Sun, Sep 6, 2026
| فارسی
1- Isfahan University
Abstract: (4 Views)
Objective: Despite numerous studies examining environmental, psychological, and educational factors associated with underachievement in gifted students, the neuropsychological components contributing to gifted underachievement have remained largely overlooked. Although many claims have been made regarding the role of neuropsychological factors in the underachievement of gifted students, the existing empirical evidence is scattered and often lacks direct assessment of these components. This study aimed to systematically review the existing literature on gifted underachievement, focusing on neuropsychological claims and the empirical evidence supporting them, and to evaluate the extent to which these claims are aligned with the neuropsychological assessment methods used in the reviewed studies.
Method: A systematic search was conducted across 16 national and international databases, including Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and SID, covering the years 2004 to 2024. The search strategy was developed based on a combination of keywords related to giftedness, underachievement, and neuropsychological components. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies that directly examined or explicitly claimed to examine neuropsychological factors in underachieving gifted students. Screening was performed independently by two reviewers, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Study quality was assessed using the JBI appraisal tool.
Results: Out of 107 initial studies, 19 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. Although these studies referenced neuropsychological components in their titles or introductions, analysis revealed that only a small number directly measured working memory, attention, executive functions, processing speed, or visuospatial processing. The remaining studies focused on non-neuropsychological variables such as motivation, self-concept, academic attitudes, or environmental conditions without conducting actual neuropsychological assessments. This discrepancy between stated claims and methodological practice highlights a significant gap in the existing literature..
Conclusions: Findings suggest that although neuropsychological components may contribute to gifted underachievement, the available empirical evidence is insufficient and lacks robustness to substantiate this claim. Most studies have examined environmental and psychological variables rather than directly evaluating neurocognitive functioning. Therefore, future research should employ interdisciplinary designs, utilize standardized neuropsychological instruments, and adopt clearly defined sampling criteria.
Method: A systematic search was conducted across 16 national and international databases, including Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and SID, covering the years 2004 to 2024. The search strategy was developed based on a combination of keywords related to giftedness, underachievement, and neuropsychological components. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies that directly examined or explicitly claimed to examine neuropsychological factors in underachieving gifted students. Screening was performed independently by two reviewers, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Study quality was assessed using the JBI appraisal tool.
Results: Out of 107 initial studies, 19 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the analysis. Although these studies referenced neuropsychological components in their titles or introductions, analysis revealed that only a small number directly measured working memory, attention, executive functions, processing speed, or visuospatial processing. The remaining studies focused on non-neuropsychological variables such as motivation, self-concept, academic attitudes, or environmental conditions without conducting actual neuropsychological assessments. This discrepancy between stated claims and methodological practice highlights a significant gap in the existing literature..
Conclusions: Findings suggest that although neuropsychological components may contribute to gifted underachievement, the available empirical evidence is insufficient and lacks robustness to substantiate this claim. Most studies have examined environmental and psychological variables rather than directly evaluating neurocognitive functioning. Therefore, future research should employ interdisciplinary designs, utilize standardized neuropsychological instruments, and adopt clearly defined sampling criteria.
Keywords: Giftedness, Underachieving Gifted Students, Neuropsychological Components, Systematic Review
Received: 2026/01/28 | Accepted: 2026/08/27
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