Definition
Giftedness refers to high values in the distribution of skills fundamental to human accomplishments. Intelligence, talent, and creativity are neighboring but distinct notions. Whereas domain-general giftedness partially overlaps with the notion of intelligence, domain-specific giftedness calls its nature into question, and there is no single intelligence-test-based threshold which consensually defines giftedness. Talent describes the outcome of giftedness in actual accomplishments, which depends on a combination of giftedness, training, and more or less optimal conditions for the acquisition of expertise. Creativity designates the capacity for innovation, which may or may not be associated with giftedness, and does not overlap with intelligence. Giftedness includes a genetic and/or innate component in the form of an overrepresentation of giftedness within some families or in the form of genetic variation favoring atypical information-processing abilities.
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Mottron, L., Dawson, M. (2013). Giftedness. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_520
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_520
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