The Social Cognition of Gifted Adolescents in Schools: Managing the Stigma of Giftedness

Tracy L. Cross; Laurence J. Coleman; Marge Terhaar-Yonkers

Abstract: A study of the effects of schooling on the social cognition of gifted adolescents is reported. A student attitude questionnaire (SAQ) exploring the cognitive behavioral strategies utilized to manage the stigma of giftedness was developed after conducting phenomenological interviews of fifteen gifted adolescents attending the Tennessee Governor’s Schools (Coleman & Cross, 1988). The questionnaire asked subjects to respond to six scenarios described as potentially stigmatizing events during the normal school day. Five common strategies noted during the interviews were provided as options in each of the scenarios. The data reported herein are based on the responses of 1,465 students over a two-year period. The patterns of responses suggested that gifted adolescents utilize the five strategies to differing degrees across situations. Situations most closely associated with test performance seemed to elicit the greatest variation in coping strategies, while those primarily reflecting social situations showed a consistently narrow range of strategies. The “placate” coping strategy was the most frequently used across the school-based scenarios. 

摘要：本章介绍一个关于学校教育对有天赋的青少年的社会认知的影响。在采用现象访谈法采访了田纳西州立学校的15名有天资的青少年进行采访之后，进行了一次关于青少年面对天赋的羞耻感的认知行为策略的学生问卷调查。问卷中，要求参与者对所描述的六种平时学校生活中可能发生的侮辱事件作答。每一个事件均有五种常见的策略作为选项。报告数据是根据1,465名两年以上学龄的学生答案为基础，结果表明，有天赋的学生面对不同的情景应用五中策略的程度不同。也测试表现行为紧密相关的情景对应对策略变化的影响最大。而其他情景，影响平平，大同小异。“怀柔”应对策略是在学校为背景的情景中最常用的策略。

出处：《Journal for the Education of the Gifted》2014年第37卷第1期