Gifted children in a fruit basket

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General intellectual ability

Characteristics of gifted children

  • is an avid reader
  • has avid interest in science or literature
  • provides very alert, rapid answers to questions
  • has a wide range of interests
  • is secure emotionally
  • is venturesome, wanting to do new things
  • tends to dominate peers or situations
  • is an entrepreneur - readily makes money on various projects or activities
  • needs little outside control - applies self discipline
  • is resourceful - solving problems by ingenious methods
  • is creative in new ideas, seeing associations, pursuing innovations
  • displays a great curiosity about objects, situations or events
  • has the capacity to look into things and be puzzled
  • is involved with many exploratory type activities


  • reveals originality in oral and written expression
  • is perceptually open to his or her environment
  • displays a willingness to accept complexity
  • has the capacity to use knowledge and information other than to memorise
  • shows superior judgement in evaluating things
  • is a good guesser
  • makes good grades in most subjects
  • learns rapidly, easily and efficiently
  • uses a lot of commonsense
  • retains and uses information which has been heard or read
  • uses a large number of words easily and accurately
  • asks many questions of a provocative nature
  • has a power of abstraction, conceptualisation and synthesis
  • has an interest in cause-effect relations
  • has a liking for structure, order and consistency
  • has a power of concentration, an intense attention that excludes all else
  • is persistent
  • has a high energy level
  • is independent
  • is friendly and outgoing

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