Impulsivity and Rapid Decision-Making for Reward

Abstract

Impulsivity is a feature of many brain disorders. Although often defined as the predisposition to act with an inadequate degree of deliberation, forethought, or control, it has proven difficult to measure. This may in part be due to the fact that it is a multifaceted construct, with impulsive decisions potentially arising as a result of a number of underlying mechanisms. Indeed, a “functional” degree of impulsivity may even promote effective behavior in healthy participants in a way that can be advantageous under certain circumstances. Although many tasks have been developed to study impulsivity, few examine decisions made rapidly, for time-sensitive rewards. In the current study we examine behavior in 59 adults on a manual “Traffic Light” task which requires participants to take risks under time pressure, if they are to maximize reward. We show that behavioral variables that index rapid anticipatory responding in this paradigm are correlated with one, specific self-report measure of impulsivity: “lack of premeditation” on the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Participants who scored more highly on this subscale performed better on the task. Moreover, anticipatory behavior reduced significantly with age (18–79 years), an effect that continued to be upheld after correction for potential age differences in the ability to judge the timing of responses. Based on these findings, we argue that the Traffic Light task provides a parametric method to study one aspect of impulsivity in health and disease: namely, rapid decision-making in pursuit of risky, time-sensitive rewards.

Event related potentials study of aberrations in voice control mechanisms in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…Impulsive behavior has been suggested to be a result of executive dysfunction caused by behavioral disinhibition (Barkley, 1997). Although impulsivity can be advantageous for healthy individuals under certain circumstances (Burnett Heyes et al, 2012), it can be an indicator of several psychiatric diseases (Moeller et al, 2001). Despite its prominent, negative role affecting a wide variety of everyday activities, the literature reflects numerous inconsistencies in the conceptualization of impulsivity (Depue and Collins, 1999, Moeller, et al, 2001).…”

Models of Impulsivity with a Focus on Waiting Impulsivity: Translational Potential for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

“…In the Traffic Light task, subjects respond to optimize time-sensitive risky rewarding outcomes [ 30 , 31 •]. Subjects view a red light that turns amber and then green, and must respond rapidly to the green Go signal to obtain a reward.…”

“…The outcome measure is the frequency of penalized trials and the overall reward obtained. Anticipatory responding, measured using this task, correlated with the lack of premeditation on the UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale, and was negatively correlated with age in healthy volunteers [ 30 ]. The anticipatory response in the Traffic Light task thus occurs in the context of a risky choice, response selection, sensitivity to reward and loss, and capacity for time estimation.…”

Impact of personal economic environment and personality factors on individual financial decision making

“…Thus, it is not surprising that some previous studies using personality inventories reported some positive correlations between “novelty seeking” items and risk-loving behavior dimensions (Kelley et al, 2004). “Impulsivity” was also found to be a contributing factor (Burnett Heyes et al, 2012). These investigations have not been restricted to financial decision making, but include general risk seeking behavior.…”