Summary of Neihart's  Preserving the True Self of Gifted Child 

Vehicle for studying personality in gifted students: Self psychology.
 

• Field of “self psychology” pioneered by Heinz Kohut
• Four Principles

  1.  Self development processes include differentiation, self-efficacy, authenticity and self esteem.
  
  2.  Goal of development is the preservation of the integrated self
  
  3.  The integrated self is the center of personality
  
  4.  The most important factor to creating a healthy integrated self is the response of others (especially caregivers) to the individual.
   

  Using this model provides information on:
  • How expressed giftedness influences personality
  • The response by others to the gifted child is pivotal in development

 Initial Development of the Self

· Not present at birth, develops through introjection: incorporation of attitudes, ideas and beliefs 

• Winnicott (1989) 
  • “self develops as a result of the interactions with the human environment.”
  • “self is a product of what the individual takes in and internalizes from people and events in immediate environment
  • Mother is first, Father second introjects
• As cognitive development advances child recognizes “good self” vs. “bad self”
  • Good self are emotions, qualities and thoughts accepted and valued by parental figures.
  • Bad self things rejected by parental figures.
• Csikszentimihalyi (1993)
  • The things individuals pay attention to shapes the self.
  • What people pay attention to is not trivial
  • Objects are introjected as perceived, not necessarily as they are.
  • Time and repeated experiences expand and shape self
  • With maturity self becomes integrated

Later development of the Self

• Most differentiation of the self occurs
  • Initially from ages 3 to 36 months
  • Again in adolescence
• Two pathways to integrated self through “selfobjects”
  • Self-object: person or thing or image that helps restore order when the self feels threatened. (Wexler, 1991; Wolf, 1988)
    • Serve an organizing function
  • First pathway
    • Through affirming nurturing empathetic mother
    • Child learns he is of value during preverbal stage of life
  • Second pathway
    • Acceptance of idealized father
    • Through internalizing magnificence and power of father child develops a healthy self
  • Interactions of pathways and biology integrate the self
    • Full integration creates healthy well ordered able to stand alone self
    • Inadequate creates maladjustment, psychopathology, brittle and disorganized self
  • Stages of integration
    • “grandiose self” (Kohut, 1971) when young children have exaggerated sense of self worth. View self as all good. 
      • Project bad self components on others
      • Once integrated a realistic self concept develops
      • Unintegrated causes individual to struggle with self esteem
        • Inability to accept criticism or negative aspects of self.
      • Carder and Carder (1995, p. 53) need some “failure” to develop strong sense of self
      • Pine (1990) Optimum level of praise for healthy development
      • Rimm (1990) Extravagant praise can cause child to feel pressured
    • From age 5 to puberty shaping self and self-esteem
      • successes and failures in learning
      • how others treat the individual
    • Adolescence
      • Key time when self is clearly defined and established
        • Natural narcissism
      • Pipher (1994) depression and anger are reactions to abandonment of the self.
        • Depression- blame self
        • Anger- blame others
      • Acting out is an attempt to protect and differentiate

Loss of True Self in Gifted Children

* Gifted may have to fight harder to preserve true self

o Especially when the giftedness is not recognized or affirmed at home or school

o Response of others to the giftedness will have greatest impact

o Lose true self when giftedness is ignored, rejected or denied.

o Creative giftedness less welcome in school than academic giftedness

 Creative gifted may feel more pressure to create false self

o Pressure can come from parents, other significant relations or culture

o May struggle more knowing they are different from peers

 Dabrowski and Piechowski (1977) Gifted more likely to take up self criticism at an early age.

o Knowing they are losing their true self may be cause of more intense feeling

 Culture acts as a splitting agent 

o Females especially challenged

 Parents have an important role in development of healthy self

o Parental giftedness has impacts

 Denial of giftedness in parent will contribute to betrayal of self by child

o Parents and children need information about their giftedness. 

Strategies to Preserve the True Self

• Help student see themselves in the broader context of culture and time they live in
   
• Miller (1981) People with true selves can experience all feelings honestly.
   
  • Teaching acknowledgement of and expression of emotion strengthens true self
     
• Gifted children need to learn to manage own pain to become authentic adults
   
  • Learn to respond to “What is this experience saying to you?”
     
• Provide adult facilitated peer group exercises and discussions
   
  • Group must get to deep structure questions 
     
• Reading
  • Mirroring of admirable characters
     
• Guided experiences for defining boundaries and relationships define the self.

 References: 

Neihart, M. (1998). Preserving the true self of the gifted child. Roeper

Review, 20(3), 187 – 191.