The Gifted

Understanding Giftedness and Underachievement: At the Edge of Possibility

“…Research foci were wide and varied, but remained essentially diagnostic when gifted underachievement was examined. Behavioral psychology guided research design, and areas such as motivation, frustration, family relations, home backgrounds, mental health, and personality differences drove inquiry (Bachtold, 1969;Baymur & Patterson, 1960;Dunn, 1963;Durr & Collier, 1960;Gallagher & Rogge, 1966;Karnes, McCoy, Zehrbach, Wollersheim, & Clarizio, 1963;McGillivray, 1964;Morrow & Wilson, 1961;Perkins, 1965Perkins, , 1969Pierce & Bowman, 1960, pp. 33-66;Purkey, 1969;Raph, Goldberg, & Passow, 1966;Shaw & Black, 1960;Shaw & McCuen, 1960;Shouksmith & Taylor, 1964;Tetrault, 1965).…”

“…An era of anti-intellectualism was in progress. Gifted underachievers were left to scratch out their existence without an appreciable understanding of their predicament available in the literature (Gallagher & Rogge, 1966). Saving the whales and developing multicultural programs and brotherhood ushered in the decade of the 1970s (Bybee, 1993;DeBoer, 1991).…”

“…The plight of the gifted underachiever remains largely a mystery, and the span of research that exists in the literature generates little depth ofunderstanding regarding this population. The available research studies offer conflicting results of little worth in understanding and developing intervention strategies (Gallagher & Rogge, 1966). Underachievement is a complex issue involving social interactions, perceptions, and expectations that remain unexplored and would best be thought of in a multidimensional way (Krouse & Krouse, 1981).…”

Shortcomings of the IQ-Based Construct of Underachievement

“…It was unsatisfactory that in comparison to the previous critical phase, hardly any increase in knowledge was being made. Numerous researchers working during the 1960s advanced explanations for the observed differences between gifted achievers and gifted underachievers based on variables such as motivation, frustration and boredom, the home, learning environment, and various personality factors (Bachtold, 1969;Baymur & Patterson, 1960;Dunn, 1963;Durr & Collier, 1960;Gallagher & Rogge, 1966;McGillivray, 1964;Morrow & Wilson, 1961;Perkins, 1965;Ralph et al, 1966;Shaw & Black, 1960;Shaw & McCuen, 1960). Up to now this list has been simply augmented with newer constructs such as perfectionism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and epistemic beliefs (for an overview see Stoeger, 2008).…”

Chapter II: The Gifted

“…Gowan's Annotated Bibliography on Creativity and Giftedness (1965) has provided a guide to the 1959-64 period. The research review offered by Gallagher and Rogge (1966) analyzed the 1963-65 period and cautiously predicted a research trend which has been fulfilled in a remarkable way. Said these authors, "One current emphasis seems to be on exploring the nature of creative thinking and the possibility of expanding the concept of superior intellectual ability itself."…”