Science & Self-improvement

There are some traits of introvert people that can contribute to the feeling that most gifted people have of being different from the rest. The extroverted is easily accepted in society because his tendency to share his emotions make the others feel comfortably with him. If he is gifted, he may use his intelligence to assume a leader position. An introverted gifted person has a double challenge in his attempts to socialize. The distrust that inspires an intelligent person in those of lesser intelligence is aggravated because the introvert is reluctant to open himself emotionally. The feeling of insecurity that most gifted people experiment can also be made greater for the introvert’s tendency to think before acting, contrasting with the normal behavior of acting first and then think.

Over-excitability

According to K. Dabrowski’s, gifted people are over-excitable–they have a higher than average responsiveness to stimuli. Stimuli may affect one of the psychomotor, sensual, emotional, imaginative, or intellectual areas, or a combination of them. Over-excitability in the emotional area of the personality can be matched with the emotional intensity and sensitivity already mentioned.

Nonconformity and independence

An independent behavior that is not restricted by social rules is a characteristic of gifted people. They do not mind acting in a way that may be disapproved by society. In addition, an independent thinking is observed, which is not guided by common prejudices.

Divergency

Divergency is a modality of mental processing in which the mind, faced up with a problem, seeks non-conventional responses. The divergent thinker is able to provide creative solutions.

Sense of humor

A ‘weird’ sense of humor is usually present in gifted people. Things that make them laugh are not the same that make the rest laugh. This type of humor is produced by a philosophical point of view that leads to perceive the incongruity of many everyday situations and even to laugh at oneself, which is not comprehended by the majority.

Consistency

The gifted person strives to maintain consistency between actions and values. This is related with the moral concern already mentioned–a part of morality consists in keeping parallel what one says and what one does.

Purpose

A sense of purpose is innate in gifted people. Sometimes called ‘entelechy,’ it means that life must have a goal for the person, that something must be actualized and must not remain as a mere potentiality. If the accomplishment of this purpose is thwarted by circumstances, the person may be led to a life of mere subsistence.

Other traits

Other traits that have been mentioned as appropriate to gifted people are: creativity, imagination, insight, intuition, openness, impulsiveness, curiosity, high energy level, perceptivity, low tolerance for frustration, easiness in getting overextended, reluctance to delegate, projection of exorbitant standards onto others, persistence, resilience, risk-taking, self-discipline, self-efficacy, tolerance for ambiguity.