FAILURES OF RESPONSE MODULATION - IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR IN ANXIOUS AND IMPULSIVE INDIVIDUALS

Certain experimental results appear at odds with traditional characterizations of anxious individuals. Specifically, anxious subjects have been observed to behave in ways that might best be characterized as impulsive. To account for these data, we propose a general model of impulsive behavior that is primarily a synthesis of the theoretical perspectives of Gray (1987b) and Eysenck (1967). The neuroticism construct, which we conceive as reflecting the lability or reactivity of Gray's nonspecific arousal system (NAS), plays a pivotal role in this synthesis. We suggest that neuroticism is a predisposition to experience heightened NAS activity, and describe three processes through which heightened NAS activity impairs response modulation, thus engendering impulsive behavior. The proposed model highlights a fundamental similarity between anxiety and impulsivity. Furthermore, our formulation may prove useful for resolving inconsistent laboratory findings related to impulsivity, as well as for explaining the maladaptive behavior displayed by anxious and impulsive individuals. © 1991.