![]() ![]() She remembers such details as how shadows fall on an object and is able to paint the entire scene from memory building up from those details. Consistent with this account, one of the art prodigies explained to the researchers that she uses her extraordinary memory to conjure images in her mind while painting. This skill may be at odds with the visual spatial skills tested on IQ tests, which highlight categories, concepts, and holistic perception at the expense of detailed-oriented perception. ![]() As a result, the visual information around them is better and more selectively encoded, and they are able to remember those details while drawing. Artistically talented children tend to actively focus on the forms, shapes, and detailed surface features of their environments. This finding suggests that the kind of mental-visualization skills tested on IQ tests does not adequately capture artistic talent.Īs a possible explanation, Ruthsatz and colleagues discuss research suggesting the key role of attention in the development of artistic talent. Surprisingly, the art prodigies displayed below-average visual spatial skills (average visual spatial IQ = 88 range = 82-94). The math and music prodigies scored higher than the art prodigies on tests of general cultural knowledge, vocabulary, quantitative reasoning, and visual spatial ability. Art prodigies: average IQ = 108 range = 100-116.Music prodigies: average IQ =129 range = 108-142.Math prodigies: average IQ = 140 range = 134-147.In fact, the art prodigies had about an average IQ score: ![]() In terms of total IQ score, math and music prodigies had a significantly higher total IQ score than the art prodigies. ![]() In total, their sample consisted of eight music prodigies, five math prodigies, and five art prodigies. Ruthsatz and colleagues investigated the cognitive profiles of 18 prodigies (nine of whom were in their earlier studies). After all, prodigies aren't a homogenous group they are many varieties of the prodigy.Įnter a new study, which has just been accepted in the journal Intelligence. While that study looked at the prodigies as a group, it's possible that the prodigies' cognitive profiles differ depending on their domain. Instead, the prodigies seemed to be distinguished by their extraordinary attention to detail and their working memory (that is, their ability to juggle multiple streams of information in their minds at once see here for a demonstration of the exceptional memory of a physics prodigy). In one study, Ruthsatz and violin virtuoso Jourdan Urbach found that as a group, prodigies don't have a stellar IQ score. In recent years, psychologist Joanne Ruthsatz and colleagues have been shedding light on the characteristics underlying the prodigious mind. The reason that they are so driven to deliberately practice in their domain requires explaining. While it's true that many prodigies receive support, resources, and encouragement from parents and coaches early on, such support is typically the result of a demonstrated "rage to learn," as prodigy expert Martha J. Their performances are hard to explain from a purely deliberate practice perspective. While their work would be enough to impress us if they were 40, prodigies typically reach adult levels of performance in nonverbal, rule-based domains such as chess, art, and music before the age of 10. Prodigies dazzle us with their virtuoso violin concertos, seemingly prescient chess moves, and vivid paintings. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |