Cognitive and non-cognitive determinants of academic and life success

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problems of association between academic and life success of a person with the levels of their cognitive development and several non-cognitive factors. Not only at the level of implicit theories that typically serve as a basis for educational practice but also in specialized psychological works, giftedness is often defined through success, although it is impossible not to recognize these phenomena as fundamentally different. In this regard, providing a distinction between the concepts of “giftedness” and “success” (both academic and life success) appears to be a relevant objective. The main proposition in the present article is that most specialists studying giftedness as personality potential view cognitive factors, primarily intellect and creativity (less often other cognitive functions), as its core and at the rare instances that the non-cognitive factors are considered, they are examined not in association with the structure of giftedness but merely as predictors of success. Therefore, the objective of examining and classifying the cognitive and non-cognitive factors of giftedness development, as well as autonomously analyzing the effective determinants of academic and life success of a person appears to be important and significantly novel. The present article has the nature of a theoretical review, therefore, the research method deployed in it is the analysis of theoretical sources across the broadest possible time frame. Consideration of the evolution of ideas of researchers from different countries and eras and the projection of their judgments, conclusions, and recommendations onto educational and social practice can shed light on the modern understanding of these processes both in scientific and everyday psychology.