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The social cognition of gifted adolescents.

Article Excerpt
The cognitive advancements critical to normal development allow individuals to understand their world, and themselves, in increasingly complex and sophisticated ways (Keating, 2004). They also allow individuals to better understand the social world and their role within it, what researchers have termed social cognition (Bukato & Daehler, 2001). In general, gifted individuals, as compared to the average individual, have been shown to learn at a faster pace, exhibit greater efficiency in problem-solving, more easily understand advanced and complex concepts in a variety of reasoning domains, and are more likely to be proficient and creative producers of thoughts and tangible assets (e.g., Renzulli, 1990; Tannenbaum, 1983, 2003). Despite these differences, gifted students also engage in social cognition; however, because they may regard their advanced abilities as a differentiating factor, giftedness affects the way these students see themselves with reference to their social group. The purpose of this paper is to investigate (a) how gifted adolescents regard their own giftedness, (b) how they feel others regard their giftedness, and (c) how they react in social situations based on these conclusions. This information will allow researchers and educators to better understand social cognitive strategies and why gifted students select and avoid certain methods of behavior in social settings.

Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Perceptions of Giftedness

Adolescence is a time marked by an increase in the significance of and time spent in peer groups (Steinberg, 2002). Research suggests that in many adolescent peer groups, homogeneity, and therefore conformity to the norms, is highly valued (e.g., Ennett & Bauman, 1994). Therefore, in many peer groups, deviation from the accepted norms can be met with resistance from the group and be perceived negatively by the individual. Research has shown that gifted individuals seem to regard their advanced abilities as a differentiating factor, something that sets them apart from their peers (e.g., Coleman & Cross, 1988). Manaster, Chan, Watt, and Wiehe (1994) revealed that, although their sample of gifted 10th graders regarded their advanced abilities as an asset with regard to personal and academic factors, they regarded them as an obstacle to their social interactions, possibly because they believed that others' perceive them as different because of their giftedness (Coleman & Cross; Cross, Coleman, & Stewart, 1993; Manaster et al., 1994; Manor-Bullock, Look, & Dixon, 1995).

It is exactly this belief that forms the basis of the Stigma of Giftedness Paradigm (SGP; e.g., Coleman & Cross, 1988). The SGP holds that, as a result of the belief that others regard giftedness as a differentiating factor, giftedness may become a stressor in certain social contexts, thus hindering normal social interaction (Coleman & Cross; Cross et al., 1993; Manaster et al., 1994; Manor-Bullock et al.,...

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