Research Paper: Inhibition

Research Paper By Patrick Byvoet
(Business and Parental Coach, BELGIUM)

The ultimate is finding a place where you have no inhibitions, nothing to hide, where you can learn with one another.
Jennifer Aniston (American Actress. B. 1969ShermanOaks,California,USA)

Inhibition – sexual inhibition – social inhibition

Definition according to Webster dictionary:

A desirable restraint or check upon the free or spontaneous instincts or impulses of an individual guided or directed by the social and cultural forces of the environment

<the self-control so developed is called inhibition—C. W. Russell> (2) :

a neurotic restraint upon a normal or beneficial impulse or activity caused by psychological inner conflicts or by sociocultural forces of the environment <other outspoken neurotic manifestations are general inhibitions such as inability to think, to concentrate—Muriel Ivimey> <inhibitions, phobias, compulsions, and other neurotic patterns.

In other words. Simpler and in reference to this research:

1. A feeling that makes one self-conscious and unable to act in a relaxed and natural way.
2. A voluntary or involuntary restraint on the direct expression of an instinct.

A little history is quickly summarized:

Not until the late nineteenth century did the term “inhibition” become common in English, connoting the dependency of reason and of civilization and its rules and uses. -Statement of the challenge.

Clients inhibition in everyday life as well as professional life:

In addition to creating obstacles in their life, it can create obstacles in the coaching arena too.

Because as a coach we can only help them to the extent of that they want to let go.

The question is, how and where does inhibition disempower the client and hamper the coach or the coaching process? Most importantly how can a coach help them?

Understanding the nature of the problem.

Inhibition is closely related to fear. Fears of  what other people might say or think. Inhibition can also be caused by underlying beliefs.

Inhibition can also be a result of a sort of brainwashing. A conditioning of our behaviour and thoughts by society or education. Thus, our ability to control unwanted memories is directly linked to our ability to control our overt behaviour, a topic broadly studied in cognitive psychology.

Roger Smith, who is a Senior Lecturer in the History of Science atLancaster University,England, goes even further: “In everyday parlance, “inhibition” suggests repression, tight control, the opposite of freedom.”

There are several forms of inhibition. In this paper we will focus on social and sexual inhibition.

Sexual inhibition

In Americasex is an obsession, in other parts of the world it is a fact.
Marlene Dietrich ( December 27, 1901 – May 06,1992,Berlin,Germany

Often when we talk about inhibition, the first thing we think about is sexual inhibition. So without further do, lets talk about it without taboo…

A person’s sexual inhibitions are a product of the person’s personality, as well as personal experiences. Nevertheless there are a number of sources which have a great influence on the development of actual behaviour. Social conditioning and fashion also has an influence

As a young person matures sexually, he or she will be exposed to myriad mixed signals of what various people regard as the normal behaviour in a particular situation. On the other hand, others will hold such behaviour to be unacceptable. Sexual inhibitions may result from, for example, repression of sexual behaviour as a child, societal restraints on sexual behaviour, ignorance, sexual myths, and disparity between the partners. For example, and I quote Michael C. Anderson & Benjamin J. Levy:

Many women suffer from the “good girl syndrome” because they were taught that only “bad girls” will do a striptease for their lover, etc. … Women are often raised with shame and guilt about their body so they are inhibited about the size or shape of their breasts, the look and smell of their vagina, losing control during orgasm as well as asking for what they want in bed.

Early conditioning by not only parents and guardians, but society, can play a paramount role in the development of sexual inhibitions. When children are young, they begin to understand the concept of gender identity, and begin to associate themselves as either boys or girls. This will also eventually lead to the discovery of the genitalia.

Touching/playing/showing of the genitalia is generally considered inappropriate behaviour and the child may be admonished. The child learns the taboo of the genitalia and generally accepts them. If the child witnesses any sort of sexual behaviours between persons he is familiar with, after all of this anti sexual conditioning, the child may become confused and thus it may lead to sexual inhibition as the child grows^]. However this depends on the response of the child. Many times, if the child witnesses their parent(s) engaging in sexual acts, the child may see them acting frantically, and thus the child would interpret it in a negative manner, again leading to sexual inhibitions. But if the parent(s) or another party are abusing the child, he/she may grow to engage in more atypical sexual behaviour.

Society has a profound effect on a person’s perception of sex. For example, parents may pass on their anti-sex ideas onto their children at a young age, but the media imposes conflicting ideas on the youths as they grow older.

Social inhibition

Relax, your nose isn’t big, it’s just conspicuous.
House Md., US Soap opera.

Social inhibition is a conscious or unconscious constraint or curtailment by a person of a process or behaviour that the person may consider objectionable in a social setting. Inhibitions can serve necessary social functions, reducing or preventing certain antisocial impulses from being acted on.

Clearly, our behaviour is influenced in complex ways by other people and the groups to which they belong. Sometimes the presence of other people can improve our performance and judgement, but sometimes their presence worsens it. Sometimes other people can encourage us to intervene and help others; sometimes they inhibit us.  The outcome depends on a complex weighing up of ‘costs’ and ‘benefits’ of intervening vs. not intervening.  Sometimes they can make us behave in ways which we would never have thought ourselves capable of.

According to Michael C. Anderson & Benjamin J. Levy, the social support of others can, then, be a source of physical and psychological strength. It can help us to resist pressures to conform to group norms, or give us the moral courage to disobey orders from an authority figure. But the social categorization that is a common
consequence of group membership can also be a source of prejudice and conflict. The role of psychological research can here serve a very important professional and public role: by understanding the underlying processes, social psychology can contribute towards greater societal harmony by reducing prejudice and conflict.