A Faceted Eye on Intellectual Giftedness: Examining the Personality of Gifted Students Using FFM Domains and Facets Cover Image

A Faceted Eye on Intellectual Giftedness: Examining the Personality of Gifted Students Using FFM Domains and Facets
A Faceted Eye on Intellectual Giftedness: Examining the Personality of Gifted Students Using FFM Domains and Facets

Author(s): Ana Altaras-Dimitrijević
Subject(s): Education, Social psychology and group interaction, Personality Psychology
Published by: Društvo psihologa Srbije
Keywords: (intellectual) giftedness; personality traits; FFM (Big-Five) domains and facets; NEO-PI-R;

Summary/Abstract: The study examines the personality profile of gifted vs. average-ability students from the perspective of the FFM. The issue was approached by (1) reviewing the literature for well-established personality characteristics of the gifted, (2) establishing correspondences between these traits and FFM domains/facets, and (3) formulating a domain and a facet-level model which were hypothesized to discriminate significantly between gifted and nongifted students. The domain-level model consisted of Openness and Agreeableness. The facet-level model included 14 traits: Anxiety, Impulsiveness, Gregariousness, Assertiveness, Fantasy, Feelings, Aesthetics, Ideas, Compliance, Modesty, Tendermindedness, Order, Achievement, and Deliberation. The models were tested on three samples (N1 =515 high-school students, 155 gifted; N2 =132 psychology students, 28 gifted; N3 =443 psychology students, 91 gifted). Results indicate that the domain-level model does not discriminate significantly between gifted and nongifted students in each sample, whereas the proposed 14-facet model yields a significant discrimination across all samples. The latter model may be further adjusted by removing facets which proved inconsistent or unsubstantial in distinguishing between the two groups. This yields a 7-facet discriminant function, which is also significant across samples, indicating that gifted students are consistently distinguished by a combination of high Ideas, Fantasy, Aesthetics, and Assertiveness, but low Gregariuosness, Modesty, and Tendermindeness. Educational implications and limitations are discussed.

  • Issue Year: 45/2012
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 231-256
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: English