Having high potential can be considered a “gift” of nature, but it is often a source of suffering.
The term “HPI” for “high intellectual potential” is increasingly used in books, series, media or TV shows. This concept has evolved over the past 20 years and is the subject of debates between specialists. The definition of WHO indicates that HPI corresponds to exceptional cognitive skills and an intellectual quotient greater than 130. This would represent 2% of the population in France, or around 1.5 million French people. If there is no robot portrait of an HPI person because there is a Multitude of profiles, certain common characteristics are frequently found.
In the professional context, they are very effective people, very “earth-to-earth” who are constantly looking for functionality. They tend to be independent in their reflections and to have a thoughtful thought. They think of several things at the same time, which allows them to organize and manage the information more effectively to which they are exposed. “”By being over-performative, over-investigation, on the lookout for constant optimization and perfectionism, these people are more prone to burnout or professional exhaustion“, Prevents Fabrice Bak, cognitivist psychologist and author of the book” The high intellectual potential produced “(ed. L’Harmattan).
HPI people are empathetic and give enormously, with an altruism sometimes without limits. They are eager for affection: a hug or a friendly gesture are real resources. In parallel, they are sorely lacking in self-confidence and are inhabited by a strong requirement towards themselves and permanent questioning. But “One of the biggest issues of an HPI adult is his “emotional hyperconnection” in the world around him. The more the company is doing well, the more the adult HPI is fine. The more society is bad, the more dysfunctional things, which register on its emotional register“Explains the specialist. Scientific work has shown greater number of connections between the front and parietal areas of the brain. The more connections, the more information there are information“. This sum of information can generate hypersensitivity, emotional fragility, hypervigilance (being very alert and anticipating a lot), and potentially difficulties in regulating her emotions. It is in this that she can feel out of step with her environment and have trouble finding her place.
Of course, this list of characteristics is not exhaustive and the high potential does not self-diagnostic. “”Besides, since HPI is not a disorder, we are not talking about diagnosis but rather of identification“. There are intelligence tests and scales that have been validated by research (internet tests are not valid) and carried out by psychologists: the most commonly administered are the standardized scales of Wechsler (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Wais for adults from 16 to 80 years old).
