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Inhibition

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 28 Accesses

Synonyms

Cognitive control; Inhibitory control; Motor control; Response inhibition; Self-control

Definition

The process of suppressing an automatic/prepotent response or mental representation.

Introduction

Inhibition is an executive function that serves to reduce behavioral or cognitive activity, either consciously or unconsciously. Whereas behavioral inhibition refers to the suppression of a prepotent motor response (i.e., any response associated with a history of positive or negative reinforcement), cognitive inhibition refers to the suppression of mental processes. Inhibition may involve the complete cessation of a behavior or mental process, the slowing down of a behavior or mental process, or a decrease in the probability that a behavior or mental process will occur.

Behavioral Inhibition

Behavioral inhibition refers to the process of inhibiting prepotent responses, delaying immediate, ongoing responses, and preventing extraneous information from interfering with response...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Jessie L. Betancourt & R. Matt Alderson

  2. Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Delanie K. Roberts

Authors
  1. Delanie K. Roberts
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  2. Jessie L. Betancourt
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  3. R. Matt Alderson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Matt Alderson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

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Roberts, D.K., Betancourt, J.L., Alderson, R.M. (2020). Inhibition. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3132-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3132-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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