Describe and discuss the social and emotional consequences for a child of being identified as gifted. Refer to evidence in your answer. (12 marks - 5/7 split)

Some psychologists believe that a gifted child's social and emotional development is not adversley affected by their being gifted, whereas other psychologists believe they are affected in a negative way. Early research using highly gifted children suggests that they don't encounter social and emotional development problems and that the self-esteem of these gifted children is as high as that of 'normal' children. This idea is supported by Terman's longitudinal study 1925-1959. He studied and followed …

…there could be important developments academically, socially or emotionally that are missed by the psychologists. The studies are often only based on small numbers of children. These small sample sizes make it difficult to generalise and apply the results to the entire target population of gifted children. For example, the Miraca Gross study used a very small sample of only 15 children. Another problem includes the fact that observer or participant bias may have been operating.