Giftedness and Talent: Reexamining a Reexamination of the Definitions

Abstract

In the scientific literature, there is ambiguity in the distinction between the concepts of giftedness and talent. This paper examines several common definitions of these two terms, with particular emphasis on the models proposed by Renzulli (1979) and Cohn (1981). Our critique of these two models leads to a clear differentiation between giftedness and talent: the former is associated with domains of abilities which foster and explain exceptional performance in varied fields of activities, that is, talents. Thus, one can be gifted without necessarily being talented (as with the case of underachievers), but not vice versa. Several factors which can act as catalysts for the actualization of giftedness in specific talents are discussed, particularly motivation and environmental quality.