boldness

n. the tendency to accept risk, a dimension of temperament observed in both humans and nonhuman animals. Thus, a bold preschooler may freely engage with unfamiliar classmates, and a bold rat may explore all available areas during an open-field test. Individual differences in boldness are presumed to arise from differences in the excitability of areas of the limbic system that are involved in the evaluation of stimulus saliency. For example, bold adults exhibit more bilateral nucleus accumbens activation and less bilateral amygdala activation when looking at the faces of strangers than do less bold adults. Compare shyness. See also shy–bold continuum.

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Psychology term of the day

February 17th 2025

sexually dimorphic nucleus

a nucleus of the central nervous system that differs in size between males and females. In humans, for example, a nucleus in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus that synthesizes gonadotropin-releasing hormone tends to be larger and more active in males than in females because gonadotropin release is continuous (it is cyclical in females). In songbirds whose males sing more than females, several brain nuclei associated with both song learning and song production are larger in males than in females.