Journal for the Education of the Gifted - PDF document

Journal for the Education of the Gifted In fact, perhaps the savant syndrome is simply irrelevant todiscussion of the nature and nurture of talent. The developmen-tal course and the kind of nurture seen in savants may be atypi-cal. The young visual artist Nadia drew compulsively with anymaterial available for several years, then lost both interest andtechnique, in spite of attempts to improve her drawing skillsSelfe, 1995Selfe, 1995into any traditional model of nurtured talent. Attempts to repro-duce savant behavior by traditional techniques may produce aEricsson & Faivre, 1988Ericsson & Faivre, 1988However, it is by no means clear whether these cases capture thepeculiarities of motivation and knowledge structure seen insavants.Nor do savants present unambiguous support for nature ver-sions of talent development. The early appearance of a skill is noguarantee that it is immune from environmental factors, givenwhat we have discovered about infantsÕ abilities to respond tobe affected by their environment. Nor, of course, does lateremergence necessarily specify an environmental determinant.By itself, time of emergence is neutral, not necessarily implicat-ing either environmental or genetic effects (Simonton, thisissue). Furthermore, the savant syndrome may not lend itself tothe kinds of behavioral genetic designs used to identify and evaluate hereditary and environmental contributions to variation inbehavior. First, savants are quite rare. Assembling a sample withsufficient power to detect behavior-genetic linkages would be adaunting task. Second, savants typically have a variety of otherMiller, 1999Miller, 1999be an additional challenge to assemble a sample sufficientlyhomogenous to permit strong inferences about etiology.Nevertheless, I believe that a careful examination of the particulars of savant behavior and its developmental context can beuseful to discussions

about talent. Savant skills are, by defini-tion, ÒsplinteredÓ or dissociated from the usual matrix in whichone usually finds talent. This provides a special opportunity todeconstruct exceptional skill. Second, savants provide us with anopportunity to observe nurturing environments quite differentfrom those found in traditional accounts of talent development.In doing so, they may enrich our ideas about the factors thataffect that development. Let me expand upon each of thesepoints in turn. The Savant Syndrome Savants and the Nature of Talent common distinction in the literature on exceptional skill is thatbetween achievement restricted to a particular content area (e.g.,mathematics) or activity (sculpture, musical performance) andmore generalized skills associated with acquiring, organizing, and19991999that these latter skills reflect a more abstract problem-solving abil-ity or processing capacity that is less amenable to, or affected by,direct instruction. Or, the distinction might be, psychometrically,between a general ÒgÓ factor linked to language and its role inhuman cognition and sources of individual variation in perfor-Tannenbaum, 1986Tannenbaum, 1986Agreement on the distinction between general intellectual fac-19981998argued that the emergence of specific talent is merely the conse-quence of applying more general skills to a particular content area,the area chosen being a function of opportunity, parental pressure,exposure, and so forth. Complicating the issue is the empirical evi-dence of their association; individuals who show special talents incertain subjects or activities may also do well on measures of gen-Lynn, Wilson, & Gault, 1989; Simonton, 1994Lynn, Wilson, & Gault, 1989; Simonton, 1994These correlations support the hypothesis that talent independentof more general factors is a fiction. How does savant behavior fit into this framework? First,sa

vants typically achieve, at best, only moderate levels of perfor-mance on measures of intellectual function outside their specificarea of interest. Second, comparisons of savant accomplishmentstheir counterpart in those without impairment typically showthat the skills in a given content area are broadly similar (Hermelin,2001; Miller, 1989). The similarity seems strong enough to justifyTreffert, 1989Treffert, 1989Thus, comparisons of savants and others in a given domain mightbe a way to delineate that part of exceptional skill that representsits point of contact with more general intellectual factors and thatHermelinHermelin This suggests a detailed examination of individual savantbehavior in the context of well-established norms of performanceor with appropriate comparison groups in different content areas.This research has yielded tentative component skills important forthe emergence of savant performance in different domains. Amongmusical savants, absolute pitch (Hermelin, 2001; Miller, 1989,Ockleford, 1998), aural melody retention and harmonic analysis(Miller, 1989; Ockleford, 1998; Sloboda, Hermelin, & OÕConnor,363 Journal for the Education of the Gifted 1985), and an ability to reproduce what is heard (Miller, 1989; Oe,1995) have all been described as important component skills.Among drawing savants, visual memory, especially detail retentionMottron & Belleville, 1995; Selfe, 1983Mottron & Belleville, 1995; Selfe, 1983specifying depth and perspective (Hermelin, 2001; Mottron &Belleville, 1995); and an ability to depict what is seen (OÕConnor &Hermelin, 1987; Selfe, 1983) are common strengths. Among calen-dar calculators, event memory (Hermelin, 2001; Sacks, 1985; YoungNettlebeck, 1994) and a tendency to attribute personal meaningto date and numerical information (Howe & Smith, 1988; Sacks,1985) are often mentioned as significant factors. Given the relativera

rity of research in this area, of course, these lists are tentative.Still, they suggest that these kinds of building blocks to exceptionalskill may exist independent of more general levels of cognitiveachievement. Examination of savant skills also suggests some anomalous19871987that drawing savantsÕ reproductions of figures from memory wereas accurate as those of gifted artists without mental impairment,while their ability to recognize a previously seen figure was no bet-ter than that of a comparison group with mental retardation. Miller19891989-Òsame vs. differentÓÒsame vs. differentÓtones, though they may be able to identify these tones independentof context, so-called absolute pitch. Both cases apparently representvariation of the usual developmental sequence in which recogni-tion and discrimination are typically much more advanced thanreproduction within a perceptual domain (Flavell, Miller, & Miller,1993).Second, in their exercise of savant skills, savants employ astrategy quite different from those without intellectual impair-19951995in the visual reproductions of a savant artist. While depictions ofdepth and layout did use the linear perspective common to moresophisticated styles of drawing, its application to the objects andsurfaces within a portrayal did not suggest a common vanishingpoint and, hence, a well-articulated point of view. Second, drawingstended to follow a ÒproximityÓ rule of completion, rather than onespecifying a broad outline or contour that is subsequently subjectedto elaboration and correction.20012001p. 45p. 4519891989 The Savant Syndrome autism. Without a general conceptual framework for processing andorganizing information, several problems emerge. Inconsistenciesacross parts of an array or event reproduction might be difficult todetect or resolve. Second, reproductions may be highly accurate atthe local level, though not partic

ularly well adapted to the context.To some extent, difficulties in making simple same-difference ordelayed recognition judgments may similarly reflect the unavail-ability of more general frameworks for processing information.Even simple same-difference judgments depend upon shared gen-eral criteria for determining what constitutes a Òsignificant differ-ence.Ó Finally, lacking the resources to form more comprehensiveand well-integrated representations of a domain, savant skillexpression is more likely to be idiosyncratic with respect to eitherstyle or subject matter. Among savant visual artists, visual layoutand depictions using prominent linear perspective are frequentstrengths. Among savant musicians, the keyboard is overwhelm-ingly the favorite instrument, and aural memory for melodic lineand harmony the most common strength. This circumscribed domain of savant skill expression has beenHowe et al., 1998; Winner, 2000Howe et al., 1998; Winner, 2000et al. suggested that this may be simply a matter of extensive expo-sure and material availability. If paper and pencil are readily avail-able, the budding visual artistÕs expression is likely to involveSelfe, 1977Selfe, 1977However, savant musiciansÕ preference for keyboards cannot be asimple matter of availability. Savant percussionists are not com-mon, though instruments for rhythmic elaboration are probably themost readily available across cultures. Language is certainly aprominent part of the human environment, but savant skills in thisHermelin, 2001; Smith & Tsimpli, 1995Hermelin, 2001; Smith & Tsimpli, 1995Miller, 1989Miller, 1989WesternWesternpast 300 years may be particularly helpful to the savant in access-ing musical structure. Thus, octaves and other intervals central tomusic from the Òcommon practiceÓ period are prominent in thespatial layout of keyboards. Moreover, these may have an intimaterelation to

the regularities inherent in sound production in theenvironment and its perception by the human listener (Krumhansl,1990). These regularities suggest both a hierarchy for ordering pitchthe primacy of the intervals, the octave, and the fifththe primacy of the intervals, the octave, and the fifthand some simple rules relating pitch classes (pitches with sharedovertones Òbelong together,Ó etc.) Even novices with some interestin music can discover these relationships in simple piano keyboard365 Journal for the Education of the Gifted Miller & Orsmond, 1994Miller & Orsmond, 1994 Similarly, the use of linearperspective by visual artists relies upon a well-established set ofrules for depicting depth information on a two-dimensional surface,rules that are implicit in the visual layout and likely embedded inthe encoding of layout information by the visual system (Hagen,1986). Calendar calculating, a favorite kind of mental manipulationand memory skill in savants, takes advantage of a highly struc-Spitz, 1994Spitz, 1994Thus, the areas in which savants are likely to express exceptionalskill are those in which strong structure is embedded within thecontent area itself. Moreover, in at least two cases, music andvisual art, the structure seems to be intrinsic to the processing ofinformation by the typical listener or observer; and there is at leastpartial isomorphism between this structure and cultural conven-e.g., scene depiction, harmony.e.g., scene depiction, harmony.extent, these types of skill may flourish without the central coher-20012001modalities other than vision and audition have been described inOÕNeill & Jones, 1997OÕNeill & Jones, 1997-lent savant performance in these modalities is virtually nonexis-tent. Perhaps the absence of structural analog, like those ascribedto vision and audition, hinders further representational elaborationof this sensory information i

n those with general intellectualimpairment.Finally, variations in skill among savants may be less depen-dent upon variations in general levels of intellectual achievement198919831983exceptional skill in music and the visual arts, respectively, in caseswith very low general intelligence as assessed by conventionalinstruments. On the other hand, variation in either the extent ofcalendar calculating knowledge or the ability to apply that knowl-edge to novel situations was found to be related to IQ in severalsamples (Hermelin & OÕConnor, 1986; OÕConnor, Cowan, &Samella, 2000).In summary, the evidence for skill components in savants sug-gests these can be manifested independent of more general intel-lectual achievement. Further, research suggests that the extent towhich general intellectual factors moderate exceptional achieve-ment depends upon the domain. Future research might profitablyexamine linkages between various skill components and broadercompetencies within each domain (e.g., OÕConnor et al., 2000;Tsimpli & Smith, 1998). The delineation of skill components insavants also can provide target behaviors for the kinds of behavior The Savant Syndrome genetic designs that are not feasible within the savant population.For example, absolute pitch, which has emerged as a common fea-Miller, 1989Miller, 1989subject of research designed to detect genetic factors in its appear-ance in those without disability (e.g., Baharloo, Service, Resch,Gitschier, & Fremier, 2000). Examination of savants also points toanomalies in skill expression and notions, such as central coher-ence, and represents interesting hypotheses about how componentor, in the case of savants, not organizedor, in the case of savants, not organizedthe attainment of exceptional achievement. The extent to whichcentral coherence represents a dimension of knowledge content(Hermelin, 2001), hierarchical organiz

ation (Mottron & Belleville,1995) and personal cognitive style (Happe, 1995) remains an impor-tant question. Answers to this question would help clarify howexceptional achievement emerges from early interests and preco-cious behavior. Savants and the Nurture of Talent 1999, this issue1999, this issue-tional skill must offer an explanation for its relative rarity. Hisattack on this issue assumes that instances of exceptionality resultfrom the presence of multiple components interacting in a nonad-ditive fashion. Thus, if even one of these components is missing,exceptionality may not be expressed. From this perspective, thepresence of savant behavior at all should be a surprise, given that,by definition, savants have significant disabilities of some sort andso would be more likely to be missing some component necessaryskillexpression.However, an examination of the developmental context ofsavant behavior suggests it may actually be promoted by certainkinds of disability. The notion that disability might somehow nur-ture savant behaviors is certainly not new. Early accounts of savantshave suggested that the physical and mental deprivation associatedwith their disability might prompt some individuals to fixate on oneLindsley, 1965Lindsley, 1965isolated, highly ritualized behaviors are fairly common in those withBodfish, Symons, & Parker, 2000Bodfish, Symons, & Parker, 2000tions of environmental deprivation. However, these stereotypedbehaviors may, in fact, be inimical to the establishment of more con-ventional interests and modes of expression.different sort of link between disability and skill is suggestedby recent research on the consequences of sensory loss. For exam-367 Journal for the Education of the Gifted ple, severe congenital visual defects are often present in musicalMiller, 1989, 1999Miller, 1989, 1999Welch, 1988Welch, 1988Miller, 1992Miller, 1992savantsÕ ac

hievements. Work with animal models (e.g., Sur &Learney, 2001) suggests that early sensory loss results in expandedregistration of input from intact senses in those cortical areas usu-peripherallyperipherallyMoreover, the functional organization of these ÒrededicatedÓ areasis, to some extent at least, determined by the structure of the inputthey receive.Absolute pitch may also be more common in those with autismHeaton, Hermelin, & Pring, 1998Heaton, Hermelin, & Pring, 1998Crozier, 1997Crozier, 1997former case, the absence, or at least the reduced prominence of con-ceptual structure, particularly that available in language, may pro-mote attention to different features of auditory information. In thelatter case, formal training directs attention to identifying thosee.g., pitch classes rather than intervalse.g., pitch classes rather than intervalsuseful in encoding and retrieving aural music. Snyder and Mandy19971997modality. That is, in the absence of the recoding afforded by con-ceptual knowledge about objects, savantsÕ reproduction of physicaldetail might be enhanced. At this point it is not clear whether differences associated withsensory loss bear more than a superficial resemblance to those asso-ciated with cognitive impairment. It is also not clear to what extentthese types of reorganization affect the qualia of sensory experi-ence, as well as the cortical resources devoted to their interpreta-tion. More detailed examination of the nature of cortical activityduring processing, as well as the behavioral correlates of these func-tionally reorganized systems, would help to clarify these issues. Inany case, these results suggest loss or impairment may affect thecomponent expression found in exceptional skill, as well as theprobability that the skill will emerge. Though there are often indications of early and precociousMiller, 1999Miller, 199919991999has argued t

hat the slowed rate of development associated withmental impairment may have several consequences. It may extendboth the time period in which exceptional skill is likely to emergeand its susceptibility to formative interventions. For example, thecomposer Hikari Oe expressed exceptional interest in the sounds of The Savant Syndrome nature, particularly bird calls, at a very early age. It was only afterconsiderable time, however, that the extent of his ability to nameand mimic these sounds was manifested. Similarly, early interestsin music did not translate in a straightforward fashion into preco-cious musical performance; in fact, OeÕs performance skills remainmodest, at best. However, his parentsÕ dedication to finding theproper avenue for building upon this musical interest eventuallyled to critical experiences with a music teacher sensitive to hisinterest in composition. Impressive achievement in compositionCameron, 1998; Oe, 1995Cameron, 1998; Oe, 1995and failureand failuresavants highlights the importance of exploring alternative pedagog-ical devices in skill enhancement (Mottron & Belleville, 1993;Selfe, 1995). For many musical savants, early stages of skill devel-opment are characterized by intense listening, followed by self-directed trial-and-error reproduction of what they have heard.19981998pedagogical consequences. First, the idea of formal training may bequite foreign to the young savant, and any attempts at instructionmay be rejected through simple failure to understand the context.Second, highly idiosyncratic styles of performance may already beestablished by the time formal training is attempted. These factorsrequire modifying traditional techniques in the direction of greaterstudent initiation of the musical ÒagendaÓ for rehearsal and lessreliance upon expository means of instruction. According to Spitz19951995duction to calendar structure, more

often knowledge about struc-ture is acquired through implicit pattern recognition with repeatedexamination of day-date information. It is likely such implicitlearning is also part of the growth of exceptional skill in those withno disability (Bamberger, 1982; Chaffin, Imreh, & Crawford, 2002;Morelock & Feldman, 1993). Savants may provide a special oppor-tunity to observe the process and products of this learning.It is very rare for a savant to reach levels of achievement equiv-alent to that of their nondisabled peers, and examination of whatappears to be limited in savants suggests why this may be so. Thus,among those without disability, the implicit ÒintuitiveÓ acquisi-tion of information is typically accompanied by more formal andexplicit types of representation, at least at more advanced levels ofBamberger, 1982; Morelock & Feldman, 1993Bamberger, 1982; Morelock & Feldman, 1993Morelock and Feldman suggested that self-reflective and metacog-nitive capacities often associated with general intelligence allowchild prodigies to perfect their talent. However, as noted earlier, the369 Journal for the Education of the Gifted absence of these formal representational capacities in savantsmeans that their special talents are likely to remain truncated.Such factors as limited central coherence as described by Hermelin20012001One can imagine, for example, that musical development notclosely integrated with other aspects of oneÕs experience might lackthe depth and nuance found at the highest levels of performance.This presents an additional pedagogical challenge to those wishingto provide the optimum nurturing environment for those both tal-ented and disabled. Baharloo, S., Service, S., Resch, N., Gitschier, J., & Fremier, N.20002000 American Journalof Human Genetics, 67, 19821982Ed.Ed. Developmental approaches to giftedness and cre-ativity pp. 61Ð79pp. 61Ð7920002000beh

avior in autism: Comparisons to mental retardation. of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 30 19981998 The music of light New York: Free Press.20022002 Practicing perfec-tion Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. 19971997the better. Psychology of Music, 25 19881988Õ-Eds.Eds. The exceptionalbrain pp. 436Ð474pp. 436Ð47419931993 Cognitive development 3rd ed.3rd ed.19891989 Autism: Explaining the enigma Oxford, England:Blackwell.19991999and talents. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 22 19831983 Frames of mind New York: BasicBooks.19861986 Varieties of realism: Geometries of representa-tional art. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.19951995 Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress.19981998 The Savant Syndrome cessing: A precursor for savant musical ability. Perception, 15 20012001 Bright splinters of the mind London: KingsleyPublishers.19861986culators: Rules and regularities. Psychological Medicine, 16 885Ð893.19891989 Fragments of genius: The strange feats of idiotssavants London: Routledge.19981998or myth. Brain and Behavioral Sciences, 21 19881988ÒsavantsÓ: How do they do it? British Journal of Psychology, 79 371Ð386.19901990 Cognitive foundations of musical pitch. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.19651965The challenge of the idiot savant. Exceptional Child, 31 225Ð232. 19891989measures of SpearmanÕs Personality and IndividualDifferences, 10 19891989 Musical savants: Exceptional skill in the men-tally retarded auditorycompensation. Journal of Visual Impairment andBlindness, 86 19991999and exceptional skill. Psychological Bulletin, 125 19941994-cal explorations of children with disabilities. Journal of MusicTherapy, 31, 19931993they have to tell us about giftedness and human cognition. In K.Eds.Eds. International handbookof research and development of giftedness and talent 161Ð181). New York: Pergamon Press.19931993in a high-level aut

istic subject with exceptional graphic abilities. Brain and Cognition, 23 19951995savant autistic draughtsman. Psychological Medicine, 25 639Ð648.371 Journal for the Education of the Gifted 19981998 Music moves London: Royal NationalInstitute For the Blind.20002000lations and intelligence Intelligence, 28 19871987programmes: Their use by idiot-savant artists and controls. British Journal of Psychology, 78 19951995 healing family Tokyo: Kodasha InternationalPress.19971997autism: A case for more research. Journal of Autism andDevelopmental Disabilities, 27 19851985 The man who mistook his wife for a hat. York: Harper Collins. 19771977 Nadia, a case of extraordinary drawing ability inan autistic child London: Academic Press.19831983 Normal and anomalous representational drawingability in children London: Methuen.1995Ed.Ed. The devel-opment of artistically gifted children pp. 197Ð237pp. 197Ð237NJ: Erlbaum.19941994-crepancies. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & D. AmbronsonEds.Eds. Talent development pp. 39Ð85pp. 39Ð85Psychology Press.Simonton, D. K.19991999and epigenetic model. PsychologicalReview 19851985musical memory. Music Perception, 3 19951995 The mind of a savant England: Blackwell.19971997-tion. Perception, 26 19941994Õ American Journal on Mental Retardation, 98 19951995unconscious. New Ideas in Psychology, 13 20012001cal areas and networks. Nature Reviews, Neurosciences, 2 251Ð262.19861986Eds.Eds. Conceptions of giftedness 21Ð53). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. The Savant Syndrome 19891989 Extraordinary people New York: Harper & Row.19981998Language and theory of mind in a polyglot savant. Learning andIndividual Differences, 10 19881988APAP Psychology of Music, 16 20002000 Psychologist, 61 19941994ÒÓcalculators. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 99 186Ð201. 2.It is probably no coincidence that Hikari Oe, the successful