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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Background
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Background
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Background
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Background
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BackgroundMethod
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Background
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Background
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Background
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Background
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BackgroundMethodInfluential
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Background
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“In their social and personal relations, they are characterized as being empathetic and intuitive [3].”
Background
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“…argued that SPS manifests itself in four features: (a) deeper cognitive processing of stimuli, (b) ease of overstim-ulation, (c) higher emotional reactivity and empathy, and (d) awareness of environmental subtleties (Aron et al., 2012; Greven, 2022; Greven et al., 2019; Homberg et al., 2016).”
BackgroundResultInfluential
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Kantor‐Martynuska, J. (2012) · Journal of Individual Differences · doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000072 · Cited by 10
Perception is key? Does perceptual sensitivity and parenting behavior predict children’s reactivity to others’ emotions?
Weeland, J., van den Akker, A. L., Slagt, M., & Putnam, S. P. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2017.06.012 · Cited by 11
Replication of the three sensitivity groups and investigation of their characteristics in Japanese samples
Yano, K., & Oishi, K. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01537-6 · Cited by 10
Transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and ethical perceptions: the effects of sensory processing sensitivity
Stenmark, C. K. (2023) · Journal of Management Development · doi:10.1108/jmd-07-2023-0206 · Cited by 9
High sensitivity groups with distinct personality patterns: a person-centered perspective
Bürger, M., Münscher, J.-C., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1336474 · Cited by 10
“Therefore, the recognition of subtleties, depth of processing, heightened emotional reactivity, and a predisposition to physiological overarousal represent the core definitional elements of the construct (Aron et al., 2012; Homberg et al., 2016).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Social Affiliation and Attention to Angry Faces in Children: Evidence for the Contributing Role of Parental Sensory Processing Sensitivity
Christou, A. I., Fanti, K. A., Mavrommatis, I., Soursou, G., Pergantis, P., & Drigas, A. S. (2025) · Children · doi:10.3390/children12040524 · Cited by 9
“Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) has been well described as a potential susceptibility marker [15] and is considered a reliable measure of the phenotypic trait of environmental sensitivity [16,17].”
The Role of Mobile Games and Environmental Factors in Improving Learning and Metacognitive Potential of Young Students
Christou, A. I., Tsermentseli, S. K., & Drigas, A. S. (2023) · International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) · doi:10.3991/ijim.v17i18.42437 · Cited by 15
The effect of parenting behaviours on adolescents’ rumination: a systematic review of longitudinal studies
Castro, T., Pinto, T. M., Morais, A., Costa, R. A., Jongenelen, I., & Lamela, D. J. P. D. V. (2023) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02309-2 · Cited by 9
The role of sensory processing sensitivity and analytic mind-set in ethical decision-making
Stenmark, C. K., & Redfearn, R. A. (2021) · Ethics & Behavior · doi:10.1080/10508422.2021.1906247 · Cited by 11
“…of forecasting and the cognitive strategy of anticipating consequences also may have important implications for an understanding of how analytic mind-set interacts with SPS. HSPs tend to focus more effectively on the smaller details in a dilemma, rather than an overall solution (Aron et al., 2012).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
From Empathy to Compassion Fatigue: A Narrative Review of Implications in Healthcare
Graves, J., Joyce, C., & Hegazi, I. (2022) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.107399 · Cited by 12
The association between sensory processing sensitivity, the five-factor model and university adjustment amongst South African university students
May, A. K., & Pitman, M. M. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02035-5 · Cited by 9
Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Adult Attachment in Emotional Regulation Difficulties
Montoya-Pérez, K. S., Montes-Delgado, R., la Roca-Chiapas, J. M. D., Montoya-Pérez, R. D. C., & Blázquez, F. P. (2021) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2021.1211111 · Cited by 8
Dimensionality and Validation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) in a Dutch General Population Sample and Two Clinical Samples
Gucht, V. D., Wilderjans, T. F., Garcia, F. K., & Stan Maes, A. (2023) · Journal of Individual Differences · doi:10.1027/1614-0001/a000394 · Cited by 8
Approaching “highly sensitive person” as a cultural concept of distress: a case-study using the cultural formulation interview in patients with bipolar disorder
Ioannou, M., Olsson, S., Wold, A. B., Dellepiane, M., & Steingrímsson, S. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1148646 · Cited by 8
“, sensory processing sensitivity) (11, 12).”
Exploring preterm birth and low birth weight as environmental sensitivity factors: A scoping review of socio-emotional and cognitive developmental outcomes
Lionetti, F., Sperati, A., Spinelli, M., Dellagiulia, A., Fasolo, M., & Pluess, M. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106216 · Cited by 8
WSAVA professional wellness guidelines
PATON, M., Kalemtzaki, E., Stoewen, D. L., Hameedunisha, T., Yang, H., Donlin, J., & Endenburg, N. (2024) · Journal of Small Animal Practice · doi:10.1111/jsap.13689 · Cited by 12
Program Planning for a Mars Hardship Post: Social, Psychological, and Spiritual Services
Rappaport, M. B., & Corbally, C. J. (2019) · Space and society · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02059-0_2 · Cited by 8
Sensory processing sensitivity does not moderate the relationship between need satisfaction, motivation and behavioral engagement in primary school students
Samsen‐Bronsveld, H. E., van der Ven, S. H. G., Bogaerts, S., Greven, C. U., & Bakx, A. W. E. A. (2022) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2022.111678 · Cited by 10
Signaling High Sensitivity to Influence Others: Initial Evidence for the Roles of Reinforcement Sensitivity, Sensory Processing Sensitivity, and the Dark Triad
Kajdzik, M., & Moroń, M. (2023) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941231152387 · Cited by 8
“…we tested the associations between signaling high sensitivity to in ﬂ uence others and reinforcement sensitivity (behavioral activation and inhibition systems; BAS/BIS; Carver & White, 1994), sensory processing sensitivity (SPS; Aron et al., 2012), and the Dark Triad (Paulhus & Williams, 2002).”
Vantage sensitivity: genetic susceptibility to effects of positive experiences
Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199686674.003.0012 · Cited by 9
An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach to Predict Sensory Processing Sensitivity Trait in Nursing Students
Ponce-Valencia, A., Jiménez‐Rodríguez, D., Morante, J. J. H., Cortés, C. M., Pérez‐Sánchez, H., & Pérez, P. E. (2024) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe14040059 · Cited by 9
“Aron describes high sensitivity as a dual-faceted attribute encompassing both favorable and unfavorable dimensions [4].”
BackgroundInfluential
Religiosity/spirituality and mental health: the moderating role of sensory processing sensitivity
Maliňáková, K., Vyvlečková, L., & Novák, L. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-024-04176-x · Cited by 9
“This is a hereditary neurobiological trait based on a higher level of excitability of the nervous system (Aron, 2003), which is more responsive to internal and external stimuli, both positive and negative ones (Aron et al., 2012).”
Exploring the links between childhood emotional abuse and empathy: The mediating roles of alexithymia and sensory processing sensitivity
McQuarrie, A. M., Smith, S. D., & Jakobson, L. S. (2025) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104903 · Cited by 7
Different flavours of sensitivity: investigating types of environmental sensitivity
Huang, Y., & Pluess, M. (2025) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2025.113213 · Cited by 7
Supporting the mental health of forcibly displaced children
Pluess, M., Brown, F. L., & Panter‐Brick, C. (2025) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-025-00447-9 · Cited by 11
“The assumption that mental health and psychosocial support programmes can improve outcomes in refugee children in the absence of structural changes in society and in the presence of meaningful ongoing adversity needs to be rigorously tested.”
The role of sensory processing sensitivity in the longitudinal associations between relationship qualities with parents and peers and externalizing behavior in adolescence
Fischer, K., Larsen, H., van den Akker, A. L., & Overbeek, G. J. (2022) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075221083962 · Cited by 7
“Research has demonstrated that individuals who score high on sensory processing sensitivity process information in their environment in a deeper and cognitively more complex manner, and have a heightened and more thorough awareness for subtle sensory stimuli, regardless of valence (positive and negative), than those w…”
BackgroundInfluential
An overstimulated consumer in a highly visual world: the moderating effect of the highly sensitive person trait on the attitude towards the ad
Amaro, A. C., Martinez, L. M., Ramos, F., Menezes, K., & Menezes, S. (2022) · Electronic Commerce Research · doi:10.1007/s10660-022-09639-4 · Cited by 7
Interactions between environmental sensitivity and gut microbiota are associated with biomarkers of stress-related psychiatric symptoms
Iimura, S., Takasugi, S., Yasuda, M., Saito, Y., & Morifuji, M. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.016 · Cited by 7
Higher sensory processing sensitivity: increased cautiousness in attentional processing in conflict contexts
Xiao, L., Baetens, K., & Deroost, N. (2024) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2023.2300751 · Cited by 9
“SPS is characterised by a heightened awareness of sensory stimuli, suggesting a lower threshold for detecting subtle or novel stimuli in the environment (Aron et al., 2012), as well as a heightened capacity for ﬂ exible shifts in attention.”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
Childhood abuse and depressive symptoms in adolescents: Affective inhibitory control as a mediator and sensory processing sensitivity as a moderator
Wei, X., & Lu, W. D. (2024) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106957 · Cited by 8
The number of neurons in specific amygdala regions is associated with boldness in mink: a study in animal personality
Wiese, A.-S., Needham, E. K., Noer, C. L., Balsby, T. J. S., Dabelsteen, T., & Pakkenberg, B. (2018) · Brain Structure and Function · doi:10.1007/s00429-018-1606-4 · Cited by 7
The longitudinal relationship between childhood trauma and adolescents' externalizing problems: A moderated mediation model
Zhang, W., & Wang, Z. (2024) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106646 · Cited by 8
Development of the Japanese Version of Highly Sensitive Child Scale for Adolescence (HSCS-A)
Kibe, C., & Hirano, M. (2019) · The Japanese Journal of Personality · doi:10.2132/personality.28.2.1 · Cited by 8
Cohort splitting from plastic bet-hedging: insights from empirical and theoretical investigations in a wolf spider
Rádai, Z. (2020) · Theoretical Ecology · doi:10.1007/s12080-020-00475-6 · Cited by 7
“I propose that plastic bet-hedging in P. agrestis is likely in association with susceptibility genes (Aron et al. 2012; Belsky et al. 2009; Frankenhuis et al. 2016) shaping propensity to take on rapid development when adequate stimuli are present.”
Background
Parents differ in their sensitivity to the environment: An investigation of the relationship between socioeconomic status, social support, and child maltreatment risks
Gao, X., Ye, F. T.-F., Lee, K. L., Bautista, A., Sin, K. F., & Yang, L. (2024) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107131 · Cited by 6
Sensory-Processing Sensitivity Is Associated with Increased Neural Entropy
Walter, N., Meinersen-Schmidt, N., Kulla, P., Loew, T. H., Kruse, J., & Hinterberger, T. (2023) · Entropy · doi:10.3390/e25060890 · Cited by 7
“and received stimuli but also to chronic stress experience [5,17].”
Background
A comparative study of differences between parents and teachers in the evaluation of environmental sensitivity
Costa-López, B., Ferrer‐Cascales, R., Ruiz‐Robledillo, N., Albaladejo-Blázquez, N., & Baryła‐Matejczuk, M. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1291041 · Cited by 6
The role of environmental sensitivity in post-traumatic stress symptoms in Lebanese children and adolescents
Karam, E. G., Fayyad, J. A., Huang, Y., Saab, D., Barathie, J. A., & Pluess, M. (2024) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579423001554 · Cited by 6
Profiles of Family and School Experiences and Adjustment of Adolescents During the Transition to High School
Cao, J., Xu, X., Liu, X., Shen, Z., Fu, X., Man, X., & Zhao, S. M. (2024) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-024-01997-6 · Cited by 7
“…is that adolescents with high environmental sensitivity can take in more information from their surroundings and analyze it more thoroughly than others can because of their heightened receptivity to emotional cues, empathic understanding, and cognitive processing abilities (Aron et al., 2012).”

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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