▁speak ▁in ▁almost ▁all ▁social ▁situations " ▁despite ▁normal ▁ability ▁to ▁speak . ▁ ▁While ▁" ex cess ive ▁sh yn ess " ▁and ▁other ▁anx iety - related ▁tra its ▁were ▁listed ▁as ▁associated ▁features , ▁pre dis pos ing ▁factors ▁included ▁" mat ernal ▁over prote ction ", ▁mental ▁ret ard ation , ▁and ▁tra uma . ▁ ▁Elect ive ▁mut ism ▁in ▁the ▁third ▁edition ▁re vised ▁( DS M ▁III - R ) ▁is ▁described ▁similarly ▁as ▁in ▁the ▁third ▁edition ▁except ▁for ▁specifying ▁that ▁the ▁dis order ▁is ▁not ▁related ▁to ▁social ▁anx iety ▁dis order . ▁ ▁In ▁ 1 9 9 4 , ▁the ▁fourth ▁edition ▁of ▁the ▁D SM ▁reflected ▁the ▁name ▁change ▁to ▁select ive ▁mut ism ▁and ▁re defined ▁the ▁dis order . ▁ ▁Cultural ▁references ▁ ▁Though ▁elect ive ▁mut ism ▁is ▁no ▁longer ▁recognized ▁by ▁most ▁psych iat rist s , ▁it ▁is ▁a ▁popular ▁character ▁element ▁or ▁plot ▁point ▁in ▁stories ▁and ▁mov ies . ▁ ▁Many ▁characters ▁choose ▁to ▁stop ▁speaking , ▁for ▁various ▁reasons . ▁ ▁Even ▁more ▁commonly , ▁there ▁are ▁also ▁characters ▁who ▁stop ▁speaking ▁after ▁a ▁tra um atic ▁incident . ▁ ▁In ▁both ▁these ▁cases , ▁often , ▁and ▁almost ▁always ▁in ▁the ▁second , ▁the ▁character ▁is ▁silent ▁in ▁all ▁situations . ▁ ▁This ▁is ▁therefore ▁not ▁select ive ▁mut ism , ▁and ▁anx iety ▁is ▁very ▁rarely ▁involved . ▁Select ive ▁mut ism ▁itself ▁is ▁almost ▁none x istent ▁in ▁pop ▁culture