People have always been interested in giftedness although the areas of performance in which one might be recognized as gifted are determined by the needs and values of the culture. There is no consensus with regards to what giftedness is. The restrictiveness of definitions of giftedness can be expressed in two ways:

1. It may limit the number of performance areas that are considered in determining eligibility for special programmes.
2. It may specify the degree or level of excellence one must attain to be considered gifted.

Giftedness is typically seen as multifaceted. Subjectivity of measurement is a problem in assessing giftedness as not every aspect of human life can be put into performance scales (e.g. art). One definition of giftedness is that gifted children are those who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. Children capable of high performance include those who have one or more of the following:

• General intellectual ability.
• Specific academic aptitude.
• Creative or productive thinking.
• Leadership ability.
• Visual and performing arts aptitude.
• Psychomotor ability.

However, this definition does not include non-intellective (e.g. motivational) factors. Moreover, the high performance aspects are not separate (e.g. productive thinking may apply to a specific academic aptitude). Lastly, the categories are typically treated as mutually exclusive while this is not the case.

Gifted people typically possess a set of three interlocking clusters of traits:

1. Above-average general ability
   This is often measured using intelligence tests. However,
   this does not necessarily predict the potential for creative or productive accomplishment. General ability is not the same as intelligence or academic performance as this is often unrelated to real world outcomes. Tests of intelligence may be used to filter out people who score at the low percentiles but not be used to select people of the top percentiles.
2. Task commitment
   This refers to a focused form of motivation (e.g. on a specific performance area). Hard work is essential for giftedness. The drive to achieve may be one of the most important aspects of giftedness.
3. Creativity
   This includes originality of thinking (1), constructive ingenuity (2), ability to set aside established conventions and procedures when appropriate (3) and devising effective and original fulfilments of the major demands of the discipline (4). Creativity includes divergent thinking but it is not the same.

The interaction among these clusters makes someone gifted. People have to score above average on each of the clusters but not necessarily in the superior range. None of the separate clusters is more important.

Persistence in the accomplishment of ends (1), integration toward goals (2), self-confidence (3) and freedom from inferiority feelings (4) are four personality factors that predict achievement among individuals with high intellect.

Giftedness consists of an interaction among the three clusters. Gifted children are those possessing or capable of developing this set of traits and applying them to any potentially valuable area of human performance.