Sensory processing sensitivity
SPS
Research on individual differences in responsiveness to the environment. HSP (highly sensitive person) describes someone high in this trait.
Research question
Do individual differences in environmental sensitivity measured by self-report also appear in behavioral tasks across cultures?
Findings
Individual differences in environmental sensitivity
Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is a research trait describing how strongly people respond to positive and negative environments. The HSP scale measures the trait by self-report.
Links to introversion and emotionality
Across seven early scale development studies, sensory processing sensitivity showed partial independence from social introversion and emotionality.
Environmental sensitivity in adolescent twins
A TEDS analysis used self-report scores from 2,868 adolescent twins in England and Wales. In this sample, the twin model estimated that genetic differences accounted for about 47% of the variation in environmental sensitivity scores.
Structure of a parent-report measure
An analysis of parent reports for 1,857 children in Italy favored a model with a general sensitivity factor and specific factors for sensory stimuli, overstimulation, and aesthetic experiences.
Behavioral observations in preschoolers
A study of 541 preschoolers found evidence of reliability for an observer-rated measure of environmental sensitivity. Associations between the observed scores and cortisol or EEG asymmetry measured in subsets of children were statistically inconclusive.
Laboratory sensory thresholds and self-report
A laboratory study tested sensory thresholds in 150 women across auditory, visual, thermal, olfactory, and vestibular modalities. SPS scores had weak to moderate associations with self-rated sensitivity and showed no consistent relationship with laboratory thresholds. This comparison of measured thresholds and a self-reported trait comes from a single sample.
Environmental sensitivity in a school antibullying trial
In an Italian cluster-randomized trial that analyzed 2,042 pupils across 13 schools, boys with higher environmental sensitivity scores had larger reductions in bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms than boys with lower scores. The analysis examined variation by gender and sensitivity score. Replication in other school settings is a separate question.
Limitations
Objective measures and tests in independent samples are needed to establish how clearly self-reported sensitivity can be distinguished from other personality traits.
Corina U. Greven et al. · 2019Elaine N. Aron, Arthur Aron · 1997
Original sources
Sensory Processing Sensitivity in the context of Environmental Sensitivity: A critical review and development of research agenda
Corina U. Greven et al.
Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality
Elaine N. Aron, Arthur Aron
Genetic architecture of Environmental Sensitivity reflects multiple heritable components: a twin study with adolescents
Elham Assary et al.
Investigating sensitivity through the lens of parents: validation of the parent-report version of the Highly Sensitive Child scale
Alessandra Sperati et al.
Observer-rated environmental sensitivity and its characterization at behavioral, genetic, and physiological levels
Sofie Weyn et al.
Sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is not a sensory ability: Examining the relationship of SPS with objectively and subjectively measured sensory sensitivity
Danièle A. Gubler et al.
The Personality Trait of Environmental Sensitivity Predicts Children’s Positive Response to School-Based Antibullying Intervention
Annalaura Nocentini et al.