Completed: Transitions in the Development of Giftedness

Principal Investigators: R.J. Sternberg and E.L. Grigorenko
Project Coordinator: Linda Jarvin
Project Director: Olia Stepanossova

Description: This project examines the changing nature of giftedness over the course of the lifespan from elementary-school level to early adulthood. Many children appear to be gifted in elementary school, but then "flameout" in secondary school. Others appear to have promise in high school, but do not succeed in college. And so the course of life goes. At the same time, other students do not look very promising, say, in high school, but in graduate school or early in their careers make a lasting mark. In our study, we are concerned with the transitions of the nature of giftedness. What are the attributes that lead individuals to be labeled as "gifted" or not to be so labeled at different points of their careers? What attributes lead to success at one point, but not another? Much of the theoretical framework for the study derives from the investment theory of creativity, formulated by Sternberg in collaboration with Todd Lubart. According to this theory, creative individuals defy the crowd, and do so through a combination of six resources: intelligence, knowledge, thinking styles, personality, motivation, and environment. We will be looking at a number of measures of each of these resources to understand which people show signs of giftedness at different points in their careers. We are particularly interested in the attributes of people who hold up as "gifted" throughout their lifespan, or who early on do not appear to be gifted but later on do. This research is conducted with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.

Funding Agency: U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement
IRB Approval by: Tufts University Faculty of Arts and Science Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects
Funding Period: Fall 2000 - Fall 2006