Jessica Delallo

Fandoms As a Way of Life Jessica Delallo

Fandoms are communities, either officially or unofficially organized, that are dedicated to the love of a particular person, team, fictional series or character, etc. (Barton & Lampley, 2014), and often the immersion into the worlds of these characters. According to Belonging Theory (Gailliot & Baumeister, 2006), people yearn for belonging, because it provides them with a sense of identity, self-esteem and self-worth. Gifted individuals often have unique social-emotional characteristics, such as overexcitabilities (OE), which set them apart from their non-gifted, or non-OE counterparts because they actually experience life in a very different way (Neihart et al., 2002). The purpose of this study was to examine the role of fandoms in the lives of the gifted who also have an imaginational overexcitability, and to determine if there was a statistical difference in which fandoms they choose to participate, why they choose to participate, and how they participate differently from other superfans (or "fanboys/fangirls") who are not gifted with an imaginational OE.