The Value of an Umbrella—the Concept of Environmental Sensitivity

As my research into sensitivity advanced, it became clear to me that what the three leading theories on sensitivity (sensory processing sensitivity by Elaine and Art Aron, differential susceptibility by Jay Belsky, and biological sensitivity to context by Tom Boyce and Bruce Ellis) have in common is that all three suggest that some people are especially strongly affected by environmental influences. In order to facilitate research across these related yet different concepts, I integrated the three theories into the framework of environmental sensitivity. Importantly, environmental sensitivity doesn’t replace the three long-standing theories of sensitivity, but instead seeks to combine different aspects of the theories to provide a broader and more comprehensive perspective.

My Journey as a Sensitivity Researcher by Prof. Michael Pluess – The Highly Sensitive Person (hsperson.com)

I’ve been correlating a bunch of stuff that strikes me as being the same and was wondering how it could get shifted to allow more coordination & collaboration – the umbrella idea is great!

“Environmental Sensitivity” is Michael Pluess’ proposed term to encompass sensory processing sensitivity (high sensitivity – highly sensitive person – HSP), differential susceptibility, and biological sensitivity

Free tests and research information at the joint site on Sensitivity Research

I haven’t had a chance to review it yet, but I recall from Elaine Aron‘s work that HSPs are generally 20% (maybe 20-30%) of the population – both among humans and other species. It seems to be the optimal balance for species diversity and success.

Much of the research shows that HSPs are more responsive to their environment – meaning those with healthy (mental, physical & emotional) childhoods do better than average, and those with challenging childhoods (abuse, neglect, illness, toxin exposure, etc.) do much worse.

Here’s my umbrella hypothesis about sensitivity and the signs of it.