studies; r = .50). Correlation varies depending on complexity of job but is not zero for even low-level jobs

Structure of Intelligence: Is it Unitary or Multi-dimensional?

Spearman

factor analysis – data reduction technique

g – general mental ability

“special” abilities (e.g., numerical reasoning, spatial ability)

Intelligence test items are highly inter-correlated and share a common core

Thurstone

test that evolved into the SAT

primary mental abilities

3 phases

Germinal stage = first 2 weeks

zygote is created through fertilization

rapid cell division takes place

mass of cells moves to uterus for implantation

Placenta is formed

The placenta brings oxygen and nutrients to the fetus from mother’s bloodstream and allows wastes to pass out to the mother

conception, implantation, formation of placenta

Embryonic stage = 2 weeks – 2 months

formation of vital organs and systems (heart, spine, brain); Time of great vulnerability

Most miscarriages take place during this stage

Fetal stage = 2 months – birth

bodily growth continues, movement capability begins, brain cells multiply

sex organs develop in 3^rd month

age of viability – between 22-26 weeks

Probability of survival is 14-26% (22-23 weeks)

25 weeks (67%)

80-83% (26 weeks)

Individuals who are born near the age of viability often have developmental problems

Basic Principles

Motor development - the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities

12-13 months milestone of walking

Cephalocaudal trend – head to foot (gain control over upper part of their bodies before the lower parts)

Proximodistal trend – center-outward (gain control over torsos before extremities)

Longitudinal - study same group over a long period of time

Advantages: Eliminates cohort effects and more sensitive to developmental influences

Disadvantages: May be distorted by drop-outs; difficult to do

Cross-sectional designs: compare groups at differing ages at a single point in time

Advantages: easier; cheaper

Disadvantages: cohort effects; can’t see developmental change)

Constructed surrogate “mothers” made of wire or cloth

Monkeys were randomly assigned to wire or cloth mother

Cloth or wire mother was equipped with feeder

Influenced later researchers such as John Bowlby who argued that there is a biological basis for attachment which is adaptive for survival (evolutionary perspective)

Influenced Mary Ainsworth who examined attachment patterns in infants (12-18 months)

Ainsworth used a “strange situation” similar to Harlow’s

Found that most children are securely attached, while others are anxious-ambivalent or resistant (anxious when mother is near, but protest when she leaves) or avoidant (they are not distressed when mother leaves and do not seek her contact)

Securely attached children use their mother as a “secure base” to explore the environment and are happy when she returns

Personality Traits

Cross-cultural validity and variability

Independence (individualism)/Interdependence (collectivism)

The Five-Factor Model (OCEAN)

Extraversion

Neuroticism

Openness to experience

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness (people live longer!)

Measured by the NEO-PI (Costa and McCrae)

Carl Jung: Analytical Psychology

Personal and collective unconscious – storehouse of memory traces inherited from our ancestral past

Archetypes – images and thought forms that have universal meaning (Example: Characters in “Star Wars”)

Jung construed libido as more broadly “life energy”

Believed in Ego strength

Mandala – symbol of unified self and self-realization (harmonious blending of various aspects of the personality; example: male/female aspects of personality

Personality develops as we age; middle age is most important

Introversion/Extroversion – Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Alfred Adler:

Striving for superiority – adapt, improve oneself, master life’s challenges

Compensation – convert an imagined or actual weakness into a strength (e.g., Teddy Roosevelt)

Inferiority complex – excessive feelings of inferiority caused by pampering or neglect

Overcompensation is similar to a Freudian defense mechanism – feelings of inferiority are channeled into false status and avoidance of developing a productive lifestyle

Importance of SOCIAL INTEREST in order to derive a life goal

One of the first psychologists to work successfully with juvenile delinquents

Birth order

Skinner’s views

He did not theorize and did not postulate internal (conscious or unconscious) personality constructs

Personality is learned behavior over the course of the lifespan

Conditioning and response tendencies acquired through experience account for the stability of behavior and they are tied to specific stimuli

Environmental determinism – behavior is fully controlled and modified by environmental stimuli

Humanistic theories are credited with highlighting the importance of a person’s subjective view of reality. They are also applauded for focusing attention on the issue of what constitutes a healthy personality.

They are criticized for lacking a strong research base, poor testability, and what may be an overly optimistic view of human nature

Positive Psychology is a relatively new field which extends humanistic psychology in a more empirical way