[jcl]

Within the context of this research, I guess "gifted" really means "selected to participate in special courses at school", which by itself introduces huge biases. The studies might be measuring the kinds of personalities people expect -- and therefore select -- to be in gifted courses (shy, introspective). Or it might be measuring a personality change brought on by being in such courses, either through the instruction itself or by being surrounded by similar personalities.

[j_baker]

Myers and Briggs would argue that your personality doesn't change, but you do learn new things about your personality. That said, it would be interesting to see how this works on older adults.

[nailer]

Personally I'd say I was introverted due to fear of being ostricized in public till I was about 13 or 14. According to MBTI, then I'd be 'INTP', now 'ENTP'. My personality was probably always 'ENTP', I just overcame the fear.

AFAICT, MBTI wouldn't really pick up on that.