Impulsivity Tests
Abstract
Impulsive tests are imperative as they enable understanding of psychological and behavioral factors affecting individuals with obesity as well as elements that make them fail to take necessary measures to lead a responsible life. Impulsivity among individuals with obesity is explained by lack of education, where individuals engage in risky behavior in spite of them having knowledge on consequences of their actions. It is important to understand behavioral trends among individuals with obesity since to a larger extent, victims of obesity are in most case affected by impulsivity. With impulsivity tests in place, factors such as learning styles, stress resistance and motivations towards personality are assessed in ways that aim at making obese people adopt positive lifestyles. The usage of impulsivity tests such as multidimensional personality questionnaire, Barratt Impulsive Scale and Self Report Scale is vital in determining impulsivity as they aid in ensuring measures are put in place to reduce the burden of obesity.
Impulsive tests offer the best approaches through which reactions of individuals towards psychological and behavioral conditions are effectively analyzed. It is important to understand behavior based trends among individuals with obesity since to a larger extent, those with obesity are mostly affected by impulsivity. With application of impulsivity tests, it is likely that factors such as learning styles, stress resistance and motivations towards personality are assessed in ways that aim at making obese individuals adopt positive lifestyles. Obesity has quickly increased in prevalence and has become a global concern. The risk factors associated with obesity include; cardiovascular complications, diabetes and cancer that are the leading chronic illness worldwide. Impulsivity among individuals with obesity is explained by lack of education, where individuals tend to get involved in precarious behavior in spite of them having prior knowledge on the consequences of their actions. Psychological and behavioral consequences are often related for people with obesity such that it is important to ensure everyone adopts behavior traits that lead to desirable outcomes. Individuals with depression are at higher risk of unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity that eventually lead to high rates of obesity. Impulsive tests are therefore important if they could be used to make individuals personally aware and responsible of the consequences and the need to refrain from unhealthy practices. Reliance on impulsivity tests such as multidimensional personality questionnaire, Barratt Impulsive Scale and Self Report Scales is necessary and effective measures have to be put in place to reduce burden of obesity. The paper therefore discusses the role played by impulsive tests in assessing behavioral traits among obese individuals.
Results
Relationship between Impulsivity and Obesity
Impulsivity is an important characteristic of human beings such that their behavior is controlled by the way they respond to impulsive traits. Depending on the nature of the impulse, human beings could seize opportunities or suffer the consequences of detrimental impulse. Obesity is among the conditions linked with impulsivity which then makes the condition a major concern in the society. Obesity implies having too much fat on the body and is considered as unhealthy for human beings. Measures are taken to reduce incidences of obesity with initiatives addressing the need for healthy lifestyles among consumers. Obesity occurs when a person persistently consumes more calories that they ought to thereby gaining weight and increasing risks of heart diseases, diabetes and stroke that are often associated with obesity. With the need to make active living essential for everyone, it is imperative for masses to consider healthy eating habits as among best approaches taken to reduce obesity. Obesity is linked to impulsiveness since it involves psychological, biological and socio-cultural components. Impulsiveness towards food is among the factors that lead to increased calories intake associated with obesity. People who have the habit of binge eating could be categorized as being impulsive with regards to their poor eating habits. Impulsivity in this case is related to the urge that develops among consumers such that they tend to respond to appetitive stimuli with no regard for the implications of consuming large amounts of food. People with personality traits tend to be involved in actions that make them gain weight with impulsivity being the strongest predictor that the individuals would be overweight.
Traits of impulsive individuals
Impulsive individuals tend to succumb to the temptation that makes them unable to control their consumption behavior which then puts them at the risk of being overweight. This is because impulsive attitudes reduce engagement in physical activities and affects ability of the victims to respond to healthy eating. The proportion of populations with obesity has increased over the years hence creating a major health issues in several nations. Psychological risk factors and behavioral consequences are often related such that individuals need to ensure they subscribe to behaviors that have desirable outcomes. The link between pycho-social stress and obesity has led to several studies with the aim of assessing the relationships between the two. Individuals with depression are at higher risk of unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity that eventually leads to high rates of obesity. Impulsivity ensures that behavior based personality assessments are undertaken to ensure that relationships between obesity and impulsivity is analyzed. Learning styles, stress resistance and motivational factors are among the factors that have to be linked to impulsivity if measures have to be taken to reduce levels of obesity due to impulsive behavior of individuals. Impulsivity is explained by lack of education and influence of factors that lead to poor behavioral patterns. Individuals in spite having a clear knowledge of the repercussion that accompany irresponsible eating continue to be engaged in poor eating habits which then limits self-responsibility from those affected. Impulsivity resides in the fact that individuals are unable to translate cognitive aspects into actions where they continue engaging in behavior they may later regret. Obesity could be reduced by refraining from acting impulsively and hence be responsible for their lifestyles.
Discussion
Types Impulsive tests used for individuals with obesity
Impulsive tests could involve using the Barrat Impulsive Scale where a questionnaire is used to assess personality and behavioral traits of impulsive individuals. The Barrat scale method is among the most useful instruments used in measuring impulsiveness where elements such as attention, cognitive instability of the victim and self-control are considered. Individuals who are able to cope with factors such as self-control and perseverance are able to reduce the consequences of impulsivity since they acknowledge the need to be personally responsible for their eating habits. This means that they are aware of the repercussions of their actions and hence failure to develop acceptable behavior leads to higher health risks. Thirty items are involved in measuring impulsivity when using Barrat Impulsiveness Scale where items are scored depending on attention, self-control, motor, cognitive complexity and motor. Originally, the method was used in relating anxiety to impulsiveness where self-report measures were taken to assess the level of impulsiveness. Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire is also applicable in determining the extent of impulsiveness among obsess individuals. The scales contains measures on the basis of true or false where respondents give response on the basis of behavior and temperamental characteristics that effect consumptions trends among consumers. With low positive emotional temperament, individuals are less interested in responsible traits hence tend to develop depressive disengagement that affect their well-being. Individuals could also develop negative emotional temperament according to the multi-dimensional scales and thereby experience forms of anger and negative engagement that affect their lifestyles.
The multidimensional personality questionnaire also comprises of absorption traits where individuals tend to develop aspects of self-involving sensory and imaginative experiences that have a dissociative effect depending on the nature of the individuals involved. Multidimensional personality scale therefore aims at assessing the well-being of individuals and the way they react to stress. This implies that the ability of individuals to have self-control in times of impulsivity is determined through scales that consider rationality and ability to respond effectively to stressful events.
Role of Impulsive traits in dealing with obese individuals
Tests of impulsivity are important since they are reliable and produce valid results. Impulsivity test are important as they enable understanding of the psychological and behavioral factors affecting individuals with obesity and elements that make them fail to take the necessary measures to be responsible for their lifestyles. However, the tests have several weakness among them the fact that individuals need to first have sufficient insight on their personality traits so as to give accurate ratings on their impulsive behavior. However, for the case with obese people, it could be possible to have accurate views of their insights as compared to victims of substance abuse. Lab tests could also show only the snapshot of personal behavior hence fail to address the real situation affecting obese individuals. Impulsive tests offer the best approaches through which reactions of individuals towards psychological and behavioral conditions could be analyses. It is important to understand behavior based trends among individuals with obesity since to a larger extent, the victims of obesity are in most cases affected by impulsivity. With impulsivity tests in place, it is likely that factors such as learning styles, stress resistance and motivations towards their personality are assessed in ways that aim at making them adopt positive lifestyles. Tests of impulsivity are important as they are reliable in assessing the traits of obese persons and identifying ways through which the victims could be encouraged to have positive healthy lifestyles. Impulsivity tests are important as they enable understanding of the psychological and behavioral factors affecting individuals with obesity and elements that make them fail to take the necessary measures to be responsible for their lifestyles. The usage of impulsivity tests such as multidimensional personality questionnaire, Barratt Impulsive Scale and Self Report Scale is vital in determining impulsivity as they aid in ensuring measures are put in place to reduce the burden of obesity.
References
Alfonsonn, S. (2014). Impulsivity, Negative Mood, and Disordered Eating in Obesity. Uppsala: Uppsala University. Retrieved from http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A736542&dswid=8856
Arce, E., & Santisteban, C. (2006). Impulsivity: a review. Psicothema, 213-220. Retrieved from http://www.psicothema.com/psicothema.asp?id=3200
Baumeister, R. (2010). Yieldign to the Temptation: Self Control Failure, Impulsive Purchasing and Consumer Behaviour. Journal of Consumer Research, 670-676. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1086/338209
Clarke, B. (2012). The Relationship Between Snacking Habits and Impulsivity Levels in Adolescents. New York: Claremont Colleges.
Gailliot, M., & Baumeister, R. (2006). Self-Regulation and Personality: How Interventions Increase Regulatory Success, and How Depletion Moderates the Effects of Traits on Behavior. Journal of Personality, 1774-1789. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00428.x
Hofmann, W., & Friese, M. (2009). Impulse and Self-Control From a Dual-Systems Perspective. Association for Psychological Science, 161-167. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01116.x
Jasinska, A., & Yasuda, M. (2012). Impulsivity and inhibitory control deficits are associated with unhealthy eating in young adults. Appetite, 738–747. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.08.001
Kacen, J., & Lee, J. (2002). The Influence of Culture on Consumer Impulsive Buying Behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 163–176. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327663JCP1202_08
Larsen, J., Hermans, R., & Engels, R. (2012). Food intake in response to food-cue exposure. Examining the influence of duration of the cue exposure and trait impulsivity. Appetite, 907-913. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.02.004
McCloskey, M., New, A., & Siever, L. (2009). Evaluation of behavioral impulsivity and aggression tasks as endophenotypes for borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2-11. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2009.01.002
Mittal, C., & Griskevicius, V. (2014). Sense of Control Under Uncertainty Depends on People’s Childhood Environment: A Life History Theory Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 621–637. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037398
Qiroga, A., & Hernandez, J. (2007). Influence of Impulsivity and Reflexivity when Testing Dyamic Spatial ability: Sex and Gender Differences. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 294-302. Retrieved from http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/SJOP/article/download/SJOP0707220294A/28849
RodrõÂguez-Fornells, A., & Maydeu-Olivares, A. (2000). Impulsive/careless problem solving style as predictor of subsequent academic achievement. Personality and Individual Di€erences, 639±645.
Spinella, M. (2007). Normative Data and a Short Form of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Intern. J. Neuroscience, 359–368. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207450600588881
Stice, E., & Presnell, K. (2005). Psychological and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity Onset in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 195–202. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.73.2.195
Strack, F., & Deutsch, R. (2004). Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Social Behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 220–247. doi:dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_1
Wagner, M., & Nicole, D. (2007). Towards the development of behavioural measures of impulsivity: Influencing subjects’ response style in a multiple-choice visual discrimination task. Psychology Science, 255-270. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michaela_Wagner-Menghin/publication/26514546_Towards_the_development_of_behavioural_measures_of_impulsivity_Influencing_subjects_response_style_in_a_multiple-choice_visual_discrimination_task/links/0fcfd511a2c9f58cd000
Waumsley, J. (2011). Obesity in the UK: A psychological perspective. Northampton: University of Northampton.
Winstanley, C., & Eagle, D. (2006). Behavioral models of impulsivity in relation to ADHD: Translation between clinical and preclinical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 379–395. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.01.001
