Deviant Behavior the Foundational Aspects

Deviant Behavior

The foundational aspects that define the gifted or developmentally advanced are often difficult to assess as they are often poorly defined and offer challenges to educators, parents and the community. In the literature there is an abundance of information that details the concepts of deviance, qualified by negative behaviors and yet gifted and developmentally advanced individuals are also outside the norm. It is for this reason that many, consider gifted or developmentally advanced individuals positive deviants. Quite simply, to be deviant is to be outside the norm and as there are many multitudes of people who are outside the norm there are deviants on both sides of the spectrum. Defining positive deviants has not always been easy, and there are currently several schools of thought on the subject, yet one of the most widely utilized guides includes a set of qualifications that define gifted children. There are those who are defined as gifted because they have an exceptionally high IQ and those who have an exceptionally high IQ and are also particularly gifted in a certain area.

The National Association for Gifted Children (2000, p. 1) offers the following definitions: Openly able: enjoying their talent and excelling in all they do. Concealed able: under-achievers who fade into and hide in their peer-group. Rebellious able: disruptive under-achievers with a range of behavioral problems. Creative able: "odd-balls" often with unusual divergent thought patterns, which can make them intense and abrasive. Talented able: intellectually able but with a particular talent in one area. (Bentham, 2002, pp. 77-78)

As can be seen from the above classifications the challenge of being gifted or positively deviant also comes with a whole string of potentially negative problems, i.e. deviance that is not as positive. It is for this reason that many gifted children get negatively labeled as difficult to handle. It is for this reason that the idea of positive deviant is a fruitful definition, as positive and sometimes arduous guidance is required to channel advanced deviance into positive deviance. The framework provided by the NAGC is farther advanced by appropriate and holistic identification of those who fall into these categories by utilizing every aspect of their lives to determine the best possible selection of educational environments to meet their needs, and channel the deviance into positive modes. Potentially any individual who is gifted, if stifled and/or offered negative role models of behavior could become a negatively deviant individual in adulthood or childhood. It is important to point out that many experts conclude that these young people are often feared, due to their differences and the complications of helping such a child are many. (Winner, 1996, p. 2)

Deviant people -- whether atypical in personality, intellect, or both -- have always interested psychologists, especially if the deviance involves negative personality traits or severely limited abilities. We know far more about psychopathological aspects of personality than about ideal traits such as compassion, moral courage, or leadership ability. A similar focus on deficits can be seen in psychological studies of cognition. While standard journals in developmental psychology publish articles on retardation, they rarely publish studies of giftedness. Such articles are relegated to less prestigious journals that specialize in giftedness. This state of affairs reflects the mistaken assumption that giftedness does not have much to tell us about the typical. I believe it is also due to the fact that retardation, like psychopathology, has been seen as a problem in need of solution, while great strengths have been seen as privileges rather than problems. 2 (Winner, 1996, p. 2)