other psychologists because he did not readily ac-
knowledge that there are individual differences in
child development, and his focus on developmental
norms implied that what is typical for each age is also
what is desirable. Nevertheless, his practice of careful-
ly observing, measuring, and describing child devel-
opment created a foundation for subsequent research
that described both average developmental trends
and individual differences in development.
See also: DEVELOPMENTAL NORMS; THEORIES OF
DEVELOPMENT
Bibliography
Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications, 4th
edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
Thelen, Esther, and Karen Adolph. ‘‘Arnold Gesell: The Paradox
of Nature and Nurture.’’ In Ross Parke, Peter Ornstein, John
Rieser, and Carolyn Zahn-Waxler eds., A Century of Develop-
mental Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association, 1994.
Thomas, R. Murray. Comparing Theories of Child Development, 5th
edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000.
Publications by Gesell
Gesell, Arnold, Francis Ilg, Louis Bates Ames, and Glenna Bullis.
The Child from Five to Ten. New York: Harper and Row, 1977.
Sherry L. Beaumont
GIFTED CHILDREN
Little consensus exists among professionals as to what
defines a gifted child. According to the results of the
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test, a child can be gifted
intellectually (where the most frequently used defin-
ing score is an IQ of 130) or academically (a ninety-
fifth percentile ranking). But a gifted child may also
show exceptional talent in creativity, the performing
arts, or athletics. Most definitions of giftedness in-
clude multiple categories, incorporating social or cre-
ative talents as well as intellectual and academic
abilities. Selection of children for gifted programs de-
pends on the definitions schools employ. Thus, a cre-
ative, poor, or underachieving genius may not be
discovered if a school’s definition relies solely on IQ
scores. Intellectually gifted children are usually in-
trinsically motivated and demonstrate exceptional
abilities in math, language, or art at early ages. They
sometimes suffer socially, mostly in relating to peers,
but not always. Because profiles of gifted children are
quite diverse, understanding and identifying gifted-
ness should take this complexity into account.
See also: INTELLIGENCE; SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Bibliography
Davis, Gary, and Sylvia Rimm. Education of the Gifted and Talented,
4th edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Winner, Ellen. Gifted Children. New York: Basic Books, 1996.
Vanessa C. GalloGINOTT, HAIM G. (1922–1973)
Haim Ginott was a clinical psychologist, child thera-
pist, parent educator, and author whose work has had
a substantial impact on the way adults relate to chil-
dren. He began his career as an elementary school
teacher in Israel in 1947 before immigrating to the
United States. There he attended Columbia Universi-
ty in New York City, earning a doctoral degree in clin-
ical psychology in 1952.
Ginott’s work with troubled children at the Jack-
sonville, Florida, Guidance Clinic helped him refine
his unique combination of compassion and boundary
setting. While many of his contemporaries favored
one or the other, Ginott wove the two into a seamless
whole that showed respect for children’s feelings
while setting limits on their behavior. Ginott said that
he was strict with unacceptable behavior but permis-
sive with feelings. His aim was to help parents social-
ize their children while simultaneously cultivating
their emotional well being. Ginott’s books, Between
Parent and Child, Between Parent and Teenager, and
Teacher and Child, were popular for many years and
were translated into thirty languages. Rather than ac-
cuse, cajole, or correct parents in his parenting
groups, he showed compassion for their struggle even
as he encouraged them to listen with understanding
and empathy to their children. His method for work-
ing with parents is described by Arthur R. Orgel
(1980).
At the heart of Ginott’s method is the recognition
that denying feelings makes them more intense and
confused. By contrast, the acknowledgment of feel-
ings allows people to heal and consequently become
better problem solvers. For example, Ginott wrote of
a twelve-year-old girl who was tense and tearful when
her cousin left after spending the summer with her.
Ginott recommended that parents acknowledge their
children’s feelings in situations like this with re-
sponses such as ‘‘You miss her already’’ and ‘‘The
house must seem kind of empty to you without Susie
around.’’
Ginott’s continuing impact is underscored in the
influential book by John Gottman on raising emo-
tionally intelligent children: ‘‘Ginott’s theories had
never been proven using empirically sound, scientific
methods. But... I can provide the first quantifiable
evidence to suggest that Ginott’s ideas were essential-
ly correct. Empathy not only matters; it is the founda-
tion of effective parenting’’ (p. 35). Following Ginott’s
example, Gottman encourages parents to be ‘‘emo-GINOTT, HAIM G. 167