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Handbook of Giftedness in Children pp 13–31Cite as

History of Giftedness: Perspectives from the Past Presage Modern Scholarship

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Across centuries and cultures, exceptional performances and performers have intrigued scholars, practitioners, and the general public. Whatever the domain, highlevel achievements interest people, sometimes as a model to emulate, sometimes as an area of inquiry, sometimes as a curiosity.

Theoretically, the modern study of giftedness is related to the psychology of individual differences. In the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, the psychological constructs of intelligence, creativity, and motivation provided the foundation for understanding giftedness. There are, however, earlier conceptions of extraordinary people and performances that have influenced our perspectives on giftedness as well. This chapter reviews briefly the historical interest in giftedness to the nineteenth century, shares four biographical summaries that illustrate key issues in the twentieth-century history of gifted education, offers a review of cognitive and affective variables which have historically been used to study giftedness, and concludes with attention to issues of particular interest to psychologists and mental health professionals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA

    Ann Robinson

  2. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, USA

    Pamela R. Clinkenbeard

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  1. Ann Robinson
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  2. Pamela R. Clinkenbeard
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  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Steven I. Pfeiffer

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Robinson, A., Clinkenbeard, P.R. (2008). History of Giftedness: Perspectives from the Past Presage Modern Scholarship. In: Pfeiffer, S.I. (eds) Handbook of Giftedness in Children. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-74401-8_2

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