Answer quickly and honestly, about how you usually are, not how you would like to be. There are no right answers.
What this test measures
High sensitivity, known scientifically as Sensory Processing Sensitivity, is a personality trait described by psychologist Elaine Aron in the 1990s. Researchers estimate that around 20 to 30 percent of people are highly sensitive.
This test measures four aspects of the trait: depth of processing (thinking things through deeply), overstimulation (how quickly busy environments drain you), emotional responsiveness (how strongly you feel your own and others' emotions) and sensory sensitivity (light, noise, smells, textures).
How it works
You answer 16 statements, four per aspect, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Your scores are calculated on your device and combined into an overall sensitivity score.
The questions were written for Inner Map based on Aron's research and later work on the trait. Inner Map is not affiliated with the official HSP Scale.
What you get
Your sensitivity level, your profile across the four aspects, your strengths and challenges, targeted advice for your most sensitive area and what this means in relationships.
High sensitivity is not a disorder and not something to fix. Knowing your profile helps you plan your energy instead of discovering your limits the hard way.
The three Inner Map levels
Your privacy
Inner Map calculates your result entirely in your browser. Your answers are never sent to a server, never sold and never used for advertising. There is no account to create and no email to give.
If you share your result, the link contains only your scores, never your individual answers. Your last results are saved on your own device so you can compare them over time, and you can clear them anytime by clearing your browser data.
Frequently asked questions
What is a highly sensitive person?
A highly sensitive person (HSP) has a nervous system that processes information more deeply. They tend to notice subtleties, feel emotions strongly, get overstimulated more quickly and need more time to recover.
Is being highly sensitive the same as being an empath?
Empath is a popular term rather than a scientific one. High emotional responsiveness and empathy are part of the HSP trait, which is the research-based concept closest to what people mean by empath.
Is high sensitivity a disorder?
No. It is a normal personality trait found in a significant minority of people, and in many animal species too. It becomes difficult mainly when environments are chronically overstimulating.
Are highly sensitive people more anxious?
Not necessarily, but sensitivity combined with stressful experiences can increase the risk of anxiety. Sensitive people also tend to benefit more than others from supportive environments.
Sources
- 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.
- Greven, C. U., et al. (2019). Sensory Processing Sensitivity in the context of Environmental Sensitivity: A critical review and development of research agenda. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 98, 287-305.
- Lionetti, F., et al. (2018). Dandelions, tulips and orchids: Evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1), 24.
Read the full Inner Map methodology.
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