#1 Gifted people like to show off their abilities, as if they feel special
The biggest myth on giftedness is that gifted people like to show off their abilities. Most gifted people are not even aware that they fit the characteristics of being gifted!
To address other profound myths: giftedness is not one dimensional: it is not solely about cognitive performance. Tell-tale signs are often the early development of vocal communication skills, problem-solving tendencies, being "handy" and showing refined motor skills, along with quick wit and an extensive vocabulary. Adults may report that a gifted child seems to be "eagle-eyed" and has a high awareness of the world around them.
This awareness in gifted individuals comes without putting effort into it and is a stark contrast to individuals who feel uptight, insecure and suspicious.
#2 Gifted children and adults are socially and emotionally less developed compared to their cognitive abilities
Gifted children and adults are not socially awkward or emotionally less developed either. There is no such thing as "Being socially-emotionally behind because cognitive skills are so advanced". Communication errors with peers (either children and adults) arise when the differences in vocabulary, speed of processing information and memory are too big. Among grades of giftedness (gifted, profoundly gifted and genius), individual differences are as great as they are between the non-gifted and gifted.
#3 Gifted people have an introverted focus and prefer solitude & quiet environments
With differences between non-gifted ("normal" people do exist! The majority of people don't have either high or low intelligence, but average intelligence), gifted children will oftentimes have to resort to solitude or introverted behavior when they don't have an innate introverted focus. While remaining quiet is mostly against the gifted individual's nature, their quick adaptive reasoning and quick communication style can leave them misunderstood by non-gifted peers. They either need to "slow down" or present themselves as moderately intelligent to be understood, or they get lonely being in the company of peers.
The prevalent factor in social experiences from gifted people is that they often do not share the same topics of interest and points of view with moderately intelligent peers. It is not so much about suffering from an "Alien Syndrome", but lacking continuity in conversation with people who don't understand the leaps that gifted people make and the matters that make them enthusiastic. Foremost, an equal kind of energy is missing.
As gifted people are often clairvoyant, they can sense intentions and social cues that "normal" people often fail to sense adequately. This makes that they might not want to share personal details and thoughts with others. It does not mean that gifted people are aloof- on the contrary. They can tell immediately when people are trustworthy.
It is also a major myth that forcing socializing opportunities with peers (whether these are classmates, college peers or coworkers) could be of benefit for gifted people. They are forced to find common ground with peers, or they will be left out of any conversation. Being forced to participate in topics they don't share any interest in, will not create a bond between gifted individuals and their nongifted peers. Likewise, being forced to join the buzz has nothing to do with getting to know other people better.
#4 Gifted adults are underachievers because they have never developed perseverance and learning strategies/gifted students need to learn how to learn
This myths fails to understand that a hallmark of giftedness is a high capability to internalize new skills or to adapt to environmental changes. New knowledge will also be memorized without repetition. "Learning how to learn" applies to non-gifted people, who may need to repeat new knowledge.
It is not true that gifted students have a hard time processing new knowledge in college. They may feel bored when college is not particularly challenging and therefore feel discouraged to read the literature and attend classes. In college, classes are also by default designed for students of average intelligence who need to internalize the literature in a certain order. Only a small amount of literature has to be read to prepare for class, whereas a gifted student has already finished the literature required for one semester.
#5 Giftedness shares similarities with autism (ASS)
Contrary to popular belief, gifted people do not share similarities with autistic people (ASS). The next statement may not be without controversy, as autistic people are often wrongly classified as "non-social" and "unempathic". These outdated classifications are result of nonscientific views that have been practiced in psychology. Autistic people may be more sensitive to social cues to an extent that makes them more empathic than neurotypical individuals.
Gifted people are extremely able to sense social cues and expectations, but often deliberately choose not to adapt to social conventions whenever those are deemed pointless. Gifted people are clear in communicating their needs. To gifted people, there is no confusion when it comes to understanding pronouns and sarcasm. Gifted people do understand why people use clichéd language everyday, but choose not to apply cliché themselves.
It is true that gifted children and even adults may be sensitive to sound, taste, view, scents and other sensory input. A child may, for example, become sensitive to the sound of a vehicle racing by. This is not a kind of "irrational fear"; gifted children often have an absolute pitch, enabling them to hear every sound produced. Gifted children and adults may seek to stimulate their ability to sense and appreciate fine tastes, scents and certain textures. A profound love for a certain dish or fabric is not due intolerance, whereas neurodivergent people may not be able to carry out their daily routine when being confronted with certain tastes or fabrics.
Fears in gifted children may arise from their strong associative memory. Phrases and sounds can be frightening not because of their pitch, but because of a negative association attached to it. These fears are rooted in the anticipation of an emotional memory to re-occur.
#6 Gifted people are prone to perfectionism, they have high expectations of others and are their own worst enemy
Another myth that is hard to repel, is the view of gifted people being prone to perfectionism, having fear of failure and "having high expectations from themselves and others".
Gifted people have an efficiently working brain and see ways in which processes can be done more efficiently. The hyperactive nature most gifted people are born with, can give other people an impression of being bleak, slow and inadequate in comparison.
In contrast to many nongifted people, gifted people are not bothered with comparison. They don't feel the need to profile and classify other individuals into frames and personality types (that are factually nonexistent). Likewise, they do not feel the need to strive for perfection and to join any kind of competition in the workplace.
Gifted people often question the value of information, criticism and advise. They will discover early on that most information is obsolete or outdated. Criticism and advice will not be discarded out of stubbornness, but not accepted when the person giving the criticism has the wrong intentions.
Criticism is often not reflection, but projection of another individual. As many people of moderate intelligence cannot read nor care to invest in getting to know the gifted individual, criticism is more likely to be based on wrong assumptions and myths.
#7 Gifted people are prone to depression and other types of mental burden
The last major myth is that giftedness is inherently linked to depression and mental burden. On the contrary, being gifted offers such flexibility in adapting to hardship that mental damage does not occur. Whilst initially being highly emotional, their innate drive to try their hands on anything to resolve problems will offer new avenues. Giftedness thus has protective properties. This is not because of experience, but extensive network refinery in the brain.
There has long been a negative bias towards giftedness and depression. This stems from unproven assumptions made by psychologists. An explanation is that these psychologists report anecdotal evidence from patients who may or may not fit the criteria for giftedness and depression. Gifted people who consult a psychologist may experience mental issues not inherently linked to their cognitive abilities. This does not amount to an overrepresentation of the gifted with mental health issues. Also, gifted people presenting with existential questions may be misdiagnosed as individuals with anxiety or depressive disorders.
A 2023 study has set the record straight: there is no evidence to support the idea presumption that intellectually gifted people are prone to the development of mental health problems (High Cognitive Ability and Mental Health: Findings from a Large Community Sample of Adolescents, Journal of Intelligence 2023 Febl 11(2)).
Gifted people need the right amount of stimulation and contact with likeminded peers to develop themselves
All is not to say that being gifted equals being superior. Most gifted people don't view themselves as superior. The noun "gifted" is not even apt. Giftedness is just another way of quickly processing the world and using adaptive, advanced skills to resolve tasks. Another way to survive.
But like everyone else, gifted people need to be enabled to use their brain capacity. Whereas many people are prone to burnout and fatigue from information overload, gifted people can easily get a boreout from understimulation. Being bored is not a luxury issue. Gifted people feel deprived, are prone to underachievement and may have a hard time focusing when being confronted with mundane tasks, slowth, repetition and a lack of understanding peers. Asking a gifted individual to slow down and take it easy when performing routine tasks is asking a racer to hit the brakes while accelerating. It is damaging and counterproductive to do so.
Forcing gifted individuals to mingle with peers who do not share common interests, values and their active biorhythm does not add any social value. Enabling them to mingle with people they are interested in and share interests or a sense of humor with, is most valuable.
