Assessing developmental potential in gifted children:A comparison of methods

Overexcitability is a term used to describe five forms of heightened experiencing that contribute to the developmental potential of gifted children. Two alternative means of assessing overexcitabilities were examined: questionnaire and interview. It was hypothesized that the interview, offering the possibility for probing and clarification of responses, would yield richer response material than the questionnaire. Contrary to expectations, the interview did not yield higher overexcitability scores. In two separate comparisons of the questionnaire and interview, similar results were obtained for four of the five forms of overexcitability. Correlations between questionnaire and interview scores were too low to consider the methods equivalent for making individual assessments. Older children, ages 12–14, scored higher than younger ones, ages 9–11. Most of those in the younger group had difficulty writing their answers; therefore, the interview is recommended for children below age 12.