Highly Sensitive Person Test

What is high sensitivity?

High sensitivity, which researchers call Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), is a temperament trait identified in 1996 by American psychologist Elaine N. Aron. It concerns 15 to 20% of the population, men and women in equal proportion.

It is not an illness, a psychiatric disorder or a diagnosis. It is a particular way the nervous system processes information: more deeply, with more nuance, and therefore reaching saturation faster.

The 4 dimensions this test measures

Elaine Aron summarises high sensitivity with the acronym DOES, which covers four characteristics. This test assesses each one separately, because they don't show up with the same intensity in everyone.

• Depth of processing: you analyse, compare and anticipate before acting. It is the least visible dimension from the outside, but the most central.
• Overstimulation: because you process more information, you reach the saturation threshold earlier than others.
• Emotional reactivity and empathy: your emotions are more intense, and other people's emotions run through you too.
• Sensory sensitivity: sounds, lights, smells and textures reach you more intensely.

Why a profile rather than just a score?

Most high sensitivity tests simply answer yes or no. That is of little practical use: two highly sensitive people can face very different difficulties. One will saturate in noisy open-plan offices, the other will ruminate for three days after a comment from their manager.

By breaking down your four dimensions, this test shows you where to act first. That is the information that lets you put concrete adjustments in place rather than simply telling yourself "I'm highly sensitive".

High sensitivity, anxiety and giftedness: don't confuse them

High sensitivity is often confused with other realities. They are distinct things, even though they can coexist in the same person.

• Anxiety is a state that comes and goes, and can be treated. High sensitivity is a stable trait, present since childhood. A highly sensitive person is not necessarily anxious.
• Intellectual giftedness concerns cognitive abilities measured by an IQ test. There is no mechanical link with sensitivity, even if the two sometimes meet.
• Hyper-empathy only concerns the relationship to other people's emotions. It is one component of high sensitivity, not its equivalent.

What to do with your result

If your score is high, the priority is not to "feel less" but to learn to regulate your nervous system before saturation. Heart coherence is the best-documented tool for this: five minutes is enough to bring physiological tension down. In case of acute saturation, the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise brings attention back to the body within minutes. To go further, our complete guide to high sensitivity details the signs and day-to-day strategies.