Gifted Underachievement

Gifted children are perhaps any nation’s most precious resource.  By labeling them as “gifted,” the society is implicitly placing a bet that they are children who somehow have the most to contribute to that society. Some gifted children, however, do not achieve at the level of which they are capable.  This is a loss to them, of course, but it also is a loss to the society that could benefit from their contributions if they lived up to their potential. The field of gifted education has long been fragmented, with experts often focusing on specific aspects of underachievement without fully engaging with other viewpoints. Gifted Underachievement is motivated by the need to bridge the gap between different schools of thought in gifted underachievement research as well demonstrate how these different viewpoints can be integrated into a cohesive framework. This book considers the multiple factors including the interactions between person, task, and situation, to provide a more holistic understanding of the causes of gifted underachievement.

Robert J. Sternberg is Professor of Psychology at Cornell University, US and Honorary Professor of Psychology at Heidelberg University, Germany.  Sternberg is a Past President of the American Psychological Association and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Ophélie Allyssa Desmet is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at Ball State University, US. She received her PhD from Purdue University, US in Educational Studies, majoring in Gifted Education. Her research focuses on promoting talent development by examining the interplay of cognitive, psychosocial, social-emotional, and motivational factors.