Applying the Dabrowski Theory to Build an Understanding of the Intensities and Sensitivity of Gifted Individuals

Gifted Individuals have a unique perception of their world and of themselves, and they can be intense and highly sensitive to moral issues with a keen sense of justice [1,2]. These moral issues affect them deeply and they often feel helpless in being able to make a difference. In Making Great Kids Greater: Easing the Burden of Being Gifted (2009) Sisk addressed the unique perception of gifted students and suggested ways that great kids can become greater. One way to provide a lens of understanding of the intense nature of gifted individuals is to apply the Theory of Positive Disintegration of Kazimierz Dabrowski [3]. Mendaglio [4] asserts that Dabrowski’s theory is a personality theory for the 2lst century and this article will explore its application to gifted students.


Introduction
Gifted Individuals have a unique perception of their world and of themselves, and they can be intense and highly sensitive to moral issues with a keen sense of justice [1,2]. These moral issues affect them deeply and they often feel helpless in being able to make a difference. In Making Great Kids Greater: Easing the Burden of Being Gifted (2009) Sisk addressed the unique perception of gifted students and suggested ways that great kids can become greater.
One way to provide a lens of understanding of the intense nature of gifted individuals is to apply the Theory of Positive Disintegration of Kazimierz Dabrowski [3]. Mendaglio [4] asserts that Dabrowski's theory is a personality theory for the 2lst century and this article will explore its application to gifted students.
Dabrowski, a Polish psychologist called the intensities of individuals "over-excitabilities," and he described them as positive energy that enables one to live lives of immutable values. Dabrowski survived both World Wars and during World War II, he assisted Jews to escape from the Nazis. As a result, he was captured and imprisoned, tortured and denied permission to practice as a psychologist by both the Nazis and the communists. Dabrowski's theory grew out of his experiences with injustice, death and suffering during this time of cruelty and inhumanity; yet, during that time he also witnessed incredible acts of courage and acts of sacrifice [5].
Upon his release from prison, Dabrowski began a study of eminent people, focusing on the values these individuals held and the goals they were seeking. He noticed that there was a strong relationship between cognition and emotion, particularly the pleasure these creative individuals derived from pursuing their goals? He also noted that they were intense, and he described these intensities as energy that was physical, sensual, creative, intellectual and emotional. Dabrowski said that their intensities resulted in creative work, as well as advanced emotional and ethical development. These over-excitabilities or OEs as they were later called, were a positive force in the lives of the participants in some degree of intensity in the five OEs, talent would be a mere technical facility lacking the heart and fire of creativity. The OEs are defined with the following characteristics:

Identifying the Oes
An Overexcitability Questionnaire was developed by [7]

Sensitivity of Gifted Students
Gifted students have a keen sense of right and wrong and moral issues affect them deeply. Gifted students need moral courage to uphold the principles they believe in and Dabrowski said it is in the nature of many gifted students to attempt to be individuals who are true to themselves [3]. The question of whether or not moral courage can be encouraged and developed in gifted students was addressed in a study in 2018 at the Texas Governor's School (Sisk, 2018).

Promoting Moral Courage in Gifted Students?
The Texas Governor's School is a three-week residential program

Moral Dilemmas
One of the Marine Biology instructors suggested an introductory dilemma for the TGS students: Should the intelligence of an octopus be considered as a reason for an exemption from being hunted or eaten by humans? Should other animals be given animal rights?
As you can imagine, the discussion was highly charged as the Is this process desirable? What are the benefits? Would this be acceptable to most people?
The instructors reported that the students became more and more reticent to make instant decisions concerning the dilemmas and sought out information and even developed questionnaires to ask the opinion of other university students concerning the dilemmas. Each of the students kept a journal and these were used in discussions with other students. Many of the students shared that they seldom thought of such moral dilemmas and expected others to make the decisions for them. They now felt empowered to be a decision maker.

Results of the Moral Courage Study
The study indicated that moral courage can be promoted, and

Conclusion
The question of Can moral courage be developed in gifted students? was demonstrated and yielded a resounding yes. In the study, the Texas Governor's students were introduced to the overexcitabilities of Dabrowski and the TGS program focused on using the strengths of three of the OEs, the Intellectual, Emotional and Imaginational in their classes, particularly in the moral dilemma discussions. One important result of the study was the development of a TGS "school climate" in which the students were able to flourish academically, emotionally and socially. As they learned about their OEs, they developed a sense of personal awareness of their strengths that energized and generated an "aliveness" in the program [8]. Visiting teachers commented on being able to feel the positive "vibe" as they entered the classrooms. The instructors reported that the students demonstrated acute abilities of analysis and synthesis, asked deep probing questions as they engaged in discussions of the moral dilemmas, and a willingness to learn for its own sake. Darowski (1964) characterized these abilities as signs of intellectual overexcitability. Applying Dabrowski's OEs encouraged the instructors to promote an atmosphere where the students were valued and considered capable of autonomous behavior, and the students responded with trust and respect often well beyond their customary level of comfort.