Abstract

This study explores the differences in the motivational profiles of under-achieving gifted students and high-achieving gifted and non-gifted students. In comparison to their high-achieving peers, under-achieving gifted students reported weaker motivational orientations, in both achievement and social goals, as well as in intrinsic motivation. Gifted high achievers reported stronger mastery, competitive, cooperative, and individual orientations than non-gifted high achievers. The findings seem to lend credence to the position that intellectual and motivational giftedness are distinct. The differences in the motivational profiles of the three groups are discussed in relation to the conceptualization of underachievement in gifted students and the differentiated academic needs of this group.

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