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Inhibited and Uninhibited Children

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Inhibition: Social withdrawal; Social avoidance motivation; Fearfulness; Overcontrolled; Reticence; Uninhibited: Social approach motivation; Fearlessness; Undercontrolled

Definition

Inhibition is a temperamental trait that is manifested as social withdrawal, wariness, or avoidance in response to novel people, objects, or events. Uninhibited temperament can be characterized by approach motivation and fearlessness in response to novel people, objects, or events.

Introduction

Inhibition can be characterized as a temperamental trait (Coplan et al. 2009) that is manifested as social withdrawal, wariness, or avoidance in response to novel people, objects, or events (Kagan et al. 1984). Starting in preschool and continuing into elementary school, inhibited children demonstrate reticent and anxious behavior with peers (Coplan et al. 2009; Rimm-Kaufman & Kagan 2005). They withdraw from new situations, spend time on the margins of social interaction, and play alone (Rimm-Kaufman &...

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References

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Correspondence to Katharine Ann Buck .

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Buck, K.A. (2016). Inhibited and Uninhibited Children. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_768-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_768-1

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