Family Influences on the Development of High Ability *

Abstract

All literature data agree that the effect of the family home is decisive in the development of high ability, almost irrespectively of whether or not the role of heredity is considered important (Albert, Howe, Freeman, Landau, Davis-Rimm, etc.). The hot house effect, the conscious parental efforts, all kinds of supportive-developing environments, the giving of identification models, the implicit-explicit mediation of values and attitudes can all play a role in the development of potentials. Here I put into brackets a very important problem, namely that serious consequences may arise when the emotional side becomes underdeveloped in cases of unilaterally intellectual, achievement-oriented environments.