Innate talents: Reality or myth?

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of excep...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Behavioral and brain sciences 1998-06, Vol.21 (3), p.399-407
Main Authors: Howe, Michael J. A., Davidson, Jane W., Sloboda, John A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aptitude - physiology
Autistic Disorder
Child
Child psychology
Cognition - physiology
Creativity
exceptional ability
expertise
Female
gift
Humans
innate capacity
Intellectual Disability
Male
Music
potential
prodigy
Skills
specific ability
talent
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence.
ISSN:0140-525X
1469-1825
DOI:10.1017/S0140525X9800123X