EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY IS PARTLY IN OUR GENES

Some people take things to heart, while others appear impervious to criticism. A study carried at Queen Mary University of London on twins has revealed that 47 per cent of the differences in sensitivity comes from our genes, with the rest coming from environmental factors during childhood.

“Sensitivity is something we all share as a basic human trait,” said study leader Prof Michael Pluess. “But we also differ in how much of an impact our experiences have on us. Scientists have always thought there was a genetic basis for sensitivity, but this is the first time we’ve been able to actually quantify how much of these differences in sensitivity are explained by genetic factors.”