Wickie Ashleigh, Van Esch Natalia, Scheerer Nichole E
Deparment of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2025 May 22;16:1560100. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1560100. eCollection 2025.
Humans are inherently social creatures, yet considerable variability exists in our social behaviours. It is unclear what factors contribute to this variability. Given the complex and abundant sensory stimuli present in our daily environments, differences in sensory processing abilities may contribute to the variation observed in social behaviours. Individual differences in sensory processing may have significant effects on an individual's capacity to navigate social settings and may influence the development and expression of social competence. Existing literature also suggests that it is common for individuals with one form of sensory processing difference, Decreased Sound Tolerance (DST), to engage in social avoidance behaviours to mitigate exposure to distressing sounds. However, limited research explores the potential relationship between DST severity and social competence. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between DST and social competence. As such, a sample of 2095 undergraduate students completed an online survey designed to assess their DST severity and social competence. Initially, to parse the variability in social competence, scores on the multidimensional social competence scale (MSCS), underwent a k-means cluster analysis. This analysis yielded four unique social profiles based on seven social competence domains (e.g., social motivation, emotion regulation etc.). Misophonia and hyperacusis questionnaires were then used to evaluate differences in DST across the social profiles. The results indicated varying severity levels of both misophonia and hyperacusis across the four social profiles, with the individuals who reported the highest social competence exhibiting the lowest levels of DST. These findings highlight the potential relationship between sensory processing differences, such as DST, and social functioning.
人类本质上是社会性动物，但我们的社会行为存在相当大的变异性。目前尚不清楚哪些因素导致了这种变异性。鉴于我们日常环境中存在复杂且丰富的感官刺激，感官处理能力的差异可能导致社会行为中观察到的变异性。感官处理方面的个体差异可能对个体在社交环境中的应对能力产生重大影响，并可能影响社交能力的发展和表现。现有文献还表明，有一种感官处理差异形式（声音耐受性降低，DST）的个体常常会采取社交回避行为，以减少接触令人痛苦的声音。然而，探索DST严重程度与社交能力之间潜在关系的研究有限。因此，本研究调查了DST与社交能力之间的关系。为此，2095名本科生样本完成了一项在线调查，旨在评估他们的DST严重程度和社交能力。最初，为了剖析社交能力的变异性，对多维社交能力量表（MSCS）的得分进行了k均值聚类分析。该分析基于七个社交能力领域（如社交动机、情绪调节等）得出了四种独特的社交概况。然后使用恐音症和听觉过敏问卷来评估不同社交概况之间的DST差异。结果表明，在这四种社交概况中，恐音症和听觉过敏的严重程度各不相同，社交能力得分最高的个体表现出最低水平的DST。这些发现凸显了诸如DST等感官处理差异与社会功能之间的潜在关系。
