Perfectionism in gifted students

1. “Many gifted kids are perfectionists, and they always think they can do better.” Adriane, 12 Perfectionism in gifted students “They expect themselves to be perfect in all areas of study, therefore when something goes wrong they undermine a prior success.” Sonja, 13 “ Personally I never felt like anything I did was good enough.” Angela, 17

2. What is perfectionism? • Perfectionism is a twofaced attribute that can propel an individual to greatness or cripple them with frustration and anxiety.

3. Accept mistakes Enjoy high parental expectations Strong need for order Intrinsically motivated Earns high grades Gains pleasure from task completion Never feel things are good enough Need to achieve at all costs Desire to be the BEST! Unrealistic and unachievable goals Double telescope view of achievement Types of Perfectionism Healthy Perfectionist Neurotic Perfectionist

4. Ways to measure perfectionism: • Burns Perfectionism Scale (1980) • Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost, Marten, Lahart, and Rosenblate 1990) • Almost Perfect Scale (Johnson and Slaney 1996)

5. Research has Shown: • As a group, gifted students are perfectionistic • They seem to be more perfectionistic that average-ability peers • Their perfectionism can be a positive force for high achievement

6. Why? • Introverts are typically perfectionist and close half of the gifted population is introverted. • Because of the gifted child’s lack of challenge from the beginning of their earliest learning experiences they become accustomed to success hence their stringent avoidance of failure. • Their goals are set according to their metal age not their actual age so their asynchronous development can cause problems. • When their work is unchallenging they strive for perfect performance (like grades) instead of mastery. • Perfectionist teachers, parents and competitive peers may cause the gifted student to view their worth as what they can achieve.

7. Be average for a day. Allow yourself to be messy, late, incomplete . . . Imperfect. Then celebrate your success. Get involved in activities that are not graded or judged--activities that focus on process, not product. Take a risk, Sign up for a course with a reputation for being challenging. Start a conversation with someone you don’t know. Do an assignment or study for a test with out over doing it. Alter your morning routine, Start a day with out a plan. Give yourself permission to make at least three mistakes a day. 10 Tips for Combating Perfectionism

8. Stop using the word “should” in your self-talk. Remove “I have to” form your conversation. Share a weakness or limitation with a friend. Recognize that he or she doesn’t think any less of you as a result. Acknowledge that your expectations of yourself might be too high, even unrealistic. Savor your past accomplishments. Write about how good they made you feel. Tips continued . . .

9. Ask your friends to help you “cure” your perfectionism. Perhaps they can give you a sign or a word when they notice you are being a perfectionist. Join the human race. It’s less lonely when we accept our own and others’ imperfections and feel part of life. Tips continued . . .

10. Help your gifted child by . . . “praising them for their efforts and determination, rather than being ‘smart’ or ‘talented’; and by encoraging them to channel their efforts into what they care about most, rather than trying to do everything equally well.”

11. Parents/Teachers: Don’t • Single out bright child for special attention • Ignore persistent teasing problem • Discipline teasing by drawing more attention to situation • Give G/T students repetitious work • Use bright students as teacher aids (ask first) • Punish for misbehaving when there’s nothing interesting to do • Teach same topic over and over • Encourage perfectionists to spend hours on headings or perfect handwriting

12. What do the following have in common? • Cheese • Chocolate chip cookies • Coco-Cola • Penicillin • Post-it-notes • Silly putty

13. Why Mistakes are Great • Mistakes are universal • Mistakes show that you’re learning • Mistakes show that you’re trying something new or different • Mistakes allow you to see your own improvement • Mistakes allow you to learn from others

14. MCA Convention

15. Draw it, Write it, Make it • Title several note cards with the words, “Draw it, Write it, Make it” • On the back of each card, write an interesting question • Ask students to either • Draw an answer • Write a response • Create an answer with clay 2006 MCA Convention

16. References • Adderholdt, M., Goldburg, J. (1999). Perfectionism: What’s Bad About Being Too Good?. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub. • Delisle, J., Galbraith, J.(1996). The Gifted Kids’ Survival Guide. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub.

17. Furr, R., Hill, R., Huelsman, T., Kennedy, C., Kibler, J. Vicente, B. (2004). A New Measure of Perfectionism: The Perfectionism Inventory. Journals of Personality Assessment, 82(1), 80-91. • Moon, S., Neihart, M., Reis, S., Robeinson, N. (2002). The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children. What Do We Know?. Waco, Texas : Prufrock Press.

18. Pruett, G. (2004). Intellectually Gifted Students’ Perceptions of Personal Goals and Work Habits. Gifted Child Today. • Schuler, P. (1999). Voices of Perfectionism: Perfectionistic Gifted Adolescents in a Rural Middle School. The national Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut.

19. The End