rejection sensitivity

n. Rejection sensitivity (RS) is a cognitiveaffective processing disposition to expect rejection anxiously, shaped by cognitive-social learning history and triggered in situations when either acceptance or rejection is possible. RS develops to help individuals previously hurt by frequent or severe rejection prepare for future rejection threat, by promoting efforts to detect it and then prevent, avoid, or defend the self against it. Yet the resulting behaviors are often maladaptive, involving excessive self-silencing, ingratiation, social withdrawal, and hostile overreactions that precipitate actual rejection by others. Rooted in attachment and interpersonal psychodynamic theories, this conceptualization of RS was introduced by Geraldine Downey and her colleagues to explain why some individuals tend to perceive readily and react strongly to potential rejection cues at a cost to their wellbeing and relationships. Research has linked RS with maladaptive responses both to potential rejection in personal relationships and to potential rejection based on membership in devalued social groups. – KRB, GD