The social cognition of gifted adolescents: An exploration of the stigma of giftedness paradigm

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Abstract
An investigation was conducted to explicate the school‐based social cognition of gifted adolescents using the Stigma of Giftedness Paradigm (Coleman, 1985) as a theoretical framework. One thousand four hundred and sixty‐five attendees of the Tennessee Governor's School Program completed a questionnaire which asked them to depict their perceptions and experiences of being gifted in high school. The questionnaire data were analyzed using the Stigma of Giftedness Paradigm which states that: 1) gifted and talented students want to have normal social interactions, 2) they believe that people treat them differently when aware of their giftedness, and 3) they can influence how others interact with them by manipulating the information others have about them through various coping strategies. The paradigm was found to be an efficacious framework within which to contextualize the psycho‐social development of gifted students.