Type description: The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

[Park]

I stumbled across this personality description the other day. It's new to me and I'm interested in hearing what you think about the theory. I see some links to I/E and S/N here and there. Here's a couple of links:


The Highly Sensitive Person (http://www.hsperson.com/pages/hsp.htm)
According to Dr. Aron's definition, the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment.

/cut/

In defining the Highly Sensitive Person, Dr. Aron provides examples of characteristic behaviors, and these are reflected in the questions she typically asks patients or interview subjects:

- Are you easily overwhelmed by such things as bright lights, strong smells, coarse fabrics, or sirens nearby?
- Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?
- Do you make a point of avoiding violent movies and TV shows?
- Do you need to withdraw during busy days, into bed or a darkened room or some other place where you can have privacy and relief from the situation?
- Do you make it a high priority to arrange your life to avoid upsetting or overwhelming situations?
- Do you notice or enjoy delicate or fine scents, tastes, sounds, or works of art?
- Do you have a rich and complex inner life?
- When you were a child, did your parents or teachers see you as sensitive or shy?



Highly sensitive person (From wiki) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_sensitive_person#Critical_Notes_on_HSP)
A highly sensitive person (HSP) is a person having the innate trait of high sensitivity (or innate sensitiveness as Carl Gustav Jung originally coined it). According to Elaine N. Aron and colleagues as well as other researchers, highly sensitive people, which would represent about a fifth of the population, process sensory data much more deeply and thoroughly due to a biological difference in their nervous systems.[1] This is a specific trait with key consequences that in the past has often been confused with innate shyness, inhibitedness, innate fearfulness, introversion, and so on. [2] The existence of the trait of innate sensitivity was demonstrated using a test that was shown to have both internal and external validity.[3] Although the term is primarily used to describe humans, the trait is present in nearly all higher animals.

The term highly sensitive person was coined by Dr. Elaine N. Aron in 1996, and the name is gaining popularity because it presents the trait in a positive light, as it posits shyness, inhibitedness, fearfulness, introversion as negative traits that may or may not be acquired by highly sensitive people and animals, depending on environmental challenges. Yet other names used to describe the trait in literature include 'introverted emotional temperament', 'chronic cortical/cortisol arousal', 'hypervigilance', and 'innate shyness'.

Dr. Aron describes the opposite end of the spectrum, "the opposite of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) is a person who takes many risks, that is acts without reflecting very much. An HSP who is an HSS (High Sensation Seeker) also will find ways to have lots of new experiences, but won't take a lot of unreflected upon risks."[4] She also cites studies involving other animals ranging from mammals to houseflies and goldfish.[5]


Another link:
The Clinical Implications of Jung?s Concept of Sensitiveness (http://www.junginstitute.org/pdf_files/JungV8N2p11-44.pdf)

[camille]

Many people use HSP as a way to explain away their disdain for ordinary things in life. The questionnaire is loaded.

At a Christmas party, one uncle kept tapping his finger on his cup. It bothered me immensely, not because I found the sound disturbing, but because I was already overwhelmed sitting in a room full of people. That one noise stood out above all others although it wasn't the trigger. I went outside for a bit a space.

[Park]

Many people use HSP as a way to explain away their disdain for ordinary things in life. The questionnaire is loaded.

At a Christmas party, one uncle kept tapping his finger on his cup. It bothered me immensely, not because I found the sound disturbing, but because I was already overwhelmed sitting in a room full of people. That one noise stood out above all others although it wasn't the trigger. I went outside for a bit a space.

But does that mean that introversion could have its roots in sensitivity towards external stimuli?

[Birdsnest]

I'm ultra hsp physically, not so much emotionally. Actually, the description for hsp IS physical attributes, and does not mean you are emotionally sensitive. I score 26 on it. But, look at the majority of intps, they do not seem all that sensitive physically at all:

http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?p=539810

http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?p=187082

Yes, I'm even what you might call an ultra hs-hsp. Not so much emotionally, but physically. I jump at loud sounds, can't take perfumes, extreme temps hot or cold, have to get extra novacaine at dentists office, I think I actually have more nerves than most people in those dendrites, sensitive to wind on my eyes, bright lights, sounds, (had to leave work when they did the fire alarm drill, because it frazzles me instantly, and for days afterwards I'm a wreck after I hear a shrill alarm). I get instant pnuemonia if I breath bug sprays. I've had to rip carpets out of my house because I can't stand breathing new or dirty carpets, I need wood floors. I pissed off nurses in the hospital when I told them their hand cream was making me ill, (the smell of HAND CREAM?) It was so perfumey, the medications and antibiotics mixed with the smell and I really threw up from it.

Emotionally I am not normally too sensitive, but I am definitely shy, and always have been. I've learned that part of that is being empathic and actually picking up the energy of people around me, and its exhausting to pick up so much, as I said, my brain picks up twenty more things than other peoples brains, so it is stressful. Others may just see people in the room for instance, an hsp senses undercurrents in energies from all the people in the room. Of course thats exhausting, and why I like to recluse. This was something I was born with, I've always been this way. Thunder even stresses me out, and all I want to do is sleep when I hear it, and I live in the South when it thunders all summer.

Mostly, you learn to limit yourself, and don't force yourself to participate in every social get together. You have to say no to some things, and take off work sometimes to recuperate.

Yes to everything on Elaine Arons list except the caffiene. I have to have my coffee.

[LowEnd]

Others may just see people in the room for instance, an hsp senses undercurrents in energies from all the people in the room. Of course thats exhausting, and why I like to recluse.

Same here. When I'm talking to someone I know exactly how interested they are, or how much they agree with what I'm saying etc. Also if I'm watching a conversation, I can see what 'vibes' the people are giving off. It doesn't stop. I know when someone is humoring me, I know if some one is lying (surprisingly often), I know if some one is pretending to know something, and sometimes even why they pretending. I think its just a natural tendency to see what 'masks' people are wearing, or how genuine they're being. Something I've learned from this 'ability' to read 'energies'... ...ignorance is bliss.

[Nocapszy]

But does that mean that introversion could have its roots in sensitivity towards external stimuli?

I like this approach. Not necessarily for the specific merit your idea might provide, but just in trying to find out something a bit deeper in the psyche -- perhaps a reason for type.

[camille]

But does that mean that introversion could have its roots in sensitivity towards external stimuli?

Park, I've thought a good deal about your question. I was first introduced to HSP in college. The ideas resonated with how I had felt a good deal of my life. When my oldest son entered counseling, it was suggested that he is also an HSP.

My main problem with the ideas on Elaine's site is that instead of teaching people how to set their own boundaries in a healthy manner, it is suggested that they are 'special' and can't help how they feel. While I do believe there are certain qualities my son and I both possess that can make social situations difficult, I think there are healthy ways for the two of us to interact without feeling like we have denied ourselves or others...boundaries which need to be set.

My example about the party was to suggest that although I found the activity my hub's uncle was doing very annoying, it really wasn't about him. Many times, people project their uncomfortable feelings about a situation onto another person when it really isn't about the other person. I chose to leave the room and regroup myself, center myself.

I love to go to concerts and bars. I ride with the stereo cranked up. The whole vibe gives me a good feeling. Yet belt buckles clanking in the clothes dryer drive me nuts, to the point where I will hang them in the shower for two days until they dry instead of suffering through forty minutes in the dryer. I also don't wear blue jeans and button down shirts because I don't like to feel snaps and constriction around my waist. I love horror movies and horror stories. I don't mind gore.

So I do see how there are some physical sensitivities I have that are related to the HSP definition but I believe I have also psyched myself into some of my physical sensitivities. As a child I was only allowed to wear dresses until I entered the fifth or sixth grade, I think this is part of the reason I'm much more comfortable in long skirts. I lived alone and traveled alone, or with only one other person, for a few years. After growing up in a family full of extroverts, many siblings, I became addicted to the quiet when on my own.

As to how it relates to introversion, I'm at a toss. It is easier for me to be laid back, relaxed, in a bar full of people I don't know or at a concert than it is for me to be comfortable at a family gathering...for one reason, expectations. I've lost a good deal of my insecurities so shyness isn't as much of a problem now, but being expected to entertain others (like at a family gathering, catching up on what's happened over the year, etc) is very difficult for me. If I wanted them to know, I would have contacted them over the year. I know that for some people the last sentence seems very silly, but for me, it is the heart of whom I am. It isn't the physical sensitivities of HSP that lead me to avoid large gatherings, or get annoyed at people, it's the expectation that I have to be something I'm not. And like it or not, many people demand that you step into a role when family comes together for reasons I haven't even begun to understand.

The majority of the time, I am able to zone out mentally to the point where a large crowd does not affect me unlike others who have HSP who say being uncomfortable like that can send them to their room, griping the covers around their ears.

My hub said something a while back, that at a party I will scan the crowd, talk to whomever I need to converse with then do my own thing. This leads back to expectations. My mother in law and sister in law expect me to crack jokes when around the rest of the family because I do have a bit of dry humor on occasion. Only I don't like to have the occasion chosen for me. (Control)

So I would have to say that although I meet the criteria for a HSP person, I don't believe that it is intricately related to my introversion. I do think that some people take the HSP thing too far and use it as an excuse not to dig deeper into themselves, as an excuse for demanding behavior, and to avoid healthy interaction with others because they don't feel very good about themselves.

I do think that some people are highly sensitive emotionally and that it can manifest physically. I know that my heart physically aches for others on occasion. I'm still not sure if I'm sensing the other person, or if the fears, happiness I suspect another might be feeling are manifested physically by my own mind. It is something I've thought about a good deal, especially over the last few months.

[HeavyMetal]

Yeah those questions are loaded...


Do you get rattled when you have a lot to do in a short amount of time?

it's like asking:

Are you stressed in stressful situations?

[Professor Chaos]

That sounds like me as a child. Surprisingly I was moderately sensitive emotionally, but i'm not at all anymore. I don't know if I was sensitive as much as i'd say I had no control over my emotions and felt them super intense. I don't know if thats how alot of INTP's were as children? I also hated when my socks were the wrong way as a child, amongst other things.

But anywho, I was real high at my friends the other day, first time in eight months and they had their living room light on, was really fuckin buggin' me big time. My whole mood shifted drastically. Could this hyper sensitive disorder be better explained with sensory integration dysfunction?

[1104]

HSP? it's not worth its name, unless you want to consider every common combination of traits a "condition".

[Trentham]

Same here. When I'm talking to someone I know exactly how interested they are, or how much they agree with what I'm saying etc. Also if I'm watching a conversation, I can see what 'vibes' the people are giving off. It doesn't stop. I know when someone is humoring me, I know if some one is lying (surprisingly often), I know if some one is pretending to know something, and sometimes even why they pretending. I think its just a natural tendency to see what 'masks' people are wearing, or how genuine they're being. Something I've learned from this 'ability' to read 'energies'.

This is something I experience as well. It's not that I consciously look for cues in conversations. Rather, picking up on the cues is just as natural as hearing the words, in some cases moreso.

It's no wonder that interaction with other people is so tiring for some.

[Scarecrow]

I tend to be very insensitive when it comes to personal tragedies, others' as well as mine.

However, I seem to be more sensitive to light than everyone else I know (especially ceiling lights, these are the worst); I can hear the sound of a TV being turned on in the house next door (and not from the sounds in the program, but the high-pitched noise of the screen). I also avoid horror movies and am rather susceptible to disgust when it comes to bad taste. I watched Trainspotting the other day and wished I hadn't. Not that I am bothered by needles on screen, but the rotting babies and toxoplasmosis got me.

/shudder

Edit: We once listened to experimental instrumental music in junior high and one of the tracks included piano strings being hit with a rubber hammer. Everybody thought it was "cool". That shit gave me nightmares for weeks.

[leebingate]

Yeah those questions are loaded...



it's like asking:

Are you stressed in stressful situations?

That sounds like me as a child. Surprisingly I was moderately sensitive emotionally, but i'm not at all anymore. I don't know if I was sensitive as much as i'd say I had no control over my emotions and felt them super intense. I don't know if thats how alot of INTP's were as children? I also hated when my socks were the wrong way as a child, amongst other things.

[Karl]

But does that mean that introversion could have its roots in sensitivity towards external stimuli?

No, they're two different things. Someone who's relatively sensitive to external stimuli could have a "false introversion" when people will not be understanding of that person and they are forced to withdraw, but that doesn't mean that it's their preference in any way. It's just the best option, maybe their preference or not.

Or at least that's my take. I don't really take the whole "HSP" thing seriously but there are definitely people who are more sensitive to various things, it's part of their perception rather than their internal personality, although you could argue that the two are related in a deep way.

[Hermione]

I am in a lot of ways. But I think it's because I tend to be aloof and yet highly 'tuned in' to different levels of things going on in me or around me, depending on the day or whatnot. People thought I was extra sensitive when I was young, but I could also be extra insensitive, or at least seemed to be, sometimes, too. When my circuits overload I have that extra shut off valve, known as 'shutting down' that I don't even notice, but other people do. I think maybe a lot of intp's have one of those, too. It's a lot better than reacting and then wishing you hadn't anyway.
I still have a love/hate relationship with both socks and shoes.

[Offbeat]

But does that mean that introversion could have its roots in sensitivity towards external stimuli?

In short- yes.

I think it's currently pretty widely accepted in psychology that introversion and CNS sensitivity are correlated. There's so much evidence now that the introversion/extroversion scale is pretty much just seen as a direct indicator of central nervous system sensitivity (if it isn't its definition).

It's all about the optimum level of stimuli different people need. Everyone needs a certain level of stimuli to get their brain engaged and at a certain level they become overstimulated. Introverts need little to become stimulated

I think it's because I tend to be aloof and yet highly 'tuned in' to different levels of things going on in me or around me
but can become overstimulated easily

When my circuits overload I have that extra shut off valve, known as 'shutting down' that I don't even notice, but other people do.
I can really relate to this, though I guess a lot of introverts can. When it starts I just get the urge to get the hell out of there (sometimes it's more civil just to have a few drinks to get past it but permanently carrying a hip-flask around probably isn't the best solution to being introverted).

There are MRI imaging studies on introverts and extroverts experiencing different levels of stimuli- they all show exactly this. There is a certain part of the brain which is responsible for stimulating+inhibiting CNS information, the i/e scale shows at what level your brain is calibrated to.

Introverts have more bloodflow in the frontal lobes- which are all about internal processing, extroverts have more in the temporal lobes- which respond to sensory experience.

The best study that illustrates i/e is simply CNS sensitivity is where people were given i/e questionnaires and then a drop of lemon juice was put on their tongue and they measured the amount of saliva it caused. The more introverted the person was, the more of a salivary response they found. Peer reviewed and recreated loads of times, it always gets the same results (all that spit collecting sure makes psychology seem all the more glamorous eh?) It's all pretty intuitive and fairly indisputable (unless the real reason introverts are so introverted is their low self esteem from their unsightly salivary responses.)

The MBTI looks at the i/e scale as "where you get your energy from" and that is pretty much it- whether you get it from low or high levels of central nervous system stimulation.

The HSP thing is kind of interesting, the questions hardly seem MBTI quality, let alone DSM-IV, I can see what they're driving at though, high emotional and sensory sensitivity. I think the true HSP is the MBTI IxFx with 90-100% in both I and F.

Long story short, if someone insults you or blames you for being introverted, you are well within your rights in informing them that they are a fascist and/or bringing them some sweet vigilante justice.

[Ace_]

HSP doesn't necessarily imply introversion.

My dad (ESTJ) is very sensitive to coarse fabrics, bright lights, sounds. He can't sleep in a room with a ticking clock and all the house has to be quiet for his afternoon nap because he's like a rabbit, anything can wake him up. He doesn't like surprises and likes to arrange his life so that nothing out of the ordinary will happen. He wants to be prepared. He has the best nose in the house and is generally very good at sensing when something is out of the ordinary. My mom's an introvert and she's nothing like that.