A – 35 Cognitive and Emotional Disparities: A Comparative Analysis of Gifted Individuals and Those with Learning Disabilities

Abstract Objective This study aimed to examine cognitive performance and attentional functioning in individuals identified as gifted compared to those with a learning disability. The primary hypothesis was that gifted individuals would demonstrate higher accuracy and faster processing speed on neurocognitive tasks. Method A secondary data analysis was conducted on a sample of 1,944 participants drawn from CMIT data set. Participants were categorized into two groups based on responses to the question “Have you ever received special education services?”: Gifted (n = 1,873) and Learning Disability (n = 71). Two primary dependent variables were analyzed: (1) number of correct responses on a cognitive picture-based task and (2) average response time in milliseconds. Descriptive statistics, median absolute deviation (MAD), and effect sizes were computed. Bootstrapped simulations (10,000 iterations) were used to validate effect sizes and associated p-values. Results Gifted participants demonstrated higher median cognitive performance scores (Median = 139, MAD = 5.0) than those with learning disabilities (Median = 134, MAD = 5.0), with an observed effect size of 5.0 (p = .0003). They also exhibited faster response times (Median = 806 ms, MAD = 70.0) compared to the learning disability group (Median = 860 ms, MAD = 98.0), with an effect size of 54.0 (p = .0007). Conclusion Results highlight significant differences in both cognitive accuracy and attentional processing between gifted individuals and those with learning disabilities. These findings suggest a need for differentiated neuropsychological assessment strategies and tailored educational interventions for these distinct populations.