Boldness is the opposite of
shyness
Shyness (also called diffidence) is the feeling of apprehension, lack of comfort, or awkwardness especially when a person is around other people. This commonly occurs in new situations or with unfamiliar people; a shy person may simply opt ...
. To be bold implies a willingness to get things done despite risks.
For example, in the context of
sociability, a bold person may be willing to risk
shame
Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness.
Definition
Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
or rejection in social situations, or to bend rules of
etiquette
Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
or
politeness
Politeness is the practical application of good manners or etiquette so as not to offend others and to put them at ease. It is a culturally defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or ...
. An excessively bold person could aggressively ask for money, or persistently push someone to fulfill a request.
The word "bold" may also be used as a synonym of "
impudent"; for example, a child may be punished for being "bold" by acting disrespectfully toward an adult or by misbehaving.
Boldness as a
philosophical virtue was admired by the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...
.
[Alexander, L., ''62. Acts'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)]
The Oxford Bible Commentary
, p. 1034
Boldness may be contrasted with
courage
Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...
in that the latter implies having
fear
Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...
but confronting it.
Description
In
behavioral ecology
Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for ethology, animal behavior due to ecology, ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined Tinbergen's f ...
, the shy⟷bold continuum is studied as it exists in humans and certain other species. Shyness and boldness represent "a propensity to take
risks
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...
". Bold individuals tend to become dominant, revealing a correlation between boldness and
social dominance.
See also
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References
{{Virtues
Psychological attitude