Impulsivity: 5 basic forms of impulsive behavior

In psychology, impulsivity is an impulse or tendency to act, in which behavior shows little or no prior thought or reflection. Impulsivity, therefore, often leads to risky behavior or behavior that the subject later regrets.

From a cognitive point of view, it is considered a “hot cognition”, that is, a cognition that brings together some kind of emotion or emotional tone. It is important to point out right away that impulsiveness does not necessarily lead to behavior. We can have the impulse, stop, and not act.

In psychology approaches, we find different conceptions and types of impulsive behavior. In this text, we will use the theoretical formulations that support the UPPS-P test, Impulsive Behavior Scale, which was designed as an attempt to unify the various questionnaires that previously assessed impulsivity (Whiteside and Lynam 2001).

In the test results, the subject may have “global” impulsivity or just a single type of impulsivity. In other words, one person might be impulsive on all or almost all of the subscales, while another might be very impulsive, scoring high on just one of them.

1) Negative urgency

This type of impulsivity appears in people who act impulsively from a negative affect. For example, the individual who drinks (impulsive behavior) because he is sad. Sadness is, at that moment, the urgency that drives him to behave. Another negative affect that is common is anger. Angry, the subject behaves impulsively, kicking a door, fighting, arguing.

2) Positive urgency

It’s similar to the previous one. It differs in affection which, instead of being negative, is positive. For example, the person drinks or uses another addictive substance not because he is sad or angry, but because he is happy, euphoric, joyful. Another person, based on this or other affections considered positive, may spend his entire salary on a game of chance.

Read Also: 3 indispensable requirements for the healing process

3) Lack of forethought

By definition, impulsivity is a response that is immediate, reactive. One of the constructs of the UPPS-P test is that impulsivity is expressed in the absence of premeditation, that is, there is no thought or consideration of the consequences of the act. The person does, acts, says and “doesn’t care” about what comes next.

4) Lack of perseverance

Perseverance is the ability to maintain a behavior continuously or over time, even if the behavior comes to be felt as boring, tedious, unpleasant. A good part of the idea of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder would relate to this type of impulsivity. The student has to sit down doing his task until the end, but due to lack of perseverance, he does not complete it and starts another activity that, possibly, he will not complete either.

5) Sensation seeking

The fifth and final type of impulsiveness is sensation seeking. It is as if the person is or becomes bored with the amount of stimuli they are experiencing and wants more. Jumping with a parachute, for example, or riding a motorcycle at high speed would be common examples.

Examples of UPPS

Below are some questions – free translation:

– I am a cautious person (premeditation)

– When I feel rejected, I often say things that I later regret (urgency)

– I would love to go water skiing (sensation seeking)

– Once I start something, I hate to stop (perseverance)

Impulsivity and psychopathology

Several studies and theories indicate that impulsivity is present and is often the fundamental component of psychopathologies. An individual who uses a substance such as alcohol or another to get rid of a negative affect or out of a positive affect may develop Substance Use Disorder.

Read Also: Can you get rich by studying Psychology?

Impulsivity is also a major component of Conduct Disorder, Personality Disorder, or Bipolar Disorder.

A meta-analysis study of more than 40,000 subjects suggests that negative affect and positive affect constructs are the ones that most correlate with psychopathology, indicating that it may not be necessary to necessarily separate the two subscales. In other words, in mental disorders in which impulsivity is a relevant component, positive or negative affect are probably the most prevalent types of impulsivity.

This study also points out the correlation between the types of lack of forethought and lack of perseverance as close constructs.

Can we change impulsiveness?

The question that arises, to conclude, is whether or not it is possible to change all traces of impulsiveness or at least reduce one or another type. If we consider the previous relationship with psychopathology, we will see that there are treatments, both psychotherapeutic and with medication, which aim to treat what in the literature we call impulsivity symptoms.

Often, the person himself does not realize his impulsiveness unless it has consequences for his life or for the lives of close people. This is why it is often someone close who suggests or takes the impulsive person to psychological or psychiatric treatment.

Knowing impulsivity and its basic forms of expression helps to understand tendencies that are confused with “the way a person is” or “with their essence” or “temperament”. Although treatment can have its difficulties and take months or even years, we know that there is hope for change in most cases.

references

Berg JM, Latzman RD, Bliwise NG, & Lilienfeld SO (2015). Parsing the heterogeneity of impulsivity: A meta-analytic review of the behavioral implications of the UPPS for psychopathology. Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 1129-1146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000111