Perceptions of developmental, social, and emotional issues in giftedness:Are they realistic?

We questioned 285 undergraduate students enrolled in human development and educational psychology courses about their perceptions of issues related to giftedness. Participants responded to statements that reflect potential myths or misconceptions related to development, family relations, emotional functioning, and social functioning among individuals who are gifted. Many of the group's perceptions followed no dominant trend and varied little from published evidence. The exceptional issues involved perceptions of homogeneity among children who are gifted, synchronous development, emotional and social functioning in children who are gifted, and emotional functioning of their non‐gifted siblings. In the latter three cases, participants overestimated the probability of distress. We discuss implications for programmatic needs, and the need to educate the public regarding disparate and stigmatizing perceptions.