There is much disagreement about the very need to highlight this type of giftedness.
There are many definitions of intelligence, but there is still no common formula. Two definitions, with one or another shade, are the most common. According to one, intelligence is manifested in the operation of abstract symbols and relationships. According to another, intelligence is adaptability to new situations, the use of acquired experience, that is, it is mainly identified with the ability to learn. Apparently, the most important thing for the human intellect is that it allows you to reveal the natural connections and relationships in the world, to know their mental processes and influence them (reflection and self-regulation), to anticipate changes, gives the opportunity to transform reality. The word "intelligence" is often used in psychology as a synonym for the words "giftedness" and "mental giftedness". Thus, intelligence tests are called "giftedness tests" and the IQ is an indicator of mental giftedness. And this is natural: after all, intelligence is a characteristic of the cognitive sphere, the very center, the core of human mental capabilities. The relationship between the formation of intelligence and age development is interesting. It turns out that childhood plays a crucial role in the formation of intelligence, as evidenced by the data.
In the curve expressing the course of development, by about five and a half years the positive acceleration is replaced by a negative one, and by the age of twelve the development is basically completed. It turns out that from this age the intellect can be considered mature. The difference in the peculiarity of the intellect is also very important.
One line of individual differences in the peculiarity of the intellect is belonging to the "artistic" or "thinking" type. It has long been known in psychology that in some people the leading role in thinking is played by visual, figurative representations, and in others – general ideas, concepts.
One of the most important characteristics of giftedness is creativity ("creativity"). The disposition to creativity is the highest manifestation of human activity, the ability to create something new, original, it can act in any sphere of human activity. The scale of creativity can be very different, but in all cases there is the emergence, the discovery of something new.
Creativity is not the same as a high level of intelligence. Studies have shown that the assessment of intelligence by traditional methods (IQ calculation) does not allow to directly judge the creative possibilities.
Creativity means, first of all, a special mindset, a special quality of mental processes. It has been established that no abstract cognition can be productive in complete isolation from sensory cognition. Imagination, intuition, and unconscious components of mental activity are important in the creative process. Some researchers have pointed out that the birth of a new idea is associated with "lateral" thinking, that is, it is achieved as if by the way, unexpectedly, by itself.
Thinking must be free, unfettered. The American psychologist J. Guilford introduced the widely accepted concept of divergent (divergent) productive thinking, aimed at possibly obtaining a whole fan of correct answers. It is divergent thinking that serves as a means of generating new ideas and self-expression.
One must also keep in mind that creativity and intellect do not exist in isolation from each other. Real creative achievements in most areas of activity require increased intelligence, although a high level of intelligence may not lead to creative manifestations. Data on this issue tell us that a level of mental development above the average (IQ not lower than 120) is necessary for the high development of creative abilities; after reaching such an intellectual level, its further increase (for example, the growth of IQ to 150-160) does not affect the creative potential; when the intellectual level is very high (IQ 170-180), it, as well as at its insufficient size, can interfere with creativity, that is influence on formation of creative abilities will become negative again.
Psychologists have proven the importance for creativity of such qualities as mental independence, courage of thought, readiness for willpower, personality orientation to creativity, and these qualities can be clearly seen in old age, which should certainly be taken into account when diagnosing talent.
Children who are prone to high achievement may not demonstrate it immediately, but have the potential for it in any of the following areas (in one or in combination):
general intellectual abilities; specific academic abilities; creative, or productive, thinking; leadership skills; fine and performing arts; psychomotor abilities.
In-depth research in the following years led to the fact that already recognized types of giftedness began to be considered differently. This manifested itself in the emergence of new concepts of intellectual and creative talent. According to Howard Gardner’s theory, there are many types of intelligence. Each of them is independent of the others and functions as a separate system according to its own rules. The following intellects include the following intellects: linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, body-kinesthetic, personal.
Linguistic intelligence – the ability to use language to create, stimulate search or transmit information (poet, writer, editor, journalist). Musical intelligence – the ability to perform, compose music or enjoy it (music performer, composer). Logical and mathematical intelligence – the ability to explore categories, relationships and structures by manipulating objects or symbols, signs and experimenting in an orderly manner (mathematician, scientist). Spatial intelligence – the ability to represent, perceive an object and manipulate it in the mind, to perceive and create visual or spatial compositions (architect, engineer, surgeon). Body-kinesthetic intelligence – the ability to form and use motor skills in the performing arts, in sports (dancer, athlete), in manual labor (mechanic). Personal intelligence has two aspects that can be considered separately: intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence. Intrapersonal intelligence is the ability to control one’s feelings, distinguish them, analyze them and use this information in one’s activities (for example, a writer). Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to notice and understand the needs and intentions of other people, to control their moods, to anticipate behavior in different situations (political leader, teacher, psychotherapist).
Among the types of giftedness are artistic giftedness. It implies high achievements in the field of artistic creativity and performing skills in music, painting, sculpture, acting skills. One of the serious problems is. that these abilities be recognized and respected in the general education school. These children spend a lot of time, energy exercising, achieving skills in their field. They have few opportunities for successful study, they often need individual programs in school subjects, in the understanding of teachers and peers. There are also general intellectual and academic talents. The main thing here is that children quickly master the basic concepts, easily remember and store information. Highly developed information processing capabilities allow them to succeed in many areas of knowledge. Academic talent is manifested in the success of teaching certain subjects and is more private, selective. how do you write a synthesis essay These children can show high results in ease, depth, speed of progress in any subject or series of subjects and sometimes have unimportant progress in other subjects that are not perceived by them so easily. The pronounced selectivity of aspirations in a relatively narrow area creates its own problems in school and family. Parents and teachers are dissatisfied with the fact that the child does not study equally well in all subjects, refuse to recognize his talent and do not try to find opportunities to support and develop special talent.
Such kind of giftedness as creative giftedness was especially singled out. There is much disagreement about the very need to highlight this type of giftedness. Some experts believe that creativity is an integral part of all types of talent, which can not be represented separately from the creative component. They believe that there is only one kind of giftedness – creative: if there is no creativity, it is pointless to talk about giftedness. Other researchers defend the legitimacy of the existence of creative talent as a separate, independent species. One point of view is this: giftedness is generated either by the ability to produce, to put forward new ideas, to invent, or by the ability to brilliantly execute, to use what has already been created.
Many studies show that children with a creative focus often have a number of behavioral characteristics that distinguish them and that cause not at all positive emotions in teachers and others: lack of attention to conventions and authorities; greater independence in judgments; subtle sense of humor, lack of attention to order and proper organization of work; bright temperament. The expediency of highlighting creative talent as a separate species is determined by the fact that standard curricula and the educational process provide little opportunity for its manifestation and development.
Last in order, but not in importance in my list is such a kind of giftedness as leadership giftedness. It is also called social giftedness or social intelligence. Attempts to identify, identify components, and measure social intelligence have a history of nearly a century. Sigmund Freud also used a special term for people who were accurate in the perception of others.
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