High Intellectual Abilities: Management and Empowerment

These are the keys to enhance high intellectual abilities and take advantage of them.

The field of high intellectual abilities is one of the most interesting in the world of psychology, both in terms of the research on this subject that is being carried out and in terms of working with people with this trait.

The fact that there are people with this high degree of cognitive aptitude shows how sophisticated the human mind can become; however, this intellectual development does not occur spontaneously without external support. Both in childhood and in adulthood, the context is key to making the most of their potential.

In this article I will talk about how this management and empowerment of high intellectual abilities occurs through psychological support by specialized professionals.

What are high intellectual abilities?

The term "high intellectual abilities" is often used as a synonym for intellectual giftedness, and on an informal level, it is not entirely wrong to do so. However, technically these two concepts are not equivalent. The fact is that all people with intellectual giftedness possess high abilities, but not all people with high abilities are gifted..

The truth is that high intellectual abilities make up a category of psychological phenomena that includes intellectual giftedness, on the one hand, and talents, on the other.

Giftedness

Giftedness is a characteristic present in those with an exceptionally high degree of intelligence. In this case, intelligence is reflected in the scores obtained through the application of intelligence tests designed for this purpose, in which an Intellectual Quotient (IQ) is obtained. People with intellectual giftedness are considered to be those who exceed an IQ of 130, that is, the top 2.5% of the population.

Thus, intelligence measured by IQ is the core element of what we mean by giftedness. This implies that gifted people tend to express exceptionally intelligent behavior in most areas of their lives, since intelligence is a trait that manifests itself in many ways and in a wide variety of situations: that is what defines it, its ability to adapt to circumstances.

Talents

Talent is the other element that is included within the concept of high abilities. Individuals who express a high degree of talent are extremely skilled in a particular are extremely skilled in a particular type of ability, and need not be exceptionally intelligent in most areas of their lives.They do not necessarily have to be exceptionally intelligent in most areas of their lives. Thus, talented people are defined by the specificity of what they Excel at, while gifted people show a high degree of intelligence in general, although they may not show any specific talent.

How to promote high abilities?

The first thing to be clear about is that boosting high abilities does not mean making a person's intelligence level rise a lot in a short time; in fact, as far as is known, there are ways to encourage intelligence to reach its maximum potential, but this takes years and does not produce spectacular results in the IQ evolution graph.

So... what is the purpose of psychological support for people with high abilities? Mainly the following.

1. To detect areas of interest

In order to maximize a person's potential, it is necessary for him/her to find an area of learning, it is necessary to find an area of learning or training that motivates him/her and that is an exciting project.. Without this ingredient, no matter the level of intelligence or the facilities to master skills; sooner or later, frustration sets in and progress ceases. Psychologists help to improve people's self-knowledge and to order priorities and values, so that what is really relevant comes to the first page.

2. Learning to learn

Talent is, above all, the product of favorable predispositions to learn combined with a commitment to a systematized way of perfecting a set of skills. In many cases, the people who excel most at something are not particularly privileged in terms of innate aptitudes, but they have managed to make learning a habit.

Psychological support serves, among other things, to learn how to learn, which means doing it efficiently. This means doing it efficiently, without wasting time or exposing oneself to unnecessary frustration..

3. Get used to detect distractions and risk elements.

There are contextual factors that, if left unattended, can derail a person's intellectual potential. For example, an environment of friends that is not conducive to standing out, exposure to drugs or habits that encourage a sedentary lifestyle and a bad way of life, routines that make it impossible to focus, etc.

4. Adopting the habit of testing oneself

There are people who, in spite of being very intelligent or having a great capacity to develop areas of expertise, do not lend themselves to further progress, do not lend themselves to further progress in their skills.. In psychology, intervention programs are applied that propose ascending difficulty curves in which it is possible to always have goals to reach and criteria to determine how much progress has been made.

Are you looking for psychological assistance?

If you are interested in psychological assistance to enhance high abilities, please contact me. I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral intervention model and I offer services to both individuals and organizations. I work in person at my office in Madrid, or online via video call. On this page you can find more information about how I work, and my contact details.

Bibliographic references:

• Acereda, A. and Sastre, S. (1998). La superdotación. Madrid: Síntesis.
• Alonso, J.A.; Renzulli, J.S.; Benito, Y. (2003). Manual internacional de superdotados. Madrid: EOS.
• Coleman, M.R.; Harradine, C.; King, E.W. (2005). Meeting the needs of students who are twice exceptional. Teaching Exceptional Children. 38(1): pp. 5 - 6.
• Heller, K.A.; Mönks, F.J.; Sternberg, R.J.; et al. (2000). International Handbook of Giftedness and Talent. Amsterdam: Pergamon.