Social inhibition

Social inhibition is a conscious or subconscious avoidance of a situation or social interaction. With a high level of social inhibition, situations are avoided because of the possibility of others disapproving of their feelings or expressions. Social inhibition is related to behavior, appearance, social interactions, or a subject matter for discussion. Related processes that deal with social inhibition are social evaluation concerns, anxiety in social interaction, social avoidance, and withdrawal. Also related are components such as cognitive brain patterns, anxious apprehension during social interactions, and internalizing problems. It also describes those who suppress anger, restrict social behavior, withdraw in the face of novelty, and have a long latency to interact with strangers. Individuals can also have a low level of social inhibition, but certain situations may generally cause people to be more or less inhibited. Social inhibition can sometimes be reduced by the short-term use of drugs including alcohol or benzodiazepines. Major signs of social inhibition in children are cessation of play, long latencies to approaching the unfamiliar person, signs of fear and negative affect, and security seeking. Also in high level cases of social inhibition, other social disorders can emerge through development, such as social anxiety disorder and social phobia. Social inhibition is a conscious or subconscious avoidance of a situation or social interaction. With a high level of social inhibition, situations are avoided because of the possibility of others disapproving of their feelings or expressions. Social inhibition is related to behavior, appearance, social interactions, or a subject matter for discussion. Related processes that deal with social inhibition are social evaluation concerns, anxiety in social interaction, social avoidance, and withdrawal. Also related are components such as cognitive brain patterns, anxious apprehension during social interactions, and internalizing problems. It also describes those who suppress anger, restrict social behavior, withdraw in the face of novelty, and have a long latency to interact with strangers. Individuals can also have a low level of social inhibition, but certain situations may generally cause people to be more or less inhibited. Social inhibition can sometimes be reduced by the short-term use of drugs including alcohol or benzodiazepines. Major signs of social inhibition in children are cessation of play, long latencies to approaching the unfamiliar person, signs of fear and negative affect, and security seeking. Also in high level cases of social inhibition, other social disorders can emerge through development, such as social anxiety disorder and social phobia. Social inhibition can range from normal reactions to social situations to a pathological level, associated with psychological disorders like social anxiety or social phobia. Life events are important and are related to our well-being and inhibition levels. In a lab study conducted by Buck and colleagues, social inhibition in everyday life was reviewed. Researchers observed how individuals interacted and communicated about different stimuli. In this study, there were female participants called 'senders' who viewed twelve emotionally loaded stimuli. There were also participants in the study called 'received' who had to guess which stimuli was viewed by the senders. The senders were either alone, with a friend, or with a stranger while viewing the slides. The results of the study revealed that being with a stranger had inhibitory effects on communication, whereas being with a friend had facilitative effects with some stimuli and inhibitory effects with others. The results show how anyone can be inhibited in daily life, with strangers or even friends. Inhibition can also be determined by one's sensitivity levels to different social cues throughout the day. Gable and colleagues conducted a study in which they examined different events participants would record at the end of their day. Participants were also measured on the behavioral activation system and the behavioral inhibition system. The results revealed that individuals with more sensitivity on the behavioral inhibition system reported having more negative effects from daily events. Expression can also be inhibited or suppressed because of anxiety to social situations or simple display rules. Yarczower and Daruns' study about social inhibition of expression defined inhibition of expression as a suppression of one's facial behavior in the presences of someone or a perceived anxious situation. They addressed the display rules we all learn as children; we are told what expressions are suitable for what situations. Then as age increases we are socialized into not expressing strong facial emotions. However, leaving the face with a reduced expression hinders communication. In turn this makes the face a less reliable social cue during social interactions. Friedmen and Miller-Herringer bring these nonverbal expressions to the next level by studying individuals that have a greater level of emotional suppression. They state that without proper emotional expression social interactions can be much more difficult because others may not understand another individual's emotional state. This being said, there are also four commonly seen irrational cognitive patterns involved in social inhibition. The first pattern centers on self-esteem and perfectionism. In these cases, an individual would inhibit themselves though self-criticism; they want to do everything the 'right' way. The second pattern deals with unrealistic approval needs; here individuals want to gain the approval of others and will fear rejection if they express too much. In the third pattern, unrealistic labeling of aggressive and assertive behavior depicts how many individuals that inhibit themselves may feel as though aggression or assertiveness is bad. They believe if they express these behaviors they will receive a negative label. The last pattern discusses criticism of others, this pattern is a spin-off from the first. They will be highly critical of others much like they are to themselves. Shyness is another factor that is a part of social inhibition. Shyness is associated with low emotional regulations and high negative emotions. In many cases shy individuals have a greater change of social inhibition. Although social inhibition is a common part of life, individuals can also have high levels of inhibition. Social Inhibition on higher levels can sometimes be a precursor to disorders such as Social Anxiety Disorder. Essex and colleagues found that some early risk factors may play a role in having chronically high inhibition. In this study, mothers, teachers, and the child reported on the child's behavioral inhibition. The factors that were found to be contributors to social inhibition were female gender, exposure to maternal stress during infancy and the preschool period, and early manifestation of behavioral inhibition. In severe cases, clinical treatment, such as therapy, may be necessary to help with social inhibition or the manifesting social disorder. Social inhibition can develop over a lifespan. Children can be withdrawn, adolescents can have anxiety to social situations, and adults may have a hard time adjusting to social situations which they have to initiate on their own. To be inhibited can change and be different for many. In many cases, inhibition can lead to other social disorders and phobias. In infants and children, social inhibition is characterized by a temperament style that will have children responding negatively and withdrawing from unfamiliar people, situations and objects. In addition to cessation of play, inhibited children may display long latencies to approaching an unfamiliar person, signs of fear and negative affect, and security seeking. Avoiding behavior can be seen at a very young age. In one study, Fox and colleagues found that even at four months of age some infants had negative responses to unfamiliar visual and audio stimuli. The study was longitudinal; therefore, follow ups revealed that half the infants who had high negative responses continued to show behavioral inhibition through the age of two. Fox's longitudinal study reported that the expression of behavioral inhibition showed a small degree of continuity. Over time, the toddlers who were quiet and restrained continued the trend into childhood by being cautious, quiet, and socially withdrawn. The uninhibited control group of the same ages continued to interact easily with unfamiliar people and situations. There has also been a link between inhibition at childhood age with social disorders in adolescents and adulthood. Schwartz and Kagan found that in a longitudinal study from ages two to thirteen, sixty- one percent of teens who had inhibitor traits as toddlers reported social anxiety symptoms as adolescents, compared to twenty-seven percent of adolescents who were uninhibited in earlier life. However, not every child that has some withdrawn or inhibited behavior will be inhibited as an adolescent or manifest a social disorder. The caregiver alone is not solely responsible for inhibition in children; however, in some cases it can be a factor. Caregivers can affect the inhibition levels of their child by exposing the child to maternal stress during infancy and the preschool period. In addition, in some situations the child may simply have early manifestation of behavioral inhibition. There seems to be no parenting style that researchers agree on to be the best to combat social inhibition. Park and Crinic say that a sensitive, accepting, overprotective parenting is best to reduce the negative behaviors because it will allow the child to be themselves without judgment. However, Kagan hypothesized that firm parenting styles are better suited for socially inhibited children. Researchers supporting sensitive parenting believe that too firm of a parenting style will send a message to children that says they need to change. Social inhibition has been widely studied in children; however, research on how it develops through adolescence and adulthood is not as prevalent, although anxiety-related social problems are most commonly seen in adolescents. Many of the behavioral traits are the same in adolescence as they are in childhood: withdrawing from unfamiliar people, situations and objects. However, it has been tested that adolescents are more aware of their social situations and are more likely to be inhibited in public settings. Researchers found younger individuals to be more likely to differentiate between public and private settings when inquiring about potentially embarrassing issues. It is also thought that inhibition is in many ways addressed in childhood and adolescence simply because schools facilitate interactions with others. As an adult, the same facilitating circumstance may not occur unless the individual prompts them on their own. Gest states that adults do not have as may casual peer interactions and friendship opportunities that guide and support relationships unless they facilitate them on their own. Adolescent research has also shown that social inhibition is associated with a more negative emotional state in young men than women.