Cited by 645Personality Traits and PsychologyNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

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Sensory Processing Sensitivity: A Review in the Light of the Evolution of Biological Responsivity

Aron, Elaine N., Aron, Arthur, Jagiellowicz, Jadzia·2012·Personality and Social Psychology Review

DOI 10.1177/1088868311434213

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Abstract

This article reviews the literature on sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) in light of growing evidence from evolutionary biology that many personality differences in nonhuman species involve being more or less responsive, reactive, flexible, or sensitive to the environment. After briefly defining SPS, it first discusses how biologists studying animal personality have conceptualized this general environmental sensitivity. Second, it reviews relevant previous human personality/temperament work, focusing on crossover interactions (where a trait generates positive or negative outcomes depending on the environment), and traits relevant to specific hypothesized aspects of SPS: inhibition of behavior, sensitivity to stimuli, depth of processing, and emotional/physiological reactivity. Third, it reviews support for the overall SPS model, focusing on development of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) Scale as a measure of SPS then on neuroimaging and genetic studies using the scale, all of which bears on the extent to which SPS in humans corresponds to biological responsivity.

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Canbeyli, R. (2022) · European Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1111/ejn.15507 · Cited by 48
Strong genetic influences on measures of behavioral‐regulation among inbred rat strains
Richards, J. B., Lloyd, D. R., Kuehlewind, B., Militello, L., Paredez, M., Woods, L. C. S., & Palmer, A. A. (2013) · Genes Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1111/gbb.12050 · Cited by 46
Alexithymia and Sensory Processing Sensitivity: Areas of Overlap and Links to Sensory Processing Styles
Jakobson, L. S., & Rigby, S. N. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.583786 · Cited by 48
“However, feeling anxious or stressed may also prompt active avoidance or behavioral inhibition that could result in slow responding, “pausing to check” when one encounters a novel situation (a characteristic associated with Orchids; Aron et al., 2012), and “freezing” (Roelofs, 2017).”
Background
Conceptual ambiguities and measurement issues in sensory processing sensitivity
Hellwig, S., & Roth, M. (2021) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2021.104130 · Cited by 46
Sensory processing sensitivity and somatosensory brain activation when feeling touch
Schaefer, M., Kühnel, A., & Gärtner, M. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-15497-9 · Cited by 48
Efficacy of a cultural adaptation of the Identity Project intervention among adolescents attending multiethnic classrooms in Italy: A randomized controlled trial
Ceccon, C., Schachner, M. K., Lionetti, F., Pastore, M., Umaña‐Taylor, A. J., & Moscardino, U. M. M. (2023) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.13944 · Cited by 53
Childhood quality influences genetic sensitivity to environmental influences across adulthood: A life-course Gene × Environment interaction study
Keers, R., & Pluess, M. (2017) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579417001493 · Cited by 51
A psychometric evaluation of the highly sensitive person scale: the components of sensory-processing sensitivity
Ershova, R. V., Yarmotz, E. V., Koryagina, T. M., Semeniak, I. V., Shlyakhta, D. A., & Tarnow, E. (2018) · Electronic Journal of General Medicine · doi:10.29333/ejgm/100634 · Cited by 44
The basics of sensory processing sensitivity
Acevedo, B. P. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818251-2.00001-1 · Cited by 53
Exploring outdoor thermal perception—a revised model
Lenzholzer, S., & de Vries, S. (2019) · International Journal of Biometeorology · doi:10.1007/s00484-019-01777-z · Cited by 45
A Dual-Mode Social-Information-Processing Model to Explain Individual Differences in Children’s Aggressive Behavior
Verhoef, R. E. J., van Dijk, A., & de Castro, B. O. (2021) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/21677026211016396 · Cited by 54
“It would be maladaptive to spend cognitive resources to correct basic appraisals of situations that are familiar, satisfactory, or concern irrelevant stimuli (Aron et al., 2012; Barlett & Anderson, 2011).”
Background
A mathematical model of the evolution of individual differences in developmental plasticity arising through parental bet‐hedging
Frankenhuis, W. E., Panchanathan, K., & Belsky, J. (2015) · Developmental Science · doi:10.1111/desc.12309 · Cited by 44
“…which plasticity levels are correlated across domains is an open and interesting question, which has recently come into focus in studies of humans (Aron et al., 2012; Belsky & Pluess, 2013; Del Giudice et al., 2011) and other animals (Dingemanse, Kazem, R eale & Wright, 2010; Sih & Del Giudice,…”
Background
Temperament Concepts in Developmental Psychopathology
Bates, J. E., Schermerhorn, A. C., & Petersen, I. T. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-9608-3_16 · Cited by 41
Exploring the Multidimensional Structure of Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Turkish Samples
Şengül‐İnal, G., & Sümer, N. (2017) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9751-0 · Cited by 41
The moderating role of sensory processing sensitivity in the link between stress and depression: A VBM study
Wu, X., Zhang, R., Li, X., Feng, T., & Yan, N. (2020) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107704 · Cited by 44
Sensory Processing Sensitivity
Grimen, H. L., & Diseth, Å. (2016) · Comprehensive Psychology · doi:10.1177/2165222816660077 · Cited by 44
Mediation role of alexithymia, sensory processing sensitivity and emotional-mental processes between childhood trauma and adult psychopathology: a self-report study
Karaca-Dinç, P., Oktay, S., & Batıgün, A. D. (2021) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03532-4 · Cited by 54
Is environmental sensitivity a unique trait? A multi-sample study on the association between sensitivity, personality, and psychological adjustment
Lionetti, F., Dumpfrey, R. S. C., Richetin, J., Fasolo, M., Nocentini, A., Penolazzi, B., Pluess, M., Santona, A. M. R., Spinelli, M., & Preti, E. (2023) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2023.112463 · Cited by 48
Not all risk taking behavior is bad: Associative sensitivity predicts learning during risk taking among high sensation seekers
Humphreys, K. L., Lee, S. S., & Tottenham, N. (2012) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.11.031 · Cited by 40
Student–Teacher Relationships and Attention Problems in School-Aged Children: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation
Pallini, S., Vecchio, G. M., Baiocco, R., Schneider, B. H., & Laghi, F. (2018) · School Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s12310-018-9286-z · Cited by 49
Highly sensitive adolescents: The relationship between weekly life events and weekly socioemotional well‐being
Iimura, S. (2021) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjop.12505 · Cited by 40
Brief report: effects of sensory sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty on anxiety in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder
Uljarević, M., Carrington, S., & Leekam, S. (2016) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2557-8 · Cited by 39
Holistic movement practices – An emerging category of physical activity for exercise psychology
Vergeer, I., Johansson, M., & Cagas, J. Y. (2020) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101870 · Cited by 44
Development of Japanese version of the 19-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS-J19)
Takahashi, A. (2016) · JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS · doi:10.4092/jsre.23.2_68 · Cited by 38
Reduced Inhibition within Layer IV of Sert Knockout Rat Barrel Cortex is Associated with Faster Sensory Integration
Miceli, S., Kasri, N. N., Joosten, J., Huang, C., Kepser, L.-J., Proville, R. D., Selten, M. M., van Eijs, F., Azarfar, A., Homberg, J. R., et al. (2017) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhx016 · Cited by 42
Sensory Processing Sensitivity Among High-Ability Individuals: A Psychometric Evaluation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale
Rinn, A. N., Mullet, D. R., Jett, N., & Nyikos, T. (2018) · Roeper Review · doi:10.1080/02783193.2018.1466840 · Cited by 39
“Previous exploratory factor analyses of the HSPS produced somewhat inconsistent results; for example, studies varied in the number of identified factors (Aron et al., 2012) or yielded solutions that failed to explain a substantial portion of the total variance (Aron & Aron, 2013).”
Result
Differential postpartum sensitivity to the anxiety-modulating effects of offspring contact is associated with innate anxiety and brainstem levels of dopamine beta-hydroxylase in female laboratory rats
Ragan, C. M., & Lonstein, J. S. (2013) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.10.014 · Cited by 37
“Contrary to what we had hypothesized based on the relationship between anxiety and tactile sensitivity (Jorum, 1988; van Meeteren et al., 1997; Kain et al., 2000; Rhudy and Meagher, 2000; Geerse et al., 2006; Devall et al., 2009; Aron et al., 2012; Corral-Frias et al., 2013), anxiety behavior in the most-anxious femal…”
Background
Prenatal programming of environmental sensitivity
Hartman, S., Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2023) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-023-02461-y · Cited by 45
“Importantly, differences in brain structure and function are thought to play a critical role in modulating environmental sensitivity [3, 31].”
Background
Relationship between sensory-processing sensitivity and age in a large cross-sectional Japanese sample
Ueno, Y., Takahashi, A., & Oshio, A. (2019) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02508 · Cited by 47
“SPS is an inherent individual difference that typically manifests in the brain's handling of sensory information (Aron and Aron, 1997; Aron et al., 2012).”
Background
Investigating sensitivity through the lens of parents: validation of the parent-report version of the Highly Sensitive Child scale
Sperati, A., Spinelli, M., Fasolo, M., Pastore, M., Pluess, M., & Lionetti, F. (2022) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579422001298 · Cited by 36
“We can hypothesize that the stronger emotional reactivity found in highly sensitive individuals (Aron et al., 2012; Lionetti et al., 2018; Pluess et al., 2020) might lead to difficulties in regulating emotions when the environment is not positive enough.”
BackgroundInfluential
Predictors of Mental Health in Chinese Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Su, X., Cai, R. Y., & Uljarević, M. (2017) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3364-1 · Cited by 43
“SS, defined as biological and emotional over-reactivity to daily sensory stimuli across auditory, visual, somatosensory, and proprioceptive domains (Aron et al. 2012; Pluess 2015; Schaaf and Lane 2015; Uljarević et al. 2017) has also been considered as an important factor contributing to the development and maintenanc…”
Background

Authors: Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Jagiellowicz, J.
Affiliations: Stony Brook University (US)
ORCID: Aron, Arthur
Jagiellowicz, Jadzia
Venue: Personality and Social Psychology Review
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2012-01-30
Volume: 16
Issue: 3
Pages: 262-282
ISSN: 1088-8683 (ISSN-L)
1532-7957
DOI: 10.1177/1088868311434213
OpenAlex: W1976465304
Cited by: 645
References: 158
Citations by year: 2026: 88 · 2025: 100 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
FWCI: 18.47
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Personality and Social Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords: sensory processing sensitivity, animal personality, environmental sensitivity, behavioral inhibition, stimulus sensitivity, levels of processing, emotional reactivity, physiological reactivity, Highly Sensitive Person Scale, temperament, genetic research, neuroimaging
MeSH terms: Animals, Emotions, Biological Evolution, Humans, Inhibition, Psychological, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Physical Stimulation, Sensation

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Sensory Processing Sensitivity: A Review in the Light of the Evolution of Biological Responsivity

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