The Big Five + Impulsivity

What are the Big 5?

• Openness to Experience

• Conscientiousness

• Agreeableness

• Extraversion

• Neuroticism

Openness to Experience

Represents individual differences in curiosity, fantasy, appreciation of art and beauty, and social attitudes

Conscientiousness

Represents individual differences in being methodical, planning, impulse control, and respecting and abiding by conventional social norms and rules 

Extraversion

Reflects individual differences in sociability, social ascendency, activity, excitement seeking, and positive emotionality

Agreeableness

Reflects individual differences in compliance, empathy, collaboration, and altruism

Neuroticism

Individual differences in the tendency to experience frequently and intensively negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, depression, and irritability, as well as having low self-esteem

What is the positive pole of neuroticism?

Emotional stability 

Strengths of the Big 5 Model

• Comparative (across samples, measures raters, cultures, languages)

• Numerous meta-analyses with outcomes

• Strong correlations between traits vs. psychopathology (question of which comes first)

Weaknesses of the Big 5 Model 

• Lacks context and situation, which influence how personality traits impact behavior 

• There is more to a person than what fits into trait categories 

  • time, place, and roles matter

  • motivational, development, and strategic terms

  • Goals/motives have an end state

• Unclear whether psychopathology or personality traits comes first

3 Traits in the Dark Triad

• Narcissism 

• Machiavellianism

• Psychopathy

Narcissism

Characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and lack of empathy

Machiavellianism

Characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others, a lack of morality, callousness, and extremely self-centered

Psychopathy

Characterized by antisocial behavior (how you view social norms and rules), impulsivity, selfishness, callous and unemotional traits, remorselessness 

Which two Big 5 traits are most closely tied to the Dark Triad? How are they related?

Agreeableness and conscientiousness; higher scores in these lead to lower scores on the dark triad (traits are correlated with empathy and rule following)

Impulsivity

Tendency to act without thinking, the difficulty to evaluate the consequences of a behavior, the inability to inhibit an ongoing response, or even the preference for immediate and small rewards over larger but delayed rewards

Eysenck Three Factor Theory (70s-80s)

• Neuroticism, Extraversion, Psychoticism

• 4 basic impulsivity dimensions (impulsiveness is a part of psychoticism)

  • Narrow impulsiveness

  • risk-tasking

  • non-planning

  • liveliness

• Sensation seeking and venturesomeness is part of extraversion

What are the three factors in Eysenck’s Three Factor Theory? Which one is impulsiveness a part of

Neuroticism, extraversion, psychoticism. Impulsiveness is a part of psychoticism

What are the 4 basic impulsivity dimensions as mentioned in Eysenck Three Factor Theory?

• Narrow impulsiveness

• Risk-taking

• Non-planning

• Liveliness

In Eysenck Three Factor Theory, which two aspects of impulsiveness are a part of extraversion (and not psychoticism)?

Sensation seeking and venturesomeness

Buss and Plomin 4 Facet Conceptualization of Impulsivity (1975)

• Inhibitory control (core feature)

• Tendency to consider alternatives and consequences before making a decision 

• Ability to remain with a task despite competing temptations 

• Tendency to become bored and need to seek novel stimuli 

What is the core feature of Buss and Plomin 4 Facet Conceptualization of Impulsivity?

Inhibitory Control

Barratt - 3 facets (1990s)

• Attentional impulsiveness (the ability to focus on tasks at hand and cognitive instability)

• Motor impulsiveness (acting on the spur of the moment and perseverance)

• Non-planning (self-control and cognitive complexity)

Attentional impulsiveness

the ability to focus on tasks at hand and cognitive instability

Motor Impulsiveness

acting on the spur of the moment and perseverance

UPPS-P Model

• Urgency (Negative and Positive)

• Premeditation (Lack of)

• Perseverance (Lack of)

• Sensation Seeking

What is the difference between negative urgency and positive urgency in the UPPS-P Model?

• Negative Urgency - rash actions taken in response to negative emotional state (drinking to cope)

• Positive urgency - rash actions in response to positive emotions (partying after a win)

How is perseverance defined in the UPPS-P Model?

Tendency to remain focused on a task (lack of perseverance)

How is premeditation defined in the UPPS-P Model?

Tendency to act without thinking (lack of premeditation)

Sensation Seeking

Tendency to seek out novel and thrilling experiences

What is Urgency (negative or positive) in the UPPS-P Model related to?

Problematic substance use via poor coping methods

What is premeditation (lack of) in the UPPS-P Model related to?

Antisocial personality disorder, dementia, or psychopathy

What is perseverance in the UPPS-P Model related to?

ADHD

What is sensation seeking in the UPPS-P Model related to?

substance use and gambling