ABSTRACT
The affective characteristics of gifted individuals as well as the social-emotional needs related to those characteristics have been well documented by researchers in the field of gifted education. Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration and his theory of overexcitabilities both address affective development. Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration (TPD) highlights the role emotions and struggles play in human development. The levels of development progress from rigid, stereotypical structures and actions at the lowest level, through the emergence of an understanding of the difference between “what is” and “what ought to be,” to the highest level manifested in altruism, compassion, and integrity. Teachers of the gifted have a unique opportunity to help their students address their own affective needs through classroom activities. Lovecky delineated five social-emotional traits that are exhibited frequently by gifted students: divergent thinking ability, excitability, sensitivity, perceptiveness, and entelechy.
