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Vantage sensitivity

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Vantage sensitivity is a psychological concept related to environmental sensitivity, initially developed by Michael Pluess and Jay Belsky. It describes individual differences in response to positive experiences and supportive environmental influences.[1] According to vantage sensitivity, people differ considerably in their sensitivity to positive aspects of the environment, with some people benefitting particularly strongly from positive experiences such as parental care, supportive relationships, and psychological interventions, whereas others tend to respond less or not at all.[2][3]

Background

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The concept of vantage sensitivity is related to other theories of environmental sensitivity such as differential susceptibility according to which some people are more sensitive than others to both negative and positive experiences.[4][5] Vantage sensitivity provides a specific theoretical perspective and terminology to describe individual differences in response to exclusively positive experiences.[6]

According to vantage sensitivity theory, people who benefit from positive experiences display vantage sensitivity as a function of vantage sensitivity factors (i.e., genetic, physiological, or psychological traits) whereas those who benefit less show vantage resistance due to the presence of vantage resistance factors (or the absence of vantage sensitivity factors). Differences in vantage sensitivity are considered to reflect neurobiological differences in the central nervous system, which are influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors.[7]

Figure 1. Graphical illustration of vantage sensitivity; in response to a positive exposure, the level of functioning increases in Individual A, reflecting vantage sensitivity, whereas it remains unchanged in Individual B, reflecting vantage resistance.

Evidence

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A growing number of studies provide empirical evidence for individual differences in vantage sensitivity across a wide range of established sensitivity markers, including genetic, physiological, and psychological ones.[8][9]

Genetic markers

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Several studies report that differences in response to positive experiences are associated with genetic sensitivity. For example, Keers et al. created a polygenic score for environmental sensitivity based on thousands of gene variants and found that children with higher genetic sensitivity responded more strongly to higher quality of psychological treatment.[10]

Physiological markers

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Studies suggest that a higher physiological reactivity to stress (indicated by cortisol) is associated with a stronger positive response to positive influences. For instance, a study testing the efficacy of exposure-based psychotherapy, a type of psychological treatment that is used with people suffering from panic disorders and agoraphobia, found that people whose cortisol response was higher during exposure were also more likely to recover faster and benefit more from the treatment.[11]

Psychological markers

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A number of studies have shown that children who score high on the Highly Sensitive Child (HSC) scale, a psychometric tool designed to measure sensitivity, respond more positively to psychological interventions.[12][13] For example, Nocentini et al. conducted a randomised controlled trial to investigate whether sensitivity was associated with greater response to a school-based anti-bullying intervention.[14] Results indicated that sensitive children benefitted significantly more from the positive effects of the intervention. Vantage sensitivity has also been found to influence the socio-emotional well-being of young people in school.[15] The wellbeing of sensitive adolescents increased in response to positive changes in the school environment. In adults, high sensitivity has been found to predict a greater response to positive pictures and increased leader-rated employee task performance.[16][17]

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References

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  1. ^ Pluess, Michael; Belsky, Jay (2013). "Vantage sensitivity: Individual differences in response to positive experiences". Psychological Bulletin. 139 (4): 901–916. doi:10.1037/a0030196. PMID 23025924.
  2. ^ Lyons, Claire W. (2022). From Birth to Late Adulthood: An Introduction to Lifespan Development (Second ed.). Cognella. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-793545-76-3. OCLC 1343723433.
  3. ^ Smith, Peter K.; Blades, Mark; Cowie, Helen (2015). Understanding Children's Development. Helen Cowie, Mark Blades (Sixth ed.). Wiley. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-118-77298-0. OCLC 903436730.
  4. ^ Belsky, Jay (1997). "Variation in Susceptibility to Environmental Influence: An Evolutionary Argument". Psychological Inquiry. 8 (3): 182–186. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0803_3.
  5. ^ Belsky, Jay; Pluess, Michael (2009). "Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences". Psychological Bulletin. 135 (6): 885–908. doi:10.1037/a0017376. PMID 19883141.
  6. ^ Acevedo, Bianca P. (2020). The Highly Sensitive Brain: Research, Assessment, and Treatment of Sensory Processing Sensitivity. Elsevier. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-12-818252-9. OCLC 1155167892.
  7. ^ Cicchetti, Dante (2016). Developmental Psychopathology Volume Two: Developmental Neuroscience (Third ed.). Wiley. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-119-12552-5. OCLC 939262286.
  8. ^ Jieni, Zhou (2018). Vantage Sensitivity to Perceived Partner Responsiveness: Examine the Moderating Role of Heart Rate Variability (MA thesis). Cornell University. doi:10.7298/X4TD9VJS.
  9. ^ Di Paola, Ludovica; Nocentini, Annalaura; Lionetti, Francesca (2022). "Environmental sensitivity increases susceptibility to resilient contexts in adults with childhood experiences of neglect". Current Psychology. doi:10.1007/s12144-022-04001-1. hdl:2158/1289505. S2CID 253492496.
  10. ^ Keers, Robert; Coleman, Jonathan R.I.; Lester, Kathryn J.; Roberts, Susanna; Breen, Gerome; Thastum, Mikael; Bögels, Susan; Schneider, Silvia; Heiervang, Einar; Meiser-Stedman, Richard; Nauta, Maaike; Creswell, Cathy; Thirlwall, Kerstin; Rapee, Ronald M.; Hudson, Jennifer L. (2016). "A Genome-Wide Test of the Differential Susceptibility Hypothesis Reveals a Genetic Predictor of Differential Response to Psychological Treatments for Child Anxiety Disorders". Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 85 (3): 146–158. doi:10.1159/000444023. PMC 5079103. PMID 27043157.
  11. ^ Meuret, Alicia E.; Trueba, Ana F.; Abelson, James L.; Liberzon, Israel; Auchus, Richard; Bhaskara, Lavanya; Ritz, Thomas; Rosenfield, David (2015). "High cortisol awakening response and cortisol levels moderate exposure-based psychotherapy success". Psychoneuroendocrinology. 51: 331–340. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.008. PMID 25462905. S2CID 2456303.
  12. ^ Pluess, Michael; Assary, Elham; Lionetti, Francesca; Lester, Kathryn J.; Krapohl, Eva; Aron, Elaine N.; Aron, Arthur (2018). "Environmental sensitivity in children: Development of the Highly Sensitive Child Scale and identification of sensitivity groups". Developmental Psychology. 54 (1): 51–70. doi:10.1037/dev0000406. PMID 28933890. S2CID 3365552.
  13. ^ Gobeil-Bourdeau, Jasmine; Lemelin, Jean-Pascal; Letarte, Marie-Josée; Laurent, Angélique (2022). "Interactions between child temperament and family environment in relation to school readiness: Diathesis-stress, differential susceptibility, or vantage sensitivity?". Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 60: 274–286. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.02.006. S2CID 247947812.
  14. ^ Nocentini, Annalaura; Menesini, Ersilia; Pluess, Michael (2018). "The Personality Trait of Environmental Sensitivity Predicts Children's Positive Response to School-Based Antibullying Intervention". Clinical Psychological Science. 6 (6): 848–859. doi:10.1177/2167702618782194. hdl:2158/1133735. S2CID 150109540.
  15. ^ Iimura, Shuhei; Kibe, Chieko (2020). "Highly sensitive adolescent benefits in positive school transitions: Evidence for vantage sensitivity in Japanese high-schoolers". Developmental Psychology. 56 (8): 1565–1581. doi:10.1037/dev0000991. PMID 32525329. S2CID 219585969.
  16. ^ Jagiellowicz, Jadzia; Aron, Arthur; Aron, Elaine N. (2016). "Relationship Between the Temperament Trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity and Emotional Reactivity". Social Behavior and Personality. 44 (2): 185–199. doi:10.2224/sbp.2016.44.2.185. hdl:1951/59701.
  17. ^ Andresen, Maike; Wyrsch, Patrice (2021). "Environmental Sensitivity and Task Performance:Exploring the Potential of Vantage Sensitivity in Le". Academy of Management. 2021: 15454. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2021.15454abstract. S2CID 237700536.
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