Sensitivity to Criticism: A New Measure of Responses to Everyday Criticisms

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Abstract
The construct “sensitivity to criticism” has been utilized in discussions of psychopathology, psychotherapy, education, and industry. Sensitivity to criticism can be conceptualized as involving both a threshold for perception of criticism and an emotional response in the presence of criticism. A new measure of sensitivity to criticism is presented, which is both internally consistent and temporally reliable. High scores on the Sensitivity to Criticism Scale were found to be related to high levels of neuroticism, depression, fear of negative evaluation, pessimistic explanatory style, and low scores on self-esteem and repression. Two subsequent studies are described in which sensitivity to criticism is found to be related to (1) decreases in self-reported motivation and performance levels in college courses and (2) avoidance of opportunities to receive critical feedback. These results suggest that the Sensitivity to Criticism Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for further studies that investigate the origins and consequences of sensitivity to criticism.

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