Concept and model
Downey and Feldman (1996) described rejection sensitivity as a cognitive-affective process running from anxious expectation to ready perception to overreaction. They argued that early experiences such as parental rejection or family violence shape anxious expectations of rejection (Feldman & Downey, 1994). It is measured with a questionnaire asking how concerned people are about, and how much they expect, rejection when asking others for help or expressing interest. The concept connects with research on belonging uncertainty and the need to belong.
Effects on relationships and development
Downey et al. (1998) showed that highly rejection-sensitive people behave more negatively during conflicts with romantic partners, which can provoke partners' anger and lead to actual breakups. Following adolescents, London et al. (2007) found a cycle in which peer rejection raises sensitivity, which in turn fosters withdrawal and further rejection. Romero-Canyas et al. (2010) showed that rejection sensitivity can appear not only as hostility but also as excessive ingratiation to secure belonging. Ayduk et al. (2000), by contrast, found that self-regulatory skills such as delay of gratification buffer these negative outcomes.
Status-based rejection sensitivity
Mendoza-Denton et al. (2002) broadened the concept to status-based rejection sensitivity: expecting rejection because of group membership such as race or gender. Among Black students at a US university, those high in this sensitivity trusted professors and peers less and felt less belonging at school. The work is used to understand threats tied to group experience, such as stigma consciousness and social identity threat. Limits of questionnaire measures, and cultural differences in what signals rejection, remain under discussion.
FAQ
- What is rejection sensitivity in simple terms?
- It is a strong worry that others will reject you, which makes you read ambiguous behavior as rejection and react strongly.
- Can it change?
- Research suggests that self-regulation skills and secure relationship experiences can reduce its negative effects.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Feldman, S., & Downey, G. (1994). Rejection sensitivity as a mediator of the impact of childhood exposure to family violence on adult attachment. Development and Psychopathology, 6(1), 231–247. Early study tracing rejection sensitivity to childhood experiences.
- Downey, G., & Feldman, S. I. (1996). Implications of rejection sensitivity for intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(6), 1327–1343. The foundational paper presenting the RS model and questionnaire.
- Downey, G., Freitas, A. L., Michaelis, B., & Khouri, H. (1998). The self-fulfilling prophecy in close relationships: Rejection sensitivity and rejection by romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(2), 545–560. Shows how expecting rejection can elicit it.
- Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K., & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(5), 776–792. Self-regulation as a buffer against RS outcomes.
- Mendoza-Denton, R., Downey, G., Purdie, V. J., Davis, A., & Pietrzak, J. (2002). Sensitivity to status-based rejection: Implications for African American students' college experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 896–918. Extends RS to status-based (race) rejection.
- London, B., Downey, G., Bonica, C., & Paltin, I. (2007). Social causes and consequences of rejection sensitivity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17(3), 481–506. Longitudinal adolescent study of RS causes and effects.
- Romero-Canyas, R., Downey, G., Reddy, K. S., Rodriguez, S., Cavanaugh, T. J., & Pelayo, R. (2010). Paying to belong: When does rejection trigger ingratiation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(5), 802–823. Shows ingratiation as an RS response alongside hostility.