Negative urgency is related to impaired response inhibition during threatening conditions

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While it has been argued that impulsivity and inhibition are unrelated, previous evidence suggests that the relationship between the two can only be seen when their characteristics are closely matched. The negative urgency subscale of the UPPS-P describes impulsive action during negative affect. This was predicted to correlate more strongly with stop-signal reaction-time (SSRT) during threatening conditions than non-threatening conditions. Healthy participants (N = 68) completed the stop-signal task in threatening (induced by threat-of-shock) and non-threatening conditions after completing the UPPS-P and Spielberg State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scales. Negative urgency correlated with the difference in SSRT (threat – safe) after controlling for other variables. Conversely, similar correlations were not observed for positive urgency, suggesting threat increases the poorer inhibition seen in those high on negative urgency but not for those high on positive urgency. Additionally, sensation seeking correlated with the difference in SSRT (threat – safe) in the opposite direction, suggesting sensation seeking was related to a reduction in the effect of threat. The findings suggest the relationship between negative urgency and inhibition is facilitated by threatening conditions and that high sensation seekers experience threatening stimuli differently.