Giftedness and behavioral abnormality

In fact, some highly gifted children attract negative attention. If a highly gifted child is bored because he or she is underchallenged, he or she may adopt inappropriate behavior. A bored child may, for example, shout his or her knowledge through the classroom, tease other children or engage in other activities.

At school, such behavior can be extremely negative and at the same time make the child very unpopular with other children. Especially if highly gifted children frequently experience frustration or even bullying at school or in kindergarten, they can become conspicuous by becoming aggressive, picking fights or ignoring instructions. When difficulties arise, it can help to consult a psychologist who can analyze the child’s behavior and help to find the right approach.

Is intelligence inherited?

Early on, it was said that intelligence is inherited from mothers. Nowadays, the idea that IQ is inherited via the X chromosome has been abandoned. Currently there is no plausible evidence that giftedness and intelligence are passed on by a particular parent.

Frequency

Related to the measurement of the intelligence quotient with appropriate intelligence test procedures, about 2% of the examined persons in a comparison group (= same test, same age) are in the range of IQ 130 and higher. The 2 % refer to the examined persons and not to the total population. Roughly estimated and statistically speaking, it is assumed that there is a highly gifted child in approximately every 2nd grade of elementary school.

The gender distribution in the area of highly gifted children is equal. Girls are just as often highly gifted as boys. If one looks at the line of ancestors of ingenious personalities, it is noticeable that people with special talents have certainly existed for just as long as people with problems in the area of learning.

While one can hardly doubt that there have been special human talents since the beginning of mankind, the question arises, however, as to what the ability for special actions and abilities is based on. The first research-like efforts with regard to high talent and intelligence can be found in the field of philosophy. Already here it was recognized that abilities on the one hand are rooted in the child itself, but that the promotion of the already existing components can only take place through additional reinforcements from outside.

One proceeded beyond that from an inheritance of special abilities. Already at that time, the attempt to measure the level of intelligence was of great interest, but one was not yet able to do so, so that any attempts were limited to observations and family surveys. In the 19th century, Galton accelerated research into the measurement of intelligence.

He initially assumed that intelligence is the sum of the sensitivity of the sensory organs, but this could not be proven. Alfred Binet took Galton’s idea of measuring a person’s physical abilities further, but realized that intelligence cannot be reduced to physical abilities. He shifted his research to the physical realm and eventually introduced the concept of the age of intelligence based on the test he developed at the beginning of the 20th century.

The intelligence age is a form of the intelligence level at which the child is.If, for example, a 12-year-old child answered only the questions developed for six-year-old children, one assumed an intelligence age of 6 and a quite probable mental retardation (= late maturation). If, on the other hand, a six-year-old child answered the questions of a 12-year-old, one assumed that he was highly gifted. Since Binet’s research was classified as purely empirical and the age of intelligence alone did not indicate anything about intellectual retardation or advantage, the age of intelligence was not sufficient as an estimate of intelligence.

Stern took up Binet’s state of research and also developed tasks for different age groups. The children to be tested began with the questions of the lowest age group and answered the questions of the different age groups until they were no longer able to answer. The end point at which the subject was no longer able to answer the questions revealed the age of intelligence.

He then determined the intelligence quotient using the following formula: Intelligence age * 100 = intelligence quotientlife age Due to the fact that with increasing age the increase in performance also decreases (the increase in knowledge is never greater than in childhood), this form of intelligence determination was unsuitable for adults. Joe Renzulli coined the term giftedness in the 1970s, because he assumed – as Galton had done in his early years – that several factors are necessary for the development of a special talent. The Three Rings Model goes back to him: “From the depiction you can see that he equates high aptitude with talent.

Accordingly, what he calls talent is the intersection of above-average creativity, motivation by the environment and giftedness. Based on the accompanying factors, however, exceptional performance can only be achieved if the task to be mastered is motivated in a special way and a creative and individual solution mechanism can be implemented. A critical point to note is that this model does not take into account the socio-cultural aspect, which is essentially part of personality development, and also the fact that it completely ignores the so-called underachievers (= pupils with proven high intelligence but low academic achievement).

On the level of this model and his critical remarks, F. J. Mönks developed the so-called “triadic interdependence model”. The diagram shows that, in addition to the three important external influencing factors: family – school – peer group (= equals, friends), internal factors also play a very important role: high intellectual ability, motivation, creativity (especially with regard to finding solutions). Only if all factors are in a favorable condition field with each other, the possibility for a performance is possible, which can make a high talent visible in a special way.

What does this mean in concrete terms? Monk’s attempt to explain this would have the consequence that highly gifted people only show a high degree of giftedness if they are able to perform this achievement due to their inner conditions, i.e. if they are motivated to perform highly intellectually and can strive for special solutions through their creativity. However, they are only capable of such achievements if the environment is right and determines the inner factors in a special way.

As a result, disruptive factors can have a negative impact on their actions and, under certain circumstances, can also prevent highly gifted people from being capable of the same kind of action. It also means, however, that the stronger the interdependence (the interdependence of the factors among themselves) is correct, the better a highly gifted person can realize and show his abilities. Heller & Hany go one step further in their so-called “Munich Giftedness Model”.

In their aptitude model, they divide a person’s individual abilities into cognitive and non-cognitive personality traits and clarify what was already considered in the triadic interdependence model: The ability to be highly gifted – if not recognized and not positively influenced – may not be recognized at all or may regress. All explanatory models have one thing in common: they emphasize that intelligence, or the ability to act intelligently, depends on several factors and is not only determined by the measured intelligence quotient.It therefore seems reasonable to warn against recognizing the intelligence quotient IQ determined in the course of an intelligence test as an absolute measure of intelligence. In principle, it only describes the state of intelligence – as it can be measured at the time the test is taken.

Since there are different intelligence tests, the intelligence can also only be measured in relation to the respective test and if you look at it correctly, a comparison of intelligences can only be considered and carried out within an age group. Not least because of this, a solid diagnosis is not only based on the measurement of intelligence but should always include a survey of all those involved in education (parents, teachers) and an observation of the test situation. The IQ as such is based on the consideration that an average student is assigned the IQ 100.

This means that in his or her peer group (= peers tested with the same test) about 50 % can achieve better results. In addition to the IQ 100, he is assigned the percentile rank (PR) 50. This means that the percentile rank can be used to determine how many children in the comparison group have performed worse. The following table is intended to illustrate the extent to which intelligence range and percentile rank are related.