Behavioral Inhibition System

What it measures

A seven-item trait measure assessing individual differences in the sensitivity of the behavioral inhibition system — the neuropsychological system that regulates avoidance motivation and negative emotional responses to threat, punishment, and potential failure. High scorers are characterised by heightened worry, sensitivity to criticism, and anxious anticipation of negative events. As the avoidance counterpart to the BAS, this scale has been widely applied in consumer research examining self-regulatory responses to risk, loss, and negative outcomes.

Representative items

• I worry about making mistakes.
• I feel worried when I think I have done poorly at something.
• Criticism or scolding hurts me quite a bit.

Citation

Carver, Charles S. and Teri L. White (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319–333.