A Psychologist's Test Reveals How Your Brain Processes The World

From overstimulation to deep emotional insight, your sensitivity shapes how you navigate the world.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D. | Reviewed by Jourdan Travers, LCSW | Mar 10, 2026

Have you ever felt like you're more sensitive to certain stimuli than others, or even just that you feel more deelply than most? This is the essence of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS): a measurable personality trait that reflects increased responsiveness to environmental, emotional, and social stimuli.

SPS was first coined in the 1990s in research conducted by Drs. Elaine and Arthur Aron. Importantly, it isn't just a catchy pop‑psych concept; it has been grounded in decades' worth of academic literature, which has shown consistent individual differences in how people perceive and integrate sensory and emotional information.

Although no short quiz can replace a full psychological assessment, a carefully designed screening test can offer a surprisingly accurate snapshot of how your nervous system processes the world. If you're curious about your own sensitivity profile, an eight-question science-informed self-test can be a useful starting point — not as a diagnosis, but as a lens for self-understanding.

But first, it's helpful to start with the science that underpins it.

The Biology And Psychology Of Being Highly Sensitive

High sensory sensitivity has been connected with highly distinct brain activity patterns. According to a 2014 fMRI study from Brain and Behaviour, people high in SPS exhibit stronger activation in brain regions involved in awareness, emotion processing and self‑other integration when viewing emotional cues.

Beyond this, individuals with SPS have also been shown to pay special attention to subtle cues. As such, they tend to notice nuances in sound, facial expressions and environmental stimuli that others might otherwise completely overlook.

Most interestingly, much of Drs. Elaine and Arther Aron's seminal research has demonstrated that SPS also relates to measurable personality traits, including characteristics like neuroticism, introversion and openness. However, it also captures distinct variance in sensitivity beyond many traditional personality models.

Importantly, SPS isn't a disorder or diagnosable condition. It's temperamental — in the same sense as being "introverted" or "extraverted" — and exists on a wide spectrum across the population.

Being highly sensitive can show itself in multiple ways. If you struggle with SPS, then you might find yourself relating to some of these scenarios:

• Environmental sensitivity. Things like loud noises, strong smells or generally chaotic spaces can feel incredibly overwhelming. For especially sensitive individuals, even lighting that's too bright can be enough to significantly impact mood or energy.
• Emotional awareness. You're acutely aware of the moods of the individuals around, especially when they become upset. Even if they try to hide it, you always notice it, and it can even affect your own emotional state.
• Deep processing. You reflect longer on experiences, ideas and relationships than others would. And often, you find yourself uncovering insights others would either overlook or fail to consider altogether.
• Social awareness. You pick up on even the subtlest of social cues, like tension in a group conversation or unspoken dynamics. On one hand, this makes you more empathetic than most, but on the other, it can also lead to overstimulation.

As a 2021 study from the Journal of Clinical Medicine explains, these traits aren't flaws or weaknesses; they merely reflect differences in nervous system wiring. It's noted that highly sensitive people may have stronger physiological responses to stimuli, including heart rate changes and skin conductance shifts when exposed to new experiences.

Further research from Psychological Bulletin on differential susceptibility indicates that highly sensitive individuals may be more responsive to both negative and positive environments. In stressful contexts, this means that they're likely to experience greater distress. However, in supportive settings, they often show disproportionate gains in well-being and performance.

In other words, being highly sensitive can amplify experience in both directions, which researchers refer to as the "vantage sensitivity" model.

Why Understanding How Sensitive You Are Matters

High sensitivity can simultaneously be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the depth of your processing and empathy can help your creativity, intuition and relationships flourish. But on the other hand, the overstimulation it leads to can also beget stress, anxiety and burnout, especially if your environment or lifestyle isn't aligned with your nervous system.

In this sense, understanding your sensitivity level is akin to discovering your personal operating system. It can help you to:

• Set boundaries at work, home and social life to protect your energy
• Choose environments that match your processing style, like quiet spaces or smaller gatherings
• Leverage your strengths in empathy, insight and creativity in ways that mitigate overwhelm

This makes knowing your sensitivity an essential and practical tool for thriving in a world that isn't always designed for deep processors. Once you know you're highly sensitive, the next step is learning how to navigate life in a way that supports your nervous system. Research points to several strategies:

1. Create "low-stimulation zones." Protect your quiet, calm spaces that allow your nervous system to reset and recharge.
2. Prioritize sleep and nutrition. Sensory processing is energy-intensive. Always ensure you're well rested and fed to avoid any heightened overstimulation.
3. Practice mindfulness or grounding techniques. Simple breathing exercises or short meditations can be a reliable and easy way to regulate emotional reactivity.
4. Use social pacing. Limit back-to-back social interactions, and allow yourself time to recover.
5. Leverage your strengths. High empathy, attention to detail and creativity can be your superpowers in the right contexts. Know when they can push you forward, but also remember when they could be holding you back.

Your sensitivity shapes how you perceive your environment, connect with others and process your own thoughts and emotions. When recognized and managed, it can become a remarkable strength that fuels empathy and insight.

Ready to uncover your sensitivity level? Take the 8-question Highly Sensitive Person Quiz here and gain clarity on how your nervous system experiences life.

About the Author

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker. He is a regular contributor for Forbes, CNBC, and Psychology Today. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team.