Giftedness identification and cognitive, physiological and psychological characteristics of gifted children: a systematic review

Despite the extensive history of investigation, characterization and diagnostics of giftedness is still a point of debate. The lack of understanding of the phenomenon affects the identification process of gifted children, development of targeted educational programs and state of research in the field of gifted education. In the current systematic review, we seek to delineate the specific aspects in which gifted children differ from their typically developing peers in cognitive abilities, psychophysiology and psychological characteristics. Secondly, we aim to document the prevalence and criteria of intelligence tests used to assess gifted children and adolescents. We reviewed 104 articles from more than 25 countries that examined a total of 77,705 children ages 5-18 years. Results reveal a discernible trend toward adopting more culturally appropriate measures for assessing giftedness in children. Findings highlight that gifted children generally outperform their peers in several cognitive domains such as verbal working memory, inhibition, geometric problem solving, attention-switching and elemental information processing, showcasing an accuracy-reaction time trade-off. Psychophysiological assessments demonstrate heightened and accelerated brain activity during complex effortful cognitive processes. Psychological and behavioral measures reveal that gifted children score higher on tests measuring intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and openness to experience; as well as achieving higher grades in school and employing better problem-solving strategies. Our systematic review can be beneficial in educational and research contexts, giving directions in assessment of giftedness and designing future research.