Impulsivity can often be an important clinical problem in psychiatry and neurology. In psychiatry, the manifestation of impulsive behaviour in syndromes such as personality disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and in substance abuse may be different, and this has led to conflicting definitions. There has also been a tendency to concentrate on the nature of the behavioural manifestation (problems with the law, aggression, drug use, behavioural problems in school) rather than shared psychological processes, and to ignore the fact that impulsivity can also have positive aspects. In a normal population, the personality trait of impulsivity has been analysed using personality inventory questionnaires. Analysis of these data lead to the suggestion that impulsivity as commonly defined and understood may be made up of several independent factors, which may have separate biological bases. These self-rating questionnaires have been complemented by objective tests that are now often computerized, and which have been used in man (e.g. with criminal offenders, children, or patients who have undergone brain surgery). Some of these tests, such as the differential reinforcement of low rates procedure or the delay of reinforcement procedure, have also been used to study impulsivity in animals. Analysis of the behavioural principles of these tests suggests that they too may reflect different aspects of impulsivity. Many different biological systems have been proposed to contribute to the neurobiological basis of impulsivity. The serotonergic neurotransmitter system has recently received the most attention, with evidence of its involvement coming from animal studies as well as from studies in psychiatric patients. The frontal lobes have been proposed to play an important role in regulating impulsivity, although it unclear how specific this is. None of this biological knowledge has yet led to reliable pharmacotherapy for excessive impulsivity and, as yet, there is little understanding of the mechanisms by which those drugs, which have been found empirically to have some efficacy (e.g. the psychomotor stimulants in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), exert their therapeutic effect. By bringing together knowledge from different areas of research it is hoped that a cross fertilization will be achieved, which will lead to a sharpening of concepts, an improvement in methodology and the stimulation of biological studies.

Impulsivity: a discussion of clinical and experimental findings:

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with regional alterations in brain structure and function that are hypothesized to contribute to symptoms and cognitive deficits associated with the disorder. We present here the first systematic meta-analysis of neurocognitive outcomes associated with PTSD to examine a broad range of cognitive domains and describe the profile of cognitive deficits, as well as modifying clinical factors and study characteristics. This report is based on data from 60 studies totaling 4,108 participants, including 1,779 with PTSD, 1,446 trauma-exposed comparison participants, and 895 healthy comparison participants without trauma exposure. Effect-size estimates were calculated using a mixed-effects meta-analysis for 9 cognitive domains: attention/working memory, executive functions, verbal learning, verbal memory, visual learning, visual memory, language, speed of information processing, and visuospatial abilities. Analyses revealed significant neurocognitive effects associated with PTSD, although these ranged widely in magnitude, with the largest effect sizes in verbal learning (d = -.62), speed of information processing (d = -.59), attention/working memory (d = -.50), and verbal memory (d =-.46). Effect-size estimates were significantly larger in treatment-seeking than community samples and in studies that did not exclude participants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and effect sizes were affected by between-group IQ discrepancies and the gender composition of the PTSD groups. Our findings indicate that consideration of neuropsychological functioning in attention, verbal memory, and speed of information processing may have important implications for the effective clinical management of persons with PTSD. Results are further discussed in the context of cognitive models of PTSD and the limitations of this literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

A quantitative meta-analysis of neurocognitive functioning in posttraumatic stress disorder.

This article presents the results of a quantitative study (n = 1,058) of the gender divide in ICT attitudes. In general, females had more negative attitudes towards computers and the Internet than did men. Results indicate a positive relationship between ICT experience and ICT attitudes. This experience is measured by period of time using a computer and self-perceived computer and Internet experience. Further analyses on the impact of gender on this correlation of ICT experience and ICT attitudes were conducted by means of a multivariate model. General Linear Model (GLM) analysis revealed that there was a significant effect of gender, computer use, and self-perceived computer experience on computer anxiety attitudes, as well as several significant interaction effects. Males were found to have less computer anxiety than females; respondents who have used computers for a longer period of time and respondents with a higher self-perception of experience also show less computer anxiety. However, the GLM plot shows that the influence of computer experience works in different ways for males and females. Computer experience has a positive impact on decreasing computer anxiety for men, but a similar effect was not found for women. The model was also tested for computer liking and Internet-liking factors.

Gender and information and communication technologies (ICT) anxiety: male self-assurance and female hesitation.

Ventral frontal deficits in psychopathy: Neuropsychological test findings

Reflection impulsivity in current and former substance users.

This study investigated the use of the Porteus Maze test as a measure of reflection/impulsivity when used with both normal and retarded subjects. Study 1 (N = 90) provided sample data for three equal groups of 30 adolescent students in the regular school. These were defined as above average, average, and below average in general intelligence. In addition to measures of qualitative and quantitative scoring, data were also available from Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test and a specially constructed Teachers' Rating Scale. The below-average group showed a significantly more impulsive approach. There was evidence of the concurrent validity of Porteus Maze as shown in substantial correlations with the other variables. Study 2 investigated the use of the Porteus Maze with 41 mildly intellectually handicapped adolescents. The data were in keeping with those obtained from a below-average group in Study 1.

The Porteus Maze Test in the Measurement of Reflection/Impulsivity:

Drawing upon information from a national survey, this paper examines the extent to which integration is being achieved for children with disabilities in Australian schools. Technical and organizational issues leading to identification of major barriers to integration together with possible strategies to overcome these are discussed. A need for policy‐oriented research in this field is identified, particularly the provision of accurate prevalence figures and other data to help monitor the impact of policy. Overall, there is evidence of a national movement towards integration but typically this is occurring within a context of inadequate policy formulation, organizational development and resource provision.

Directions for Integration in Australia: Overview of a Report to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Part II.

Mainstreaming of mildly handicapped students from special to general classes is a controversial and contemporary issue. Despite a number of important difficulties, mainstream classes are considered to be the most appropriate placement for mildly handicapped students. The value of group instruction as a method of achieving effective mainstreaming is discussed in relation to its potential for developing social skills, providing a framework for instruction, and ensuring a link between the special and general class. Within the framework for instruction, three specific group instruction techniques are examined: cooperative learning, peer tutoring, and reciprocal teaching. It is argued that mainstreaming skill training should commence in the special class, and culminate in those skills being applied and supported in a general classroom learning environment. Group teaching strategies may serve as an effective, transportable framework in which to achieve effective mainstreaming.

Mainstreaming Special Class Students with Mild Handicaps Through Group Instruction

(1982). Programming generalisation: a central problem area in educational psychology. Educational Psychology: Vol. 2, No. 3-4, pp. 231-248.

Programming generalisation: a central problem area in educational psychology

Verbal self‐instruction training (VSIT) was seen as one possible solution to the problem of obtaining more efficient procedures for the teaching of the retarded. Thus, VSIT was compared to the more commonly used modelling and imitation (MODIM) procedures with a moderately‐severely mentally retarded sample of 48 adult men from an institution in a rural setting. Feedback regarding performance was also added to these conditions to investigate its effect on generalisation outcomes, thus giving four training packages: VSIT; VSIT with feedback MODIM; and MODIM with feedback. Six independent living tasks were trained (two sandwich making, two vacuuming and two collating): three being used for initial training and three as related or ‘near generalisation’ tasks. The four instructional packages were investigated in order to ascertain their relative efficiency in terms of (trainer) effort required to train to criterion on the six tasks and the achievement of generalisation and maintenance outcomes. It was ...

https://journals.copmadrid.org/psed/archivos/50690.pdf

The Use of Verbal Self‐instruction Training (VSIT) to Enhance Learning in the Mentally Retarded: a study of techniques for improving acquisition, maintenance and generalisation outcomes

Lyn Gow

Papers

The Porteus Maze Test in the Measurement of Reflection/Impulsivity:

Directions for Integration in Australia: Overview of a Report to the Commonwealth Schools Commission. Part II.

Mainstreaming Special Class Students with Mild Handicaps Through Group Instruction

Programming generalisation: a central problem area in educational psychology

The Use of Verbal Self‐instruction Training (VSIT) to Enhance Learning in the Mentally Retarded: a study of techniques for improving acquisition, maintenance and generalisation outcomes