Changing the world: tolerance and creativity aspirations among American youth

Having a purpose is a form of intrapersonal giftedness. An even rarer giftedness is motivation to positively change society or culture. This exploratory chi-square and ANOVA study reports the prevalence, age distribution, stability over time, and characteristics of two change oriented aims in American adolescents. In a sample of 270, 12%, who tend to be older and more other-oriented, have tolerant aspirations to bridge across group differences, focusing on peace, justice, racial unity, or immigrant inclusion to relieve suffering. Sixteen per cent, who tend to be more self-oriented and spread across ages, have creative aspirations to introduce new ideas, primarily through arts and media. Both aims are difficult to maintain over time without connections to structure engagement with the aim.