Individual Differences in IQ,Daydreaming and Moral Reasoning in Gifted and Average Adolescents

Abstract

Previous research found factorial independence between IQ and daydreaming in both gifted and average children and adolescents, supporting Hogan's (1980) three-dimensional model of intelligence. The present study was designed to replicate and extend these findings to older adolescents. The second aim of this research was to relate the decline in guilt and fear of failure daydreams that has been found in studies of children, adolescents, and college students to the development of moral reasoning ability. A total of 98 gifted students and 104 average students in grades 9 through 12 completed a revised form of the Imaginal Processes Inventory and the Defining Issues Test. Measures of daydreaming style were again found to be independent of intelligence. The gifted group was also found to have fewer guilt and fear of failure daydreams and more positive-constructive daydreams than the average group. No relationship was found between moral judgment and guilt and fear of failure daydreaming.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Colby, A. , L. Kohlberg , J. Gibbs and M. Lieberman , 1983. A longitudinal study of moral judgment . Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 48(1-2).

Cronbach, L.J. and P.E. Meehl , 1955. Construct validity in psychological tests . Psychological Bulletin 52, 281-302 .

Flavell, J.H. , 1977. Cognitive development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall' .

Giambra, L.M. , 1974. Daydreaming across the life span: late adolescent to senior citizen . International Journal of Aging and Human Development 5, 115-140 .

Giambra, L.M. , 1977-78. Adult male daydreaming across the life span: a replication, further analyses, and tentative norms based upon retrospective reports . International Journal of Aging and Human Development 8, 197-228 .

Gold, S.R. and R.G. Gold , 1982. Actual daydream content and the Imaginal Processes Inventory . Journal of Mental Imagery 6, 169-174 .

Gold, S.R. and B.B. Henderson , 1982. Daydreaming and curiosity: change, continuity and stability in gifted children and adolescents. (Manuscript submitted for publication.)

Henderson, B.B. and S.R. Gold , 1983. Intellectual styles: a comparison of factor structures in gifted and average children and adolescents . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45, 624-632 .

Henderson, B.B. , S.R. Gold and M.T. McCord , 1982. Daydreaming and curiosity in gifted and average children and adolescents . Developmental Psychology 18, 576-582 .

10.

Hogan, R. , 1980. 'The gifted'adolescent'. In: J. Adelson (ed.), Handbook of adolescent psychology. New York: Wiley .

11.

Huba, G.J. , 1980, 'Daydreaming'. In: R.H. Woody (ed.), Encyclopedia of clinical assessment, vol. 2. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass .

12.

Mercer, J.R. and J.F. Lewis , 1977. SOMPA: parent interview manual. New York: Psychological Corporation .

13.

Rest, J.R. , 1979. Manual for the Defining Issues Test. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Moral Research Projects .

14.

Rest, J.R. , M.L. Davison and S. Robbins , 1978. Age trends in judging moral issues: a review of cross-sectional, longitudinal, and sequential studies of the Defining Issues Test . Child Development 49, 263-279 .

15.

Singer, J.L. , 1973. The child's world of make-believe. New York: Academic Press .

16.

Singer, J.L. , 1974. Daydreaming and the stream of thought . American Scientist 2, 417-425 .

17.

Singer, J.L. , 1975. The inner world of daydreaming. New York: Harper & Row .

18.

Singer, J.L. and J.S. Antrobus , 1970. Manual for the imaginal Processes Inventory. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service .

19.

Singer, J.L. and J.S. Antrobus , 1972. 'Daydreaming, imaginal processes, and personality: a normative study'. In: P.W. Sheehan (ed.), The function and nature of imagery. New York: Academic Press .

20.

Starker, S. and J.L. Singer , 1975. Daydreaming and symptom patterns of psychiatric patients . Journal of Abnormal Psychology 84, 567-570 .

21.

Taylor, P.L. and M. Fulcomer , 1979. Adolescent daydreaming: the I.Q. effect . Journal of Mental Imagery 3, 107-122 .

22.

Taylor, P.L. , M. Fulcomer and F.Z. Taylor , 1978. Daydreaming in the adolescent years: instrument development, factor analyses, and sex differences . Adolescence 13, 735-750 .