GoodWork Paper 12: High Abilities and Excellence: A Cultural Perspective

Author(s): Jin Li

Editor(s): Jeff Solomon, Series Editor

Media: Paper

Description: This paper presents an argument that, while high ability and excellence assume universal foundations, culture also has a role to play in how these human qualities are conceptualized and developed. Culture‘s role is also indispensable in delineating models of excellence and in making these models available to its members. The paper discusses aspects that may be common across cultures. It then compares Chinese notions and examples from recent empirical data with their well researched and described Western counterparts to discuss possible cross cultural differences in conceptualization and development of high ability and excellence. The paper concludes by considering implications for future research in this area.