{
  "id": 14984201,
  "title": "'Highly sensitive' people may not experience everything more intensely, study suggests",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/highly-sensitive-people-may-not-experience-everything-more-intensely",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-16T15:40:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-highly-sensitive-people-intensely.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New research challenges the notion that highly sensitive individuals experience everything in life more intensely. Contrary to the common belief, a study from Washington State University published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology suggests that such people are not necessarily more emotionally reactive to the physical aspects of their surroundings. Instead, they are more attuned to social cues and signs of safety or potential threats. For instance, a street cluttered with litter or graffiti might evoke a stronger sense of unease in highly sensitive individuals, while a neighborhood where people interact warmly could provide a more significant emotional boost. Assistant Professor of Psychology Kim Meidenbauer, the lead author of the study, emphasized that having this trait doesn't mean reacting more strongly to every aspect of one's environment. She explained that it seems to be more about social environments than the physical environment. The researchers analyzed over 3,800 surveys from Chicago residents, which recorded their emotions and rated conditions in outdoor neighborhoods and parks. The findings indicated that perceived safety, orderliness, and friendly interactions among nearby people had a stronger association with positive emotions in highly sensitive participants. However, there was no evidence to suggest that the trait amplified emotional responses to everyday conditions like air quality, temperature, or noise levels. This distinction raises questions about the true meaning of being highly sensitive. The standard questionnaire used to identify the trait may be more indicative of how people handle emotional and social experiences rather than their response to the physical world. While the research doesn't rule out stronger reactions to extreme conditions, such as dangerous heat or severe air pollution, it does suggest that highly sensitive people may be more affected by human experiences that make a place feel welcoming or threatening, rather than experiencing everything more intensely.",
  "summary": "Environmental sensitivity may be a misleading name for a personality trait that appears to have less to do with how people respond to their physical environments and more to do with how they are affected by social experiences and perceived threats.",
  "key_points": [
    "Highly sensitive individuals may not experience everything more intensely.",
    "Study from Washington State University challenges common belief.",
    "Social cues and safety signs affect them more than physical aspects."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}