Impulsivity is Important

• Involved in every major system of personality• Vital role in the understanding & diagnosis of

psychopathology: - DSM IV – “impulse control disorders” - Criteria for BPD, ASPD, ADHD etc• Involved in “etiologic” theories of psychopathy,

crime and substance useIt is so important…yet within psychology there is a

huge variety of different, inconsistent conceptualisations…

Personality theories that include Impulsivity

Eysenck and Eysenck’s N, E, P

Impulsivity is sub divided into:

1.Narrow impulsiveness (N, P)

2.Risk taking (E)

3.non-planning (E)

4.liveliness (E)

Propose that 2 components, Venturesomeness (E) and impulsivity (P)

Buss and Plomin (1975)

• Impulsivity, part of their 4 factor model of temperament. – Inhibitory control*– Consideration of alternatives/consequences– Ignore competing temptations– Tendency to become bored, novelty seeking

These temperaments do influence behaviour

Zuckerman & co (1991)

• alternative 5 factor model of personality including “impulsive sensation seeking”

- similar to NEO (C) and EPQ (P)

Cloninger “psychological underpinning of behaviour”

• 4 temperament scales, one being Novelty Seeking (contains impulsivity).

• seen more as pre-conceptual automatic response

Tellegen’s 3 high order factors

determines the manner and intensity people respond to emotional stimuli.

1. + Emotionality

2. - Emotionality

3. Constraint (control vs. impulsiveness scale)

Previous theories of impulsiveness

Barratt & Co.

Impulsivity – 3 factors

1. Attentional impulsivity*

2. Motor impulsivity*

3. Non-planning

Newman & Co.

Gray's neuropsychological model + Eysenck's system of personality = 3 pathways of impulsivity

1. Normal impulsivity : BAS>BIS x NSA – neurotic extrovert pattern

2. Anxious impulsivity : BAS<BIS x NSA – neurotic introvert pattern

3. “P constraint” – psychopaths response to competing reward and punishment

Dickman (1990) 2-D theory of impulsivity

Information processing approach to impulsivity which has + & - consequences

1.Functional (enthusiasm, adventuresome…)

2.Dysfunctional (disorderliness, ignoring facts…)

This Study…

aims to understand the construct of impulsivity by analysing, within the framework of a well-validated personality model, a variety of commonly used impulsive measures.

5 factor Model framework, facets capture some aspects…

Neuroticism: Self control

Conscientiousness: Self discipline, deliberation

Extraversion: Excitement seeking

Method• Participants: 437 undergraduates

• Measures: • Items were adapted to a four-point Likert-type format ranging from one to four.

• They used a variety of commonly used impulsivity measures:

1) EASI-III Impulsivity Scales

• self-report measure designed by Buss and Plomin to reflect their four temperament theory of personality.

• Only used items on four impulsivity subscales (inhibitory control, decision time, sensation seeking, and persistence subscales).

2) Dickman's Functional and Dysfunctional Impulsivity Scales• two dimensional conception of impulsivity. • functional impulsivity (e.g. Most of the time I can put my thoughts into words very

rapidly) • dysfunctional impulsivity (e.g. Often I don't spend enough time thinking over a

situation before I act).

3) Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) It is made up of three subscales: • attentional impulsiveness (e.g. I get easily bored when solving

thought problems)• motor impulsiveness (e.g. I do things without thinking)• non-planning impulsiveness (e.g. I am more interested in the present

than the future).

4) I-7 Impulsiveness Questionnaire (I-7)

5) Personality Research Form Impulsivity Scale (PRF)

6) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Control Scale (MPQ)

7) Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)• self-report inventory based on Cloninger's psychobiological model of

personality. • Included only the eight- item novelty seeking subscale of

impulsiveness vs reflection (e.g. I often react so strongly to unexpected news that I say or do things that I regret)

8) Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS)• Disinhibition boredom susceptibility

9) Additional ``impulsiveness'' items• Pilot work suggested that items dealing with the ``impulsiveness''

aspect (e.g., strong cravings) of impulsivity were missing.

• fourteen additional items were created

• Examples: ``When I feel bad I will often do things I later regret in order to make myself feel better now'', ``I only act rashly when I am upset'', and ``It is hard for me to resist acting on my feelings''.

10) Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R)• neuroticism, • extraversion, • conscientiousness.

Results Identified 4 meanings of impulsivity:

1) (lack of) Premeditation• was captured in scales that assess the tendency to delay action in

favor of careful thinking and planning.

2) Urgency• a tendency to commit rash or regrettable actions as a result of

intense negative affect. • The scales reflecting this factor include items related to an inability

to resist cravings, binging, and acting rashly while upset.

3) Sensation Seeking• was comprised of scales measuring the tendency to seek

excitement and adventure.

4) (lack of) Perseverance.• includes scales that assess one's ability to remain with a task until

completion and avoid boredom.

• Following the initial factor identification, scales to measure each of the personality facets were created and combined to form the UPPS Impulsive Behavior scale.

• This had 45 items measuring the four factors.

• Each factor had 10-12 items.

Relation between impulsivity scales and NEO facets

• Explored through a joint factor analysis. • A three-factor solution accounted for 59% of the variation in

the scales.

• The factor structure clearly mapped onto the structure of the three domains of the NEO-PI-R:

• Factor 1 was comprised of (lack of) premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, and all six facets of conscientiousness.

• Factor 2 was comprised of sensation seeking and all six facets of extraversion.

• Factor 3 was comprised of urgency and all six facets of neuroticism.

Main Conclusions

• Factor analysis revealed a robust four factor solution corresponding to the four traits related to impulsivity on the NEO-PI.

• Impulsivity is made up of four distinct personality facets.

• These are not variations of impulsivity, but distinct psychological processes that lead to impulsive behaviors.

The four facets of impulsivity

• Urgency- experience strong impulses under conditions of negative affect.

• (lack of) Premeditation- act on the spur of the moment.

• (lack of) Perseverance- difficulty staying focused on tasks that are ‘boring’ or ‘difficult’.

• Sensation Seeking- enjoy and pursue risky and exciting experiences.

How does this relate to the FFM?

• Urgency linked to Neuroticism

• (lack of) Premeditation and (lack of) Perseverance linked to Conscientiousness

• Sensation Seeking linked to Extraversion

Possible links to psychopathology

• Urgency- BPD, bulimia.

• (lack of) Premeditation- antisocial personality disorder, dementia, psychopathy.

• (lack of) Perseverance- ADHD.

• Sensation Seeking- substance use disorders.

• Impulsivity is an ‘artificial umbrella term’.

• It actually encompasses 4 distinct facets of personality associated with impulsive behavior.