- Impulsivity
Impulsivity (or impulsiveness) is a type of
human behaviour characterised by the inclination of an individual to act on impulse rather thanthought . [Corsini, Raymond Joseph, 1999, "The Dictionary of Psychology", Psychology Press, ISBN 158391028X, p. 476.] Although part of the normal behaviour, impulsivity also plays a role in manymental illness es.As a personality trait, impulsivity is part of normal behavior as it contributes to adaptive functioning. However, psychological research has questioned impulsivity as a unitary psychological construct [ [http://www.springerlink.com/content/axb51ax5yqynddf0 Varieties of impulsivity] , J. L. Evenden, Psychopharmacology, 1999, Volume 146, Number 4.] . Some authors have proposed a 3-factor model according to which impulsivity can be decomposed as a combination of
attention al ("getting easily bored"),motor ("going into action") and cognitive ("inability to plan") factors. Recent theories [Whiteside SP, Lynam DR. The Five Factor Model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Pers Indiv Differ 2001; 30: 669-89.] have further decomposed impulsivity into 4 dimensions which partially map onto the five-factor model of personality:
* "Urgency ", the feeling of negativeaffect s for resisting the urge, is linked toneuroticism
* "Lack ofpremeditation ", the inability to anticipate consequences, is linked toconscientiousness
* "Lack ofperseverance ", the inability to stick to one's task, is also linked toconscientiousness
* "Sensation-seeking", the experience positive feelings towards risky actions, is linked toextraversion Increased impulsiveness is at the center of
impulse control disorder s such asobsessive-compulsive disorder . It may be linked to other psychopathological conditions likeaddiction ,ADHD ,bulimia , andborderline personality .Recent evidence from neurobiological research seems to support these psychological theories as it has been shown that these different aspects of impulsivity can be independently manipulated by specific drugs.
ee also
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Barratt Impulsivity Scale References
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