Sensitivity is in psychology. Brief definition, examples

Sensitivity is a human characteristic that expresses increased, individual sensitivity to external events and is accompanied by anxiety before new incidents. Sensitivity is expressed in such individual traits as shyness, timidity, increased impressionability, low self-esteem, harsh self-criticism, a tendency to prolonged worries, and an inferiority complex.

With age, high sensitivity can decrease, since a person, in the process of self-education, can overcome anxiety about upcoming events.

The level of sensitivity is determined by the innate characteristics of a person (heredity, organic lesions of the brain) or the characteristics (conditions) of raising a child.

In psychology, the concept of sensitivity is used together with the synonyms “sensitivity” and “sensitivity”. Along with this, there is also the phenomenon of “insensitivity”; it is expressed in the lack of reaction to events, emotions and actions of people, and assessments. Insensitivity is manifested in complete indifference, lack of physical sensations, tactlessness and inattention to others.

The concept of sensitivity in psychology

In psychology, sensitivity is a wide range of mental processes associated with a person’s increased perception of events. Translated from Latin, “sensitivity” means a feeling or sensation, which in psychology has both negative and positive characteristics of attitude towards various situations.

The most striking examples of sensitivity:

fear of the new;
low pain barrier;
self-criticism and increased self-reflection;
shyness, fear of criticism and closedness;
low self-esteem, feelings of unworthiness and excessive demands on oneself;
impressionability and strong feelings about even minor events (positive and negative);
ability to establish relationships with others;
building in the past due to bad experiences.

Such a sensitive person can be either timid and insecure or a confident leader. It all depends on what kind of sensitivity we are talking about and how a person is aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

For example, the most striking advantages of controlled sensitivity are the following character traits:

high moral standards and social responsibility of a person;
kindness and kindness;
empathy, that is, readiness to empathize;
the ability to detect subtle aspects in interpersonal communication and non-verbal expression;
ability to build teamwork and quickly resolve conflicts.

Thus, sensitivity can have positive sides - if you know how to show them. That is why there are trainings and exercises to increase sensitivity and empathy. But you also need to take into account that with age, sensitivity can either decrease or increase, so everything largely depends on a person’s self-awareness and self-control.

Personal behavior in society

Individuals with a high level of sensitivity find it difficult to adapt to society. They experience problems in various life situations in which they are forced to deal with other people. As a result of interaction, sensitive relationships arise, burdened by:

1. Difficulties in establishing a communication connection due to the fact that the attitude of other people towards them is perceived as unfriendly and even hostile.
2. The influence of different social situations associated with new events and acquaintances. Patients experience sensitive fear due to:

feelings of inferiority;
fear of public speaking;
refusal of social activity;
avoiding new acquaintances.

With manifestations of symptoms of this kind, you need to seek help from a psychologist. The correct treatment strategy, chosen by an experienced specialist, will help to significantly alleviate the condition associated with increased sensitivity.

Reasons for appearance

Sensitivity is a common description in psychology of human qualities, the causes of which can be several.

The most common of them come from the family and the characteristics of upbringing:

emotional dryness of parents, need for affection and care;
violence in family;
categoricalness and strict rules of education;
excessive discipline.

Genetic predispositions also play an equally important role, such as:

neuroses, depression;
heredity;
brain injury during the perinatal period or at birth;
mental illness;
anxiety disorders.

Also, the reason for increased sensitivity may be the social circle, especially during the critical period of growing up, when authority and imitation of it are an important part of behavior:

inability to satisfy the desire to be approved (by parents, teacher);
conflicts among children and rejection by the team.

All this develops an inferiority complex and a hypersensitive perception of reality, that is, sensitivity.

You tend to overanalyze

Do you place undue importance on harmless banter in the office? Are you sure that what your colleague said actually sounded like a hint?

Do you take it personally if someone doesn't answer your call? Do you start to think that you have offended this person or begin to wonder why he is angry with you?

If so, you are unwittingly creating crises where there are none. If you continue this chain of assumptions and react as sharply as possible, conflicts run the risk of escalating into real clashes and litigation.

Sensitivity as a personality quality and a property of temperament. Signs and examples

In psychology, sensitivity is an important characteristic of a person’s perception of the world, as well as a set of stable human properties that influence the formation of temperament, speed of reactions and resistance to stress.

Therefore, the influence of mild stimuli and a person’s violent reaction to them are examples of high sensitivity. On the other hand, sensitivity is a vivid expression of a melancholic personality, vulnerable and worried for a long time, even over trifles and fictions. The most striking example of a sensitive person is Pierrot from the cartoon about Malvina: he suffers all the time and worries excessively.

Sensitivity in psychology

On the opposite hand, a person who has low sensitivity, that is, good resistance to stress and adequate reactions to events, has a good level of resistance - increased emotional stability. Such character traits are more characteristic of phlegmatic and sanguine people, that is, calm and balanced people. On the other hand, phlegmatic and sanguine people may seem stubborn, and it would be good for them to develop sensitivity.

Sensitivity is a description in personality psychology of two completely different categories of information perception, such as emotional sensitivity and sensory perception. These are concepts that largely influence the character and professional qualities of each person.

Sensitivity of the emotional sphere

One of the most striking signs of a person’s excessive sensitivity is increased sensitivity, emotional experiences, which can often be caused by minor events, fears or anxiety.

Sensitivity of the emotional sphere in the psychology of sensitivity is a type of stable excessive manifestation of reactions to various situations, which can have different forms, such as:

mood swings;
low self-esteem;
amorousness;
anxiety, phobias;
long-term experience of one’s own failures;
self-examination and excessive self-criticism;
empathy and compassion for the problems of others.

Sensitive people are not only prone to melancholic periods and depressive states, they are also people with a high empathic component, sometimes very excessive. Psychologists believe that any unbalanced strong feelings, characteristic of sensitive people, do not pass without a trace and over time manifest themselves in the development of phobias, frustrations, nervousness, depression and emotional burnout.

Sensitivity of the touch sphere

If the sensitivity of the emotional sphere in sensitivity denotes the intensity of a person’s reaction to events, then the sensitivity of the sensory sphere is used to describe 5 ways of perceiving information and their intensity, namely: touch, smell, vision, hearing and taste.

Even without an active cognitive reaction, that is, a person’s exaggeration of events, the sensitivity of these 5 sensitive sensors can be considered as a separate type of sensitivity and described by the concept of “sensitivity threshold”.

For example, hypersensitivity, or low sensitivity, to sound is commonly seen in musicians and blind people, there is also increased sensitivity to smell due to allergies or pregnancy, sensitivity to light can be a feature of the eyeball, and artists have well-developed sensitivity to shade. colors and shape features.

Thus, sensory sensitivity is a great advantage for the development of professional skills or adaptation to external circumstances in comparison with emotional sensitivity, and it can also be developed.

Positive Traits of Hypersensitivity

No matter how strange this or that mental property of an individual character may sometimes seem to you. In the 2 poles of reactions to sensations, you can easily find positive sides:

among the owners of sensitive traits there are many who will never leave in trouble, will not pass by a person on the street who suddenly feels ill, but everyone is in a hurry to pass by;
it is vulnerable natures that are seen in charitable communities, among volunteers, in shelters for homeless pets, in wards next to seriously ill patients;
rabid perfectionists create the most brilliant projects at work, cut futuristic windows in architecture, create incredibly attractive fashion collections,
carriers of the “gene” for sensitivity take care of their friends, love their other halves without trying to change them “for themselves,” nurture and adore children;
alienation from reality is inherent in talented creators who live in their own bohemian little world, but at the same time create the greatest masterpieces in painting and sculpture;

Photo by Pan Yunbo on Unsplash

insensitivity to momentary existence takes scientists beyond what is already known in their narrow field of activity and allows them to focus on the new, unusual, and innovative;
a “cool” head without visible emotions enables law enforcement officials and military specialists to make the only right decisions in the epicenter of daily extremes.

So those with sensitive characteristics sublimate in the right direction, if, of course, they soberly assess themselves, their incentives, their aspirations, their results. And our magazine finally advises you: throw away the unnecessary husk, expose the grain and grow from it something that your talent of acute sensitivity can contribute to, put it to work.

Types of sensitivity

Depending on the direction in psychology, sensitivity is perceived differently: as the ability to perceive information (emotional and sensory sensitivity), and as a feature of temperament, where social sensitivity is distinguished, consisting of 4 types :

Type of sensitivity	Description
Observational or classical	This is a person’s ability to observe everything at once, to the smallest detail in the current situation, in the behavior of the interlocutor or in himself (self-observation). Classic sensitivity manifests itself, for example, during a conversation, when a person is able to observe and evaluate the verbal and nonverbal characteristics of his interlocutor (speech, facial expressions, intonation and posture), thereby creating a more complete and satisfactory picture of the person and his condition.
Theoretical	This type of sensitivity involves a person's ability to use his knowledge of human nature and behavior in communicating with others. Theoretical sensitivity is the ability to establish good relationships based on existing knowledge, explain one’s own thoughts at the required level, resolve conflicts and find explanations for the actions of other people.
Nomothetic	A type of social sensitivity that helps identify behavioral traits characteristic of a certain group or age. Based on the knowledge gained, a person makes contacts more productively, builds relationships with people, or predicts their behavior in a given situation.
Ideographic	Unlike nomothetic, ideographic sensitivity is the ability to understand the individual traits of any person. Based on communication, one forms one’s own idea of the psychological portrait of the interlocutor, his character traits and preferences. Based on such assumptions, a subsequent communication strategy is usually successfully built.

Thus, although balanced emotional sensitivity helps to cope with one’s own experiences, it is these 4 types of social sensitivity that are the key to success in professional growth. An important property of social sensitivity is overcoming the feeling of fear of society, communicating with other people, overcoming the inferiority complex characteristic of many people.

In psychology, it is believed that it is with the awareness of one’s inferiority that social sensitivity begins to develop - this is the willingness to overcome the fear of publicity, the desire to resolve conflict situations or find a way to improve relationships with new acquaintances.

How to use sensitivity to your advantage

Hypersensitivity should not be perceived by a person as a negative character trait. To use it to his advantage, the sensitive must remember its advantages:

he subtly senses the mood of those around him, which helps him adapt to them for effective interaction;
he knows how to notice beauty, which is a resource for him and helps restore mental balance;
he knows about his shortcomings, so he can plan work on self-development and self-improvement;
when communicating with others, he is careful in his choice of words, carefully monitors the intonations of his voice, fearing to offend his interlocutor, this allows him to maintain friendly relations;
the tendency to double-check one’s work reduces the likelihood of error to zero, which makes the sensitive a master of his craft.

Benefits of Sensitivity

Classification of related personality types

In addition to emotional and social sensitivity, psychologists identify related types of behavior that relate to personal characteristics of temperament.

Sensitivity of temperament substantiates the personal qualities of a person, outside the spectrum of his emotional response to events and behavior in the social environment. Sensitiveness of temperament describes certain character traits, which in psychology are better known as melancholic, as well as depressive states of varying complexity. On the other hand, such hypersensitivity is not particularly characteristic of other types of temperament, that is, choleric, phlegmatic and sanguine.

The most common qualities of temperament that are described in the characteristics of sensitivity are the following human traits:

strong impressionability;
vulnerability;
anxiety;
suspiciousness;
touchiness;
self-criticism;
inferiority complex.

Mystical notes of a psychological phenomenon

The concept of “sensitive” is reflected not only in psychological chronicles, but also in the world of paranormal “magic”. Taking as a basis another Latin word sensibilis, that is, “sensitive,” it was immediately attached to individuals with abnormal abilities.

What is sensitivity?

A special talent, for example, to have a presentiment, to predict, to cast spells with objects, to predict, to hear “advice” from otherworldly forces may have a right to exist, but pundits cannot explain its appearance. They shrug their shoulders and insist that this is beyond the modern perception of existence, but all these miracles are by no means invented.

Vanga and Nostradamus, Messing and the battle of psychics on the television screen, the same old woman-witch who can be found in any village and knows everything about everything in advance, because she feels in a special way. Why go far, doesn’t your own intuition sometimes grab you by the ear and lead you away from trouble? Doesn’t your sense suddenly rebel at a new acquaintance, proposal, or event, so much so that “all our female spiritual fur” stands on end? All this is a short-term or permanent ability to respond in an unusual way to an invasion from the outside.

On the basis of sensitivity, a tendency towards sensitivity, such paranormal things arose and took root:

the phenomenon of seeing another person’s aura, with different colors signaling different traits of a person’s essence;
levitation by Daniel Dunglass Hume, who can “hover” above the earth, overcoming the laws of gravity;
telepathy, as a way to transmit thoughts and pictures to another subject at a distance;
poltergeist horror story, expressed in the appearance of inexplicable sounds, actions, unauthorized movement of objects, and even the ability to ignite with a glance;

telekinesis - influencing objects through the force of mental orders;
sun-eating, born under the influence of a shock event and boiling down to the fact that a person stops eating, drinking water and lives off the “energy” of the air.

All these reactions do not appear out of the blue. They need a push, a trigger, an excessive thrill of the moment, shock, madness, going beyond the comfort zone or beyond the foul. Have we gone too deep into mysticism? Let us return to Mrs. Psychology and her dogmas.

Giphy

What are sensitive periods?

Sensitivity as a concept in psychology is also characterized by age characteristics. The idea of sensitivity in developmental psychology describes peak and important moments in the development of mental functions of the individual in a given period. Sensitive periods are most pronounced in childhood and adolescence.

Child psychologists argue that the child’s psyche is more sensitive to the perception of the outside world, has less resistance and, because of this, is not only more impressionable, but also more capable of learning basic skills for living in society. The child’s development itself is progressive and uneven, so sensitive periods do not always occur, but they critically influence the formation of one or another human function and skill.

For example, the sensitive period for speech formation is the age from 0 to 6 years, when the child is actively learning speech skills. During this time, he unconsciously adopts the speech habits of his environment - vocabulary, grammar and dialectisms, and begins to master written speech.

From 6 to 10 years of age, sensitivity manifests itself in the learning process and in the development of discipline. This period is critical for the formation of the type of thinking and the development of basic cognitive functions - writing, reading, abstract concepts, mathematics and reflection.

At the age of 10, adolescence begins, the sensitivity of which is aimed at developing self-knowledge and self-esteem, separating oneself from collective perception. Critical skills during this period are the development of communication, the formation of one’s own worldview and value system.

History of the issue from different angles

Sensitive young ladies loved to faint theatrically at all times. Some people actually managed to get impressed and lose consciousness, while others attracted attention to themselves by playing up a storm. Smelling salts, soothing drops, ammonia, bags of dried lavender, all with you, always at hand, how can you worry an easily vulnerable nature like that?

Photo by cottonbro: Pexels

The property of “quick response” was attributed to a tender, fragile and vulnerable female identity with features of gender. But times inexorably changed, but the exalted reactions remained. Moreover, sometimes it is not Turgenev’s girls who are susceptible to them, but a businesswoman with an iron will and a strong character.

Anyone, anywhere can be “covered” headlong at the most inopportune moment if something has pierced the soul with a sharp needle of impressions. After observing the women's fainting atrocities, the doctors speculated and speculated and came to a professional conclusion.

Sensitivity (in different sources this word can be seen with a different spelling sensitivity) is a characteristic “eccentricity”, if you want individuality, peculiarity, a natural mark, an exclusive ability to produce overly colorful reactions to certain external stimuli. The term is based on the ubiquitous Latin, the word sensus from this “medical” language is translated as sensation, feeling.

Age sensitivity

The importance of developing a particular personal skill during a sensitive period is justified by the most acceptable biological and social need. In case of unsatisfactory development of skills during the sensitive period (communication, discipline, speech or writing), developing them at a later age will be possible, but more difficult.

Also, the unsatisfactory development of mental skills during a particular sensitive period can contribute to the development of mental problems: if a child does not speak on time, he may have problems communicating with other children, which will develop into a feeling of inferiority.

Age sensitivity and its timely use are considered by psychologists to be the key to the harmonious development of a child, his behavior, psyche, skills and talents. Age sensitivity in the learning process was developed in more detail by the Italian teacher and pedagogue Maria Montessori, who identified 7 critical periods of children’s age development:

speech development (up to 6 years);
development of perception of order (up to 3 years);
sensory perception (up to 5 years);
development of motor skills and plasticity (from 1 to 4 years);
recognition and study of small objects (from 1 to 7 years);
phonemic sensitivity (4 to 5 years);
sensitive period for the development of writing skills (from 6 to 8 years).

Thus, age sensitivity is an important factor that should be taken into account during childhood growth and socialization.

Immediate goals:

increasing the level of awareness of training participants associated with gaining knowledge about the peculiarities of people’s perception of each other;
increasing sensitivity to group processes and the actions of others, developing the ability to perceive communication signals;
creating conditions that promote effective group dynamics;
development of interpersonal skills;
development of skills to engage in group and interpersonal processes.

Personal relationships of the sensitive

Sensitivity is also an important factor in compatibility in a couple: people with different levels of perception and emotional experience can rarely get along and respect each other’s boundaries.

It often happens that a person with increased emotional sensitivity will withdraw even more into himself and his anxiety will increase due to the fear of breaking up the relationship. On the other hand, if a person has low social sensitivity, he will be afraid to violate the boundaries of his partner and thereby embarrass both of them with understatements.

Thus, taking into account sensitivity at the everyday and emotional level of a couple is an important aspect of building a harmonious relationship.

Advantages and disadvantages

Experts in the field of psychology and pedagogy believe that it is impossible to consider sensitivity as a positive or negative character trait of an individual. This quality has its pros and cons.

The sensitive period helps a person develop certain skills.

If, using special tests, you can find out that a given age period is sensitive for the development of certain skills, you can achieve maximum results in teaching this skill.

Thanks to sensitivity, people express sympathy and empathy for each other.

Sensitivity is a necessary quality for helping professionals.

Heightened sensitivity forces a person to treat loved ones with care and to respect a person’s personal boundaries in communication.

Due to increased sensitivity and a tendency to worry about trifles, a person experiences difficulties in socialization.

In interpersonal situations, anxious people experience fear.

It is difficult for sensitive people to establish contacts with colleagues and make new acquaintances.

The social activity of a citizen with increased sensitivity is extremely low.

High anxiety does not allow a person to feel comfortable when speaking in front of an audience.

In an unfavorable situation, increased impressionability can develop into psychopathy.

To neutralize the negative consequences of sensitivity, a person needs psychological help.

Career and professional activities

The sensitivity factor can also be used for proper career development. On the one hand, understanding your own emotional sensitivity allows you to improve stress resistance and not succumb to excessive self-criticism and the influence of negative thinking.

On the other hand, the development of social sensitivity is a key skill in modern professional activity, ensuring successful communication with others, the ability to build relationships and find a common language with colleagues.

Sensitivity: treat or develop?

Sensitivity in psychology is an ambiguous concept; it can be either a useful quality of a person’s character or a negative property of the psyche. On the one hand, sensitivity helps to develop important skills and personality traits, and on the other hand, it can contribute to mental disorders (neuroses, depression and panic attacks).

Despite its ambiguity, sensitivity is part of a full human life. Therefore, if you have a positive attitude towards it, and be able to balance the level of sensitivity, this will become an important aspect of life experience. That is why today there are many different courses and trainings that help develop perception skills, improve the skills of empathy, communication, observation and form adequate self-criticism - important aspects of professional activity.

Therefore, if you treat your own sensitivity responsibly and analyze in time which tendencies are more inherent to a person, positive or destructive, this will become an important factor in improving life.

Manifestations of hypersensitivity

Among the main symptoms of increased impressionability are:

A sensitive person can display this character trait in different ways. He evaluates speech, behavior, and can draw correct conclusions about the mood of the interlocutor. From the first minutes of communication, a sensitive person pays attention to the appearance, speech, and behavior of other people. Such people are able to predict the feelings and thoughts of others. They accept the individual characteristics of those around them.

Such moderate manifestations of sensitivity are not deviations in human behavior. But if hypersensitivity is observed, a person cannot sleep before an exciting event, cannot fully rest after it or any difficult conversation, this has a bad effect on his mental and physical well-being. In this case, consultation with a specialist psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist is necessary.

A feeling of inadequacy, inferiority, minimal social activity, anxiety, prolonged painful experience of life changes are the first alarm bells that indicate the need for consultation with a specialist.

Increased sensitivity and impressionability can prevent a person from obtaining a profession, self-realization, establishing a happy personal life, and adapting to society. Therefore, sensitivity is a pathology that is best dealt with.

Sensitivity training

Thus, simple cognitive behavioral therapy exercises can help keep sensitivity within a reasonable range. Moreover, these exercises help maintain awareness in difficult situations and in case of any psycho-emotional deviations, and not slide into emotional burnout or depression.

The most popular exercises for group sensitivity training are the following:

Exercise	Description
Development of observation skills	One group member must recognize the maximum number of changes between two situations: first, he remembers how all group members are sitting, goes out the door. At this time, participants change positions and locations. Upon returning to the room, he should understand within 1-2 minutes what has changed.
Increased emotional perception	Training participants are given cards with inscriptions of one or another emotion. The purpose of the task is to non-verbally show the feeling, emotion or state from the card.
Development of observational sensitivity	The purpose of the exercise is to feel and understand the emotional state of your neighbor. Group members sit in a circle, choosing a partner. One member of the pair should try to show some emotion (with facial expressions and non-verbal expressions), and the other should guess it.

Thus, sensitivity training can help improve attention, memory and perception in every person. On the other hand, there are also trainings that help reduce excessive emotional sensitivity, which also interferes with productive work and building relationships.

Suitable professions

People with increased sensitivity have difficulty working in teams. Their effectiveness in a particular area of work is much higher if they work alone. They do not tend to change jobs frequently and strive for rapid advancement up the career ladder. In the professional sphere, the main thing for them is stability and comfortable working conditions.

Sensitivity ensures success for an individual in such professions as:

Psychotherapist or psychologist. This personality trait provides the psychotherapist with the ability to notice and timely correct processes in the group, analyze the attitudes and value orientations of clients, and provide assistance to clients in resolving intrapersonal conflicts.
Designer. Increased sensitivity helps a person select successful color solutions and create compositions.
Florist. The ability to read a person’s emotional state by facial expressions and gestures will help a sensitive person create bouquets that the customer will like.
Engineer. The tendency to think about the smallest details will help the sensitive person take into account all the nuances when developing a complex drawing or project. An analytical mind and a heightened sense of responsibility will help a person become a master of his craft.
Photographer. The ability to see what others don’t see will help a sensitive person take atmospheric photographs. His services will be in demand.
Artist, musician or writer. The subtle mental organization of an impressionable person will become a source of inspiration for creating masterpieces of painting, music or literature.
Veterinarian, biologist or zoologist. Developed intuition and natural sensitivity will help a sensitive person not only successfully treat animals, but also enjoy his work.
Accountant, translator or financier. Such professions require care and concentration when working with signs. These qualities are well developed in sensitive people.

Important! When choosing a profession, a sensitive person must take into account working conditions. The need for active interaction with people, working in a large team, working in extreme conditions will quickly lead to emotional burnout.

Drug therapy

Sensitivity is a natural property of every person, of varying degrees of intensity. Psychology also provides different ways to work on individual sensitivity - from reducing it to increasing it. However, there is also an extreme form of therapy – medication.

This is specialized care that is used only in cases of severe emotional and psychological disturbance of the nervous system. Typically, treatment is aimed at restoring hormonal levels and is carried out under the supervision of a specialist.

I'm sensitive! Adjust or leave everything as is?

Character accentuation is a psychological term that describes the most pronounced traits of a person. They prevail and determine the behavior of a particular individual. There are general patterns, so they talk about several accentuations that are inherent in large groups of people, albeit to varying degrees.

The sensitive personality type is an accentuation that was highlighted by Lichko (Leonhard did not have this type). Characteristic features are increased softness, vulnerability and sensitivity, kindness, dreaminess. It is difficult for such people to find themselves in life and in society. Especially if the person is a representative of the “stronger” sex, who is subject to additional stereotypical conditions. Often such people become the object of ridicule, and then quiet ostracism. These are classic outcasts for the most part.

No treatment as such is required. Still, accentuation cannot be called a disease. It's just a character trait. However, if you do not help the patient in any way, problems in life are possible. It is possible to correct the most acute character traits that interfere. To do this, you need the help of a qualified psychologist or psychotherapist.

Sensitivity of temperament

The temperamental properties of sensitivity and reactivity are more characteristic of people of a melancholic character, while phlegmatic people, choleric people and sanguine people are less sensitive. Melancholic people tend to worry for a long time, are vulnerable and prone to self-examination - these features have allowed psychologists to compare sensitivity with the melancholic temperament of the individual.

Sensitivity within a reasonable range is a necessary quality for successful interaction with people, understanding the processes occurring with an individual. Sensitivity training is the general name for group psychological training for personal growth aimed at developing sensitive abilities in a person: empathy, observation, understanding and predicting the behavior of others. Sensitive training techniques and exercises:

Age sensitivity

Signs of age-related sensitivity have been better studied in children. This phenomenon, which occurs at a certain stage of life, expresses different levels of susceptibility to the influence of external factors.

Age-related sensitivity is characterized by a limited duration. A certain period when this property manifests itself most clearly is called the sensitive period. The beginning and end of this period of time does not depend on the desire of the individual and the success of acquiring knowledge. Even if the necessary skill has been developed, abilities decline with age.

Parents are unable to accelerate the onset of a period of increased sensitivity in a child or delay its end. But by creating favorable conditions for learning at the right time, they will help realize the natural potential.

Some researchers (Koltsov, Elkonin, Ananyev) believe that favorable periods of increased sensitivity accompany a person throughout his life, and have a wave-like character - a time of active development is replaced by a decline.

There are 4 main types of such sensitivity:

Sensitive-labile and schizoid-sensitive variants

Sensitive subjects, unlike expansive schizoids, are very sensitive to how others treat them. Nevertheless, there are mixed types, where sensitivity and schizoidity are combined, then schizoidity is the dominant feature.

More difficult is the distinction between sensitive and labile types. A sensitive teenager does not have bursts of joyful mood, there is a constant readiness for despondency, shyness, even in the most favorable environment - all this is usually not found in a representative of the labile type. Nevertheless, the combination of sensitivity with pronounced lability of emotions - slight loss of spirit and tears, even when remembering long-standing troubles, and quick compliance with consolation and reassurance - makes some cases considered as a mixed type ("sensitive-labile variant"). However, unlike sensitive schizoids, here it is sensitivity that constitutes the main basis of character.

It is no coincidence that in the families of sensitive individuals we have repeatedly encountered delusional patients or paranoid psychopaths who brought absurd accusations against these teenagers. The mother of a 16-year-old sensitive boy, who suffered from involutional paranoid, reproached him for allegedly cohabiting with an elderly woman, the former mistress of his long-dead father. Another mother, suspicious and stingy, scolded her son, a homebody, lover of birds and flowers, for allegedly being associated with a gang of bandits who were going to rob her. An elderly grandmother whose parents had left for the north was entrusted with raising a 15-year-old sensitive girl. Seeing her granddaughter on the street with a classmate, she called her a public whore in front of her neighbors and demanded that she go to a gynecologist for an examination. All the described situations caused reactive states. Naturally, becoming a laughing stock for others, as a result of any real shortcomings or unsuccessful actions of parents or educators, is more than enough to be plunged into a depressive state.