SENSITIVITY & EMOTIONAL STYLE
Highly Sensitive Person
A nervous system tuned to notice more — and feel it longer.
WHAT IT MEASURES
This test measures sensory processing sensitivity: how deeply your nervous system registers and processes stimulation — sounds, lights, other people's moods, caffeine, pain, art. High sensitivity is a temperament trait found in roughly 15–20% of people, not a disorder.
THE SCIENCE
Elaine Aron introduced the concept of the Highly Sensitive Person in the 1990s, framing deep processing, overstimulation, emotional reactivity and sensitivity to subtleties as a single inherited temperament trait. Researchers now often discuss it alongside the orchid-dandelion-tulip model of environmental sensitivity.
Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (1997). Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368.
This is not a diagnosis. Sensitivity is a neutral temperament dimension — its value depends entirely on the environment it meets.