CHILD PRODIGIES - A DISTINCTIVE FORM OF GIFTEDNESS

The basic premise of this article is that the child prodigy is a disti nct form of giftedness which must be understood on its own terms. In c ontrast with the child of great general ability, the prodigy tends to have a more focused, specialized. and domain-specific form of giftedne ss. Studies of prodigies have contributed to changing theories about t he nature of giftedness (e.g., from single to multiple) and will likel y continue to do so. Along with the related phenomenon of savant syndr ome. the prodigy points to a set of complex relationships between psyc hometric intelligence in the traditional sense and expression of talen t within specific domains like music or mathematics. Based in part on findings from studies of prodigies. it is likely that there are import ant roles for both general and specific abilities in most forms of gif tedness and that they represent two distinct evolutionary trends to ma ximize the likelihood of human survival.