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Giftedness as a Propensity to Use Creativity-Generating Intellectual Styles

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Conceptions of Giftedness and Talent

Abstract

Giftedness is a multifaceted construct and, as such, can be conceptualized in numerous ways. In this chapter, it is argued that giftedness can be conceptualized as a propensity to use creativity-generating intellectual styles. Intellectual styles refer to people’s preferred ways of processing information and dealing with tasks. This chapter is composed of three parts. The first part introduces the construct of intellectual style and provides justifications for the present conception. The second part reviews two types of research evidence supporting the conception: The first type comprises studies aimed at identifying the intellectual styles of the gifted; and the second type consists of studies examining the relationship between intellectual styles and several attributes long considered to be crucial to the notion of giftedness. The final part discusses the implications of the research findings for identification of gifted students and for special gifted education programs and inclusive gifted education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Hereafter, the terms “creativity-generating” and “Type I” will be used interchangeably and the terms “norm-favoring” and “Type II” will be used interchangeably.

  2. 2.

    As introduced in the section, “Intellectual Styles of Gifted Students” (see in the next part, “Empirical Evidence”), the great majority of the studies involved research participants who were identified as academically gifted based on their school GPA’s and/or standardized test scores.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Li-fang Zhang

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  1. Li-fang Zhang
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Correspondence to Li-fang Zhang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Robert J. Sternberg

  2. Department of Graduate Education, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA

    Don Ambrose

Appendix: Intellectual Styles Involved in Research on Gifted Students

Appendix: Intellectual Styles Involved in Research on Gifted Students

 

Style type

Type I (Creativity-generating)

Type II (Norm-favoring)

Type III (Either creativity-generating or norm-favoring)

 

Personality stylea

Intuitive, perceiving

Sensing, judging

Thinking, feeling, introversion, extraversion

 

Perceptual styleb

Field independent

Field dependent

 

Style construct

Thinking stylec

Legislative, judicial, global, hierarchical, judicial

Executive, local, monarchic, conservative

Oligarchic, anarchic, internal, external

 

Conceptual tempod

Reflectivity

Impulsivity

 
 

Career personality stylee

Artistic, investigative

Conventional, realistic

Social, enterprising

 

Mode of thinkingf

Holistic

Analytic

Integrative

  1. Notes: Theoretical foundations:aJung’s theory of personality styles,bWitkin’s construct of field dependence/independence,cSternberg’s theory of mental self-government,dKagan’s model of reflectivity-impulsivity conceptual tempo,eHolland’s theory of career personality styles,fTorrance’s construct of brain dominance

The classification of styles is based on Zhang and Sternberg’s (2005) Threefold Model of Intellectual Styles and on Zhang’s (2017) further specification in The Value of Intellectual Styles.

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Zhang, Lf. (2021). Giftedness as a Propensity to Use Creativity-Generating Intellectual Styles. In: Sternberg, R.J., Ambrose, D. (eds) Conceptions of Giftedness and Talent. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56869-6_27

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