Everything about Impulsivity
Tendency to act on a whim without considering consequences
In psychology, impulsivity is a tendency to act on a whim, displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences. Impulsive actions are typically "poorly conceived, prematurely expressed, unduly risky, or inappropriate to the situation that often result in undesirable consequences," which imperil long-term goals and strategies for success. Impulsivity can be classified as a multifactorial construct. A functional variety of impulsivity has also been suggested, which involves action without much forethought in appropriate situations that can and does result in desirable consequences. "When such actions have positive outcomes, they tend not to be seen as signs of impulsivity, but as indicators of boldness, quickness, spontaneity, courageousness, or unconventionality." Thus, the construct of impulsivity includes at least two independent components: first, acting without an appropriate amount of deliberation, which may or may not be functional; and second, choosing short-term gains over long-term ones. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: ImpulsivityA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Internet addiction in young adults: The role of impulsivity and codependencyInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Works (Awakening / Beyond the Bayou / Desiree's Baby / Kiss / Locket / Ma'ame Pelagie / Pair of Silk Stockings / Reflection / Respectable Woman)The most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: The Five Factor Model and impulsivity: using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivityCited 3,184 times
- Go sideways: Delayed gratificationA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Executive dysfunctionA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun The quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
The Five Factor Model and impulsivity: using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity
Psychiatric Aspects of Impulsivity
Inhibition and impulsivity: Behavioral and neural basis of response control
Varieties of impulsivity
Impulsivity, Compulsivity, and Top-Down Cognitive Control
Annual Research Review: On the relations among self‐regulation, self‐control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk‐taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology
Age differences in sensation seeking and impulsivity as indexed by behavior and self-report: Evidence for a dual systems model.
Impulsivity resulting from frontostriatal dysfunction in drug abuse: implications for the control of behavior by reward-related stimuli
🆕 Influential since 2022
Internet addiction in young adults: The role of impulsivity and codependency
Screen time, impulsivity, neuropsychological functions and their relationship to growth in adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms
Impulsivity traits and suicide related outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis using the UPPS model
Emotion-related impulsivity and risky decision-making: A systematic review and meta-regression
Value-free random exploration is linked to impulsivity
📚 Books worth reading
Works (Awakening / Beyond the Bayou / Desiree's Baby / Kiss / Locket / Ma'ame Pelagie / Pair of Silk Stockings / Reflection / Respectable Woman)Kate Chopin · 1981
Compulsive hoarding and acquiringGail Steketee, Randy O. Frost · 2006
Some Little PeopleGeorge Kringle · 1881
Impulse control disordersElias Aboujaoude, Lorrin M. Koran · 2006- 📕Functional and Impulsive Differential Equations of Fractional OrderIvanka Stamova, Gani Stamov · 2016
Common-sense ethicsJoad, C. E. M. · 1921
Sex Addicts AnnonymousSex Addicts Annonymous · 2005
A Pair of Silk StockingsKate Chopin · 2013
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Delayed gratification Delayed gratification, or deferred gratification, is the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward in favor of a more valuable and long-lasting…
- Executive dysfunction In psychology and neuroscience, executive dysfunction, or executive function deficit, is a disruption to the efficacy of the executive functions, which…
- Personality theories of addiction Personality theories of addiction are psychological models that associate personality traits or modes of thinking (i.e., affective states) with an individual's…
- Impulse-control disorder Impulse-control disorder (ICD) is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, an urge, or an impulse;…
- Control (psychology) In psychology, control is a person's ability or perception of their ability to affect themselves, others, their conditions, their environment or some other…
- Self-control Self-control is the ability to manipulate one's own emotions, thoughts[citation needed], and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. It is an…
- Inhibitory control Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process – and, more specifically, an executive function – that permits an individual…
- Cognitive inhibition Cognitive inhibition refers to the mind's ability to tune out stimuli that are irrelevant to the task/process at hand or to the mind's current state. Additional…