What is a highly sensitive person?

Someone who takes in more of what is around them and processes it more deeply: they notice small details, are affected by noise, light and busy days, and feel other people's moods and art strongly. Psychologists call the trait sensory processing sensitivity; the term "highly sensitive person" was introduced by Elaine and Arthur Aron in the 1990s.

Is this the official HSP test?

No. Elaine Aron's Highly Sensitive Person Scale is available on her own site, hsperson.com. This is an independent test of the same trait, written with its own questions and scored on a continuous scale with a breakdown across four facets.

Is being highly sensitive the same as being an introvert?

No. Introversion is about whether time with people spends your energy or refills it. Sensitivity is about how much of your surroundings gets in and how deeply it is processed. The two are separate, and there are highly sensitive extraverts as well as calm, unbothered introverts.

Is high sensitivity a bad thing?

No. It is a trait with a cost and a benefit. The cost is that loud, rushed or crowded days take more out of you. The benefit is noticing what others miss and responding deeply to people, music and ideas. Your result describes how the trait shows up in you; it is not a diagnosis and not a health measure.

How long does the test take, and is it free?

About three minutes for 12 statements. It is free, needs no account and no email, and your result lives at its own link that you can keep or share.

Free test

The Highly Sensitive Person Test

A free reading of how much the world gets in: noise and light, a crowded day, small details, other people's moods. Scored on a continuous scale, not as a yes or no.

Some people take in more of everything: the hum of the fridge, the change in someone's voice, the film that stays with them for a week. The term people use is highly sensitive, and this free 12-item test reads it through four channels: sensory load, how quickly a lot at once becomes too much, how much subtle detail you notice and weigh, and how far other people's moods and art resonate in you.

This is our own clean-room instrument, not Elaine Aron's Highly Sensitive Person Scale, which you can take at hsperson.com. About 3 minutes.

Start the test

12 questions · free · results are yours to share

Validation status

Sensitivity · Reliability not yet published — 0 of 300 opted-in responses collected. We publish the coefficient the day we reach it.

What these numbers mean, and what they don’t, is on the methodology page.

What this test measures

"Highly sensitive" is the everyday name for a trait psychologists call sensory processing sensitivity, described by Elaine and Arthur Aron in 1997: some people take in more of what is around them and process it more deeply. It is a trait, not a problem, and it shows up as a set of experiences that tend to travel together.

The four channels

Sensory load. How much noise, light, clutter and physical irritation reach you, and how long they keep reaching you.
Overload. How quickly a full day, a lot of demands or a lot happening at once turns from busy into too much.
Subtle detail. How much you notice that others miss, and how long you weigh things before deciding.
Emotional resonance. How far other people's moods, and music, film and stories, travel into you and how long they stay.

How to read your score

The result is a continuous score between Less sensitive and Highly sensitive, not a yes or no. Below 40 reads as a steady filter, 40 to 60 as selective sensitivity, and above 60 as highly sensitive. The facet breakdown matters more than the headline number: someone worn out by noise and someone moved to tears by a song can reach the same score by completely different routes.

Is this the HSP Scale?

No. The Highly Sensitive Person Scale is Elaine Aron's own questionnaire, and you can take it on her site. This test measures the same idea with its own questions, reports it as a score on a scale rather than a cut-off, and publishes its validation status on this page. It is not a diagnosis of anything.

Sensitive, or introverted?

They are different traits that often get confused. Introversion is about whether company costs you energy; sensitivity is about how much gets in and how deeply it lands. Plenty of highly sensitive people are extraverts. The difference is set out in introvert or highly sensitive.

Common questions

What is a highly sensitive person?: Someone who takes in more of what is around them and processes it more deeply: they notice small details, are affected by noise, light and busy days, and feel other people's moods and art strongly. Psychologists call the trait sensory processing sensitivity; the term "highly sensitive person" was introduced by Elaine and Arthur Aron in the 1990s.
Is this the official HSP test?: No. Elaine Aron's Highly Sensitive Person Scale is available on her own site, hsperson.com. This is an independent test of the same trait, written with its own questions and scored on a continuous scale with a breakdown across four facets.
Is being highly sensitive the same as being an introvert?: No. Introversion is about whether time with people spends your energy or refills it. Sensitivity is about how much of your surroundings gets in and how deeply it is processed. The two are separate, and there are highly sensitive extraverts as well as calm, unbothered introverts.
Is high sensitivity a bad thing?: No. It is a trait with a cost and a benefit. The cost is that loud, rushed or crowded days take more out of you. The benefit is noticing what others miss and responding deeply to people, music and ideas. Your result describes how the trait shows up in you; it is not a diagnosis and not a health measure.
How long does the test take, and is it free?: About three minutes for 12 statements. It is free, needs no account and no email, and your result lives at its own link that you can keep or share.

Background reading: Emotional Style.