The Nature and Nurture of Talent: A Bioecological Perspective on the Ontogeny of Exceptional Abilities

Abstract

Despite extensive research, questions underlying the nature and nurture of talent remain both numerous and diverse. In the current paper, we present an account that addresses 2 of the primary questions inspired by this debate: (a) the very existence of innate talents and (b) how exceptional abilities are developed. The development of exceptional performance is addressed through a synthesis of recent models that invoke multiplier effects to explain how differences in initial conditions (e.g., different levels of innate abilities), coupled with gene-environment interactions, determine ranges of phenotypic outcomes.