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 use It 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.