behavioral inhibition

a temperamental predisposition characterized by restraint in engaging with the world combined with a tendency to scrutinize the environment for potential threats and to avoid or withdraw from unfamiliar situations or people. It is often related to social anxiety and a predisposition for greater physiological reactivity to novel situations. [first described by U.S. psychologists Jerome Kagan and J. Steven Reznick (1951– )]

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Psychology term of the day

November 23rd 2024

sibling

n. one of two or more children born of the same two parents (i.e., a sister or brother). Also called sib.