There are differences in Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) within many species. In humans high SPS refers to greater responsivity to stimuli, slower, deeper processing, aesthetic sensitivity, and low threshold for sensory discomfort. This study tested whether SPS is associated with the accurate recognition of degraded auditory stimuli and susceptibility to auditory pareidolia (hearing illusory words when presented with ambiguous, degraded words). Fifty participants (mean age = 33.02; females n = 32, males n = 18) responded to degraded words presented in Deutsch's phantom word illusion task. They then completed the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, which assesses SPS, and the Survey of Anomalous Experiences. SPS was significantly associated with the recognition of degraded stimuli, but not with pareidolia. Number of anomalous experiences reported by participants was significantly associated with SPS and pareidolia. This study shows objective validation of the Highly Sensitive Person Scale regarding detection of subtle external stimuli.

在许多物种中，感觉处理敏感性（SPS）有所不同。在人类中，高SPS是指对刺激的反应性更高，处理速度更慢，深度更深，美学敏感性高且感觉不适的阈值低。这项研究测试了SPS是否与对退化的听觉刺激和对旁听的易感性的准确识别相关（当出现歧义的退化词时，听到虚幻的词）。50名参与者（平均年龄= 33.02；女性n  = 32，男性n = 18）对Deutsch幻象幻觉任务中出现的退化词做出了反应。然后，他们完成了用于评估SPS的“高敏感度人员量表”和“异常经历调查”。SPS与降解刺激的识别显着相关，但与pareidolia无关。参与者报告的异常经历数量与SPS和pareidolia显着相关。这项研究显示了关于检测敏感的外部刺激的高敏感度人格量表的客观验证。