Summary: A new study confirms impulsivity as a stable and measurable personality trait. Using data from 1,676 participants, researchers identified a general impulsivity factor, I, that effectively predicted impulsive behaviors.
They developed the Adjustable Impulsivity Scale (AIMS) for precise measurement. The results improve the understanding and measurement of impulsivity.
Highlights:
- A study confirms that impulsivity is a stable and measurable trait.
- The researchers identified a general impulsivity factor, I, among 1,676 participants.
- Development of the Adjustable Impulsivity Scale (AIMS) for accurate measurement.
Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences
We can all act impulsively, with some seemingly doing it more often and others less. Psychologists have studied impulsivity as a personality trait since the 1930s and associate it with a variety of harmful behaviors, such as violence and excessive use of social media, as well as mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.
A study conducted by a research team led by Dr. LUAN Shenghua from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) provided comprehensive evidence that impulsivity is a stable, measurable and predictive personality trait.
The study, one of the largest in the field, disagrees with the pessimistic view that research on impulsivity is fraught with pitfalls, including inconsistencies in its definition and a lack of reliable measurement tools .
It was published online in PNAS on June 3.
A total of 1,676 participants took part in the study. Each completed 48 measures of impulsivity derived from 10 self-report scales and 10 behavioral tasks. Participants also reported the frequency of seven impulsivity-related behaviors, such as impulse buying and social media use.
Using advanced psychometric methods, researchers discovered a general impulsivity factor, I, in these large-scale data. Postman I is similar to the general factor g in intelligence and represents the common component shared by a wide range of impulsivity measures.
According to the researchers, the factor I was stable over time (in fact, it was the most stable of all measures over a three-month interval) and was effective in predicting impulsivity-related behaviors, as evidenced by analysis using algorithms machine learning.
Based on their data and modeling results, the researchers developed a new scale, the Adjustable Impulsivity Scale (AIMS), to measure impulsivity.. AIMS has excellent psychometric properties that are largely retained in the shorter versions and is quite efficient with only 10 measurement items.
“These results show that impulsivity is a valid and useful psychological construct for differentiating people. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of impulsivity may have been greatly exaggerated, and this construct is still alive and well,” said Dr. LUAN, corresponding author of the study.
The discovery of the general impulsivity factor I and the development of the new AIMS scale are the two most notable contributions of this study. They significantly advance the conceptualization and measurement of impulsivity and facilitate the application of impulsivity as a personality trait in clinical and non-clinical contexts.
Funding: The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Institute of Psychology of CAS.
About this research news on impulsivity and personality
Author: LIU Chen
Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Contact: LIU Chen – Chinese Academy of Sciences
Picture: Image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Free access.
“Impulsivity is a stable, measurable and predictive psychological trait” by LUAN Shenghua et al. PNAS
Abstract
Impulsivity is a stable, measurable, and predictive psychological trait
Impulsivity is a personality construct frequently used to explain and predict important human behaviors. Major inconsistencies in its definition and measurement, however, have led some researchers to call for an outright rejection of impulsivity as a psychological construct.
We are addressing this very unsatisfactory state with a large-scale pre-registered study (NOT = 1,676) in which each participant completed 48 measures of impulsivity derived from 10 self-report scales and 10 behavioral tasks and reported the frequencies of seven impulsivity-related behaviors (e.g., impulsive buying and use of social media) ; a subsample (NOT = 196) then carried out a retest session 3 months later.
We found that the correlations between self-report measures were significantly higher than those between behavioral tasks and between self-report measures and behavioral tasks.
Bifactor analysis of these measures required a general impulsivity factor Isimilar to the general intelligence factor g, and six specific factors. Postman I was primarily related to self-report measures, had high test-retest reliability, and could predict impulsivity-related behaviors better than existing measures.
We then developed a scale called the Adjustable Impulsivity Scale (AIMS) to measure I. AIMS has excellent psychometric properties that are largely retained in the shorter versions and could predict impulsivity-related behaviors as well as I.
These findings collectively support impulsivity as a stable, measurable, and predictive trait, indicating that it may be too early to dismiss it as a valid and useful psychological construct.
The bifactor structure of impulsivity and the AIMS, in turn, significantly advance the conceptualization and measurement of constructive impulsivity.
News Source : neurosciencenews.com
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