ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief initial overview of the development of giftedness and talent research in different domains. It highlights the models and factors that have attempted to account for gifted education and talent development in particular contexts. Psychological publications increasingly deal with expertise alongside giftedness research. Models of giftedness have undergone a historical change, too, not just with regard to the differentiation between giftedness and achievement, but also the transformation of potential into performance. The circularity of the learning and development process may not only lead to the achievement level being conditioned by the giftedness range, but may also result in potential development being influenced by performance evolvement. The emergence of achievement excellence can be explained with the help of the performance-oriented 'deliberate practice concept', which regards efficient learning processes as causal mechanisms for a learner's transition from one level of competence to the next.
