Talented Teenagers: The Roots of Success and Failure

by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, Kevin Rathunde, Samuel Whalen

Talented Teenagers is a fascinating and absorbing examination of what makes adolescents tick: what roles personality traits, family interactions, education, and the social environment play in a young person's motivation to develop his or her talent. Vivid descriptions in the students' own words bring the material to life. Parents, teachers, psychologists, and counselors will find in these pages concrete information abou the conditions that foster the cultivation of mental abilities in adolescence, for both the gifted and the average student.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

A Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, he is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College.

He is noted for both his work in the study of happiness and creativity and also for his notoriously difficult name, in terms of pronunciation for non-native speakers of the Hungarian language, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 120 articles or book chapters. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology.

Csikszentmihalyi once said "Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason." His works are influential and are widely cited.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let my three star rating keep you from reading this book. The first couple of chapters and the last chapter are totally worth your time. However, because it is a study, the methodology and number crunching sections are tedious.

Still, it is interesting to read about the issues that propel some talented young people to greatness, while others end up wasting their talents. It really shows how advocacy can make or break a young career during childhood.

[Kate Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author is my hero. His work on motivation has anchored my thoughts and practices as a teacher.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A key text in the writing of my dissertation about talented teens and mathematics instruction.

[Judit · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting findings, but nothing unexpected, basic common sense stuff.
Way too long winded.