Variable Details
Available Studies
MAP, MARS
Categories
Affect and Personality
Impulsiveness
Novelty seeking subscale: Impulsiveness - Sum of 10 items (MAP only)
This variable is only available in MAP.
Impulsiveness is measured using the 10-item impulsiveness subscale of the novelty seeking scale. The novelty seeking scale comes from the Temperament and Character Inventory and consists of four subscales: exploratory excitability, impulsiveness, extravagance, disorderliness.
Participants are asked to respond true/mostly true or false/mostly false to each item. The subscale score ranges from 0 to 10 and is the number of item responses indicative of the trait. Higher scores indicate more impulsiveness while lower scores indicate reflection.
Participants are presented the following items:
| Item no. | Item | Coding |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I often do things based on how I feel at the moment without thinking about how they were done in the past. | True = 1 |
| 2 | It is difficult for me to keep the same interests for a long time because my attention often shifts to something else. | True = 1 |
| 3 | I like to think about things for a long time before I make a decision. | False = 1 |
| 4 | I usually think about all the facts in detail before I make a decision. | False = 1 |
| 5 | I hate to make decisions based only on my first impressions. | False = 1 |
| 6 | I often follow my instincts, hunches, or intuition without thinking through all the details. | True = 1 |
| 7 | I like to pay close attention to details in everything I do. | False = 1 |
| 8 | I like to make quick decisions so I can get on with what has to be done. | True = 1 |
| 9 | I nearly always think about all the facts in detail before I make a decision, even when other people demand a quick decision. | False = 1 |
| 10 | I like to read everything when I am asked to sign any papers. | False = 1 |
Response choices for each item:
| Coding | Response |
|---|---|
| True | True or mostly true |
| False | False or mostly false |
Note: The subscale score is calculated if at least half of the items are non-missing.
Reference (not in PubMed): Cloninger CR, Przybeck TR, Svrakic DM, Wetzel RD. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI): A guide to its development and use. St. Louis, MO: Center for Psychobiology of Personality. 1993.