Intelligence is a complex ability that allows a person to understand, learn, solve problems and adapt to their environment. As difficult to assess as it is to explain, this capacity, desired by all, also gives rise to many controversies.
According to official figures, HPI concerns approximately 2.3% of the population today. The profiles of people with High Intellectual Potential vary according to their cognitive, emotional and behavioral characteristics. What we seek with the tests is is above all to help the patient, to discover how he functions, or even, as is often the case, to decode certain learning problems, in the case of children, or certain behavioral problems in adults.
How to measure intelligence?
How is intelligence traditionally measured? The famous intelligence quotient (IQ) test is a tool designed to measure certain forms of intelligence, mainly cognitive abilities. The result is a standardized numerical value that reflects an individual’s level of general intelligence relative to a given population. IQ is measured using tests comprising a series of varied exercises including logical reasoning, problem solving, verbal comprehension, memory assessment and the speed of processing information.
The average score in a population is set at 100, with a standard deviation of 15 points. Beyond a score of 130, the person is considered to correspond to High Intellectual Potential. IQ tests are sometimes criticized for their partial view of intelligence, mainly highlighting analytical abilities and neglecting the contribution of creativity or emotional intelligence, all abilities which are valuable in everyday life.
The different types of HPI profiles according to two experts
Beyond the results of these tests, we then observe profiles of people who are sometimes very different from each other. There are in fact several types of HPI profiles! The homogeneous HPI refers to people whose intellectual abilities are generally balanced in all areas assessed by an IQ test (logical, verbal, spatial reasoning, etc.). These are profiles with a great capacity for adaptation and rather consistently performing well in different activities.
On the contrary, among so-called heterogeneous HPI profiles, we observe very variable performances depending on the domains. A person may excel at verbal reasoning, for example, but be less adept at working memory or organization. We are then talking about specialized skills in certain areas, often accompanied by great creativity. This typical profile may suffer from a feeling of incompetence in areas where their high potential is not proven. He is often affected by academic or professional difficulties if his strengths are not valued.
Many daily challenges according to the HPI profile
In the 1980s, a team of American researchers looked at High Intellectual Potential in order to derive a classification. Georges Betts and Maureen Neihart set six different profiles. These profiles allow us to understand what is hidden behind the term HPI and the challenges and difficulties that HPI people may encounter on a daily basis. The first HPI profile is, according to them, the “good student”: an early reader, often before entering first grade, this profile is lively and gets bored easily but generally does not show it and can go unnoticed. The second profile is the “disruptive” profile, misunderstood creative, who on the contrary dares, sometimes too much, to express his boredom, in class as elsewhere. His need for stimulation can lead him to academic failure.
We also come across, in this gallery of HPI profiles, the “clandestine”, who considers that not showing his superior intelligence is the best option, the “dropout”, explosive temperament, with a strong feeling of rejection and a tendency to devalue himself , the “reduced” that scientists designate as a child diagnosed with HPI but who will paradoxically suffer from a learning or attention disorder (ADHD), and the “autonomous” profile who, on the contrary, accepts their difference and his emotions as well as high abilities and manages to evolve serenely. We thus understand that the recognition of a High Intellectual Potential is also sometimes the highlighting of certain difficulties contrary to appearances: According to the DSM-5-TR, children with exceptional traits can be subject to disorders such as anxiety, attention problems or emotional regulation problems.