Elderly, Gifted

The productivity and ingenuity of those who remain engaged in or discover new talents in the later years of life directly challenge negative perceptions of aging. Contemporary cultural messages overwhelmingly place value upon newness and youth and deride that which is old or aged. Negative stereotypes of the elderly frequently include images of unavoidable decline including poor physical health, loneliness, loss of independence, expectations of age-related memory impairment, and an increase in the prevalence of depression or irritability. These beliefs about the elderly are being challenged as life expectancy continues to increase and the maturing momentum of the world's population adds strength to the pursuit of successful aging and optimization of well-being in the later years. As such, talent development and giftedness in later life are likely to gain importance in the literature. This entry describes theories of development in the gifted elderly as well as clinical implications.

Erik Erikson's stage theory of development identifies the main crisis of the older adult to be conflict between themes of integrity versus despair, with the successful resolution of this stage being the emergence of “wisdom.” Wisdom may be defined as truly superior knowledge or knowledge with extraordinary scope and depth. According to Erikson, age-related tasks of the older adult include review of life accomplishments, the management of multiple loss experiences and preparation for death. Although these tasks are appropriate existential end-of-life issues, the dilemma of generativity versus stagnation that Erikson identifies with middle-age also applies to the older adults who also seek to remain productive in their advanced years. Erikson himself continued to contemplate and write about psychosocial development across the life span, publishing a book on aging in 1986 when he was 84 years old.

There is much to learn from eminent elderly gifted role models who historically and currently produce groundbreaking works across talent domains, and whose achievements are uniquely shaped by their long-view perspective gained from a wealth of life experiences. When seeking elder role models, those who remain productive until their death in their eighties or nineties deserve attention. Ben Franklin (84 years old), Thomas Edison (84 years old), Pablo Picasso (92 years old), and Georgia O'Keeffe (98 years old) are all examples of individuals who remained productive throughout their lives and for whom advancing years proved to be an opportunity rather than a barrier to talent development. Each of these individuals was able to build on earlier career successes while remaining viable sources of innovation and creativity. It is important to consider that an individual may produce his or her greatest life's work at any age.

In the 1920s, Lewis Terman began a longitudinal research project designed to learn about the lives of gifted children and continued to monitor them as they aged. At an average age of 70 years, the gifted participants indicated that leisure activities and avocational pursuits offered a structure for daily activity while providing a sense of meaning or purposefulness, a sense of belonging, an opportunity to demonstrate previously acquired competencies, and the challenge of continued accomplishment. Once work and family responsibilities had diminished, time allowed for the pursuit of interests that had previously been identified by the participants as being desirable but for which time had not allowed attention.

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