Perceived desirability of giftedness: a cross‑national studyof self–other discrepancies in parental attitudes

We examine how the gifted label is evaluated when applied to one’s own versus another child, and how these evaluations vary by sociocultural context. Building on systems theories of giftedness, symbolic interactionism, and achievement emotion research, perceived desirability of giftedness is conceptualized as an integration of stereotypes (privilege vs. need), emotions, and behavioral intentions. A pre-study (N = 46, Mage = 22.98, SDage = 4.32) with Turkish special education majors used within-subjects vignettes to map self–other differences in emotional reactions and label preferences, informing the design of a two-country main study. In the main study, we surveyed pre-service elementary teachers in Türkiye (n = 153, Mage = 22.15, SDage = 4.59) and Germany (n = 131, Mage = 20.95, SDage = 2.82) using a 2 (country) × 2 (perspective: self vs. other) between-subjects design. Participants rated achievement emotions in response to a vignette about a gifted 6-year-old and indicated whether they preferred the child to be labeled “gifted,” “average,” or “equally distant.” Loglinear, non-parametric, and regression analyses indicated a robust self–other asymmetry: For their own (hypothetical) child, participants more often preferred “average” or “equally distant,” yet they assumed that other parents would choose “gifted.” Label preferences and negative emotions varied systematically by country, with German participants reporting lower preference for the gifted label and different levels of negative affect than Turkish participants, whereas positive emotions were relatively stable. Positive, but not negative, emotions uniquely predicted preference for the gifted label after controlling for country and perspective. Overall, the results support conceptualizing giftedness as a relational, emotionally loaded, and system-dependent status rather than a uniformly desirable descriptor, and they indicate implications for gifted education policies and practices that explicitly address self–other norm gaps and culturally specific “giftedness systems.”