Characteristics and Problems of the Gifted:
neural propagation depth and flow motivation
as a model of intelligence and creativity
Francis HEYLIGHEN
Who are the Gifted?
• High Intelligence and Creativity
• “Genius”: da Vinci, Einstein,
Simon, von Neumann...
• IQ > 130: gifted, > 145 highly
gifted, >160 exceptionally gifted
• Potential for exceptional
achievement
• difficult to measure
• Specific personality profile...
Personality Traits
• Cognition: good problem-solving, unusual
connections, original, imaginative, fast learner,
good memory
• Feelings: sensitive, intense, passionate,
“overexcitable”, sense of humor
• Motivation: ambitious, risk-taking, very curious,
broad interests, persistent, perfectionist
• Social relations: non-conformist, autonomous,
feels different, empathic, sense of justice
Gifted Children
99.4% learn rapidly
99.4% have extensive vocabulary
99.3% have excellent memory
99.3% reason well
97.9% are curious
96.1% are mature for their age
95.9% have excellent sense of humor
93.8% have keen sense of observation
93.5% have compassion for others
93.4% have vivid imagination
93.4% have long attention span
92.9% have ability with numbers
90.3% are concerned with fairness
89.4% are good with puzzles and legos
88.4% have high energy level
88.3% are perfectionistic
85.9% are perseverant
84.1% question authority
-Perfectionistic
and sets
standards for self and others.
Gifted Adult
high
-Has a good long-term memory.
-Feels overwhelmed by many
-Has strong moral convictions.
-Is highly sensitive, perceptive or
insightful.
-Fascinated by words or an avid
reader.
-Feels out-of-sync with others.
-Is very curious.
-Has an unusual sense of humor.
-A good problem solver.
-Has a vivid and rich imagination.
-Questions rules or authority.
-Has unusual ideas or connects
seemingly unrelated ideas.
-Thrives on challenge.
-Learns new things rapidly.
interests and abilities.
-Is very compassionate.
-Feels outrage at moral breaches that
the rest of the world seems to take for
granted.
-Has passionate, intense feelings.
-Has a great deal of energy.
-Can't switch off thinking.
-Feels driven by creativity.
-Loves ideas and ardent discussion.
-Needs periods of contemplation.
-Searches for ???? in their life.
-Feels a sense of alienation and
loneliness.
-Is very perceptive.
The g-factor
• Most general factor underlying intelligence
• Measures “information processing efficiency”
• Correlated with:
• brain size
• reaction/conduction/inspection speed
• size of working memory
• energy efficiency of brain
Neural Hypotheses about g
• glia (support cells): more in Einstein’s brain
• myelin: better insulation of neural connections (axons)
• neural plasticity: easier formation of connections
• metabolism: more efficient energy production
Neural Propagation Depth
• Spreading activation: action potentials
propagate from neuron to neuron across
synapses
• Process is: energy intensive, error-prone
• -> activation weakens with each crossing
• Propagation stops when activation drops
below threshold
• Average number of steps = propagation
depth
Propagation depth D as function of decay factor c
Activation: A(t) = c.A(t - 1), with c < 1
Problem-Solving
• Problem= initial combination of concepts
• Solution = final combination of concepts
• Problem-solving = propagating activation
along associations between concepts
• Example Problem: baby cries
illness?
Intermediate step: allergy to fish
Solution: fishless diet
Implications for cognition
• Giftedness ~ g ~ Propagation Depth D
• Higher D:
‣ wider propagation of activation
‣ more problems can be solved
‣ larger working memory
‣ more “far-fetched” associations
‣ stronger co-activation of remote
concepts
‣ faster Hebbian learning of
Imagination and Feeling
• Perceptual sensitivity:
stimuli propagate better from senses to
consciousness
• Emotional intensity:
perceptions elicit stronger feelings
• Vivid imagination:
conceptions more easily activate perceptual
memories
Social Feelings
• Empathy: imagining/feeling oneself in the
other’s place
‣ compassion
• Morality or Sense of justice:
• expanding compassion to remote
people/situations
• developing a comprehensive ethics
Flow Motivation
•Csikszentmihalyi:
people seek “flow” in activities
•challenges = skills
‣ flow, happiness
•challenges > skills
‣ too difficult, anxiety
•challenges < skills
‣ too easy, boredom
Finding the
right challenge
as people become
more skilled,
they need to raise their
challenges to remain
satisfied
Gifted motivation
• Skilled at problem-solving
‣ ambitious, seek difficult challenges
‣ perfectionist
• Skilled at learning
‣ intense curiosity
‣ wide range of interests
Relations with others
• Question authority/accepted wisdom
• prefer to think for themselves
• Are out of step: interaction GP - non GP
• skills GP >> skills non GP
‣ anxiety for non GP
‣ or: boredom for GP
‣ e.g. hiking, Procession of Echternach
Social Problems of the
Gifted
• May not be recognized as gifted
- too broad range of interests
- don’t fit the “specialist” stereotype of
-
good at maths, chess, whizz-kid, ...
may be dismissed as crackpots
• Others do not understand them
• Others may fear them as competitors
• Non-conformity can lead to ostracism
• e.g. Giordano Bruno
Personal Problems of the
Gifted
• rarely recognize themselves as gifted
• often feel lonely, misfit
• tend to accept dismissive views of others
• don’t know what to focus on
• can be so perfectionist they never finish their
work
• have unrealistic expectations of others
• can be too sensitive (e.g. compassionate)
Problems of Gifted Women
• fit the stereotypes even less then men
‣ are more inclined to accept
dismissive views
• are pushed by society into nonintellectual functions
• tend to be more socially sensitive,
compassionate
• cognition is more broad, contextsensitive
‣ have even more difficulty to focus
Testing the theory
• Neural propagation depth not directly observable
• Indirect measurements, e.g. indirect priming ?
• Simulation: spreading activation over network of
associated concepts (with Marko Rodriguez)
• solves IQ-test like questions
• e.g. which word does not fit: cow, car*, bird, fish
• number correct ~ propagation parameters
• similar mistakes like real people?