ABSTRACT
Social traits can be observed as children interact with peers and adults, in class and club leadership roles, or in interactions within the family. Emotional traits are related to intrapersonal awareness, such as the “capacity to recognize one’s own emotions, motivations, and needs”. While the social and emotional traits discussed below are in and of themselves neutral, the behaviors that sometimes manifest themselves with the traits in social settings may be perceived as positive or negative by both peers and adults. Gifted expert Michael Piechowski described overexcitability as “the great depth and intensity of emotional life expressed through a wide range of feelings, attachments, compassion, heightened sense of responsibility, and scrupulous self-examination”. In addition to intensity, some gifted children have perfectionist tendencies that can have implications for both home and school.
