Rejection Sensitivity

Jan Kang & Geraldine Downey

Everyone desires acceptance and dislikes rejection from people who are important to them. Some people, however, are more concerned with rejection, a quality known as rejection sensitivity. Thus, rejection sensitivity refers to a trait that makes some people different from others. Rejection-sensitive people (unlike, or more than, other people) come into new situations feeling anxious and expecting rejection. For example, when Kate attends a party where she knows only the host, she gets sweaty palms (i.e., indicating high anxiety) and doesn't think anyone will want to talk with her (i.e., rejection expectancy). Rejection-sensitive individuals also perceive rejection in situations more often than others do, tending to read rejection into others' actions and words. Luke is a reserve player on the school's basketball team. Sometimes when his teammates only pass him the ball a few times in a game, he believes they don't like him. Rejection sensitivity also shows itself in ...

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