ENCOURAGING ACHIEVEMENT - GIFTED EDUCATION RESOURCES

UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN GIFTED EDUCATION

The Centre for Applied Motivation Inc. - Who are Underachievers?

Broadly speaking, unmotivated individuals are underachievers. They do not consistently apply effort and they work far below their potential. Their problem is not ability; their problem is attitude. They squander their opportunities and increased options for tomorrow. They generally deny, by their actions, that what they do now has any impact on their future. They cannot see or admit or accept that their inability to complete tasks and assume responsibility will lead to continuing failure in the future.

Underachievers have the intellectual capability to do substantially better but
they lack the ability to:

• Work to completion. Underachievers start things well, then lose interest, even in things they say they want.
• Function independently. When underachievers are closely supervised they can do very good work, but when the supervision stops, so does their efforts.
• Produce within time limits. If a classic underachiever is told "Have the project done by Friday" on Friday the underachiever is likely to say something like "I thought you meant next Friday."

 

While determination of underachievement should be made by a professional experienced in the field (and other conditions and contributing factors should be considered), some behaviors to look for include:

• Does well on achievement or intelligence tests, but performance falls far short of abilities
• Does not initiate new projects; does not find new ideas challenging (sees such as "hassles")
• Can do well, but is erratic; needs excessive supervision
• Is not a self-starter; does not display appropriate sense of urgency; misses deadlines
• Seems disorganized, especially in regard to academic responsibilities; does not complete or turn in work
• Seldom accepts responsibility for personal failure; tends to blame circumstances or other people
• Starts enthusiastically but quickly fades; promises "will do better next time"
• Generally unable to enjoy his or her own successes
• Appears easily distracted when needing to do work; displays selective attention and memory
• Minimizes future consequences
• Seems unaffected by own deficiencies and ineffectiveness
• Fakes happiness (says he, or she, is happy but really is not)
• Punishment, rewards, logic, tutoring, training, or just leaving alone are ineffective.

Most people occasionally show some aspects of underachieving. For generally motivated individuals their periods of low motivation are brief and of limited intensity. An underachiever shows numerous characteristics with heightened intensity and has a chronic pattern of underachieving over time.

Reproduced with permission of:

© Center for Applied Motivation, Inc.