Impulsive Tendencies Research Articles

A new method for predicting alcohol relapse in patients undergoing liver transplantation for alcohol-related liver failure: Barratt scale.

Alcohol-induced liver disease has become one of the major causes of chronic liver disease worldwide with the increasing use of alcohol in society. The most important step in treatment is cessation of alcohol consumption. In patients with advanced liver disease, the most effective treatment is liver transplantation. Careful evaluation of patients with alcoholic liver disease before transplantation can help identify those at high risk of relapsing. Of a total of 42 patients who underwent liver transplantation for alcohol-related liver failure in our hospital between 2011 and 2022, 26 surviving patients were included in the study. Patient data were analyzed retrospectively. Demographic data, MELD score, history of alcohol consumption, alcohol treatment, post-transplant prognosis and survival were analyzed. The Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11 Short Form (BIS-11 SF) was applied to the surviving patients for impulsivity analysis to predict the possibility of relapse. Of the 26 patients who were included in the study, all were male. The mean age at transplantation was 53 (31-71) years. Mean MELD score was 22.31 (9-36). 12 patients (46.2%) received living donor liver transplantation and 14 patients (53.8%) received cadaveric liver transplantation. 25 patients (96.2%) had no post-transplant dependence, while 1 patient (3.8%) had post-transplant dependence. 5 patients (19.2%) continued to consume alcohol after transplantation. In our study, we observed that patients with high motor impulsivity tendency according to BSI-11 SF had alcohol relapse. We believe that revising this scale with more detailed questions for alcohol-dependent liver patients and applying it to patients before transplantation will be effective in better selection for transplantation and guiding patients to appropriate therapy and thus preventing relapse after transplantation.

Adicción al tabaco y adolescencia: riesgos psicobiológicos

Tobacco use and its harmful health-related problems have become one of the largest modern preventable public health issues. Current research strongly suggests that smoking during adolescence enhances addictive smoking behaviors during life, which can be related to adolescence as a critical ontogenetic period characterized by behaviors that can increase the probability of risk-related behaviors such as sensation and novelty seeking. Adolescent development is also a period of maturation of frontal and subcortical neural systems, brain changes that underlie higher impulsivity tendencies to promote adequate learning and adaptations necessary to succeed the novel challenges of the adult life, but those changes also enhance vulnerabilities to the addictive effects of drugs. Consistent with this, tobacco use affects brain development processes which underlie long-term psychobiological alterations and the enhanced risks for tobacco addiction during adult life. Thus, the present review describes current psychobiological approaches to understand general addiction processes and tobacco addiction, highlighting the behavioral and neural short-term effects of tobacco use during adolescence and its long-term effects during adulthood. Current research has advanced on four aspects for the understanding of both the psychobiology of adolescent development and the effects of drugs of abuse during this time. The first aspect is behavioral, as adolescence is related to important changes on motivational and emotional behaviors such as sensation seeking. Other important behavioral changes are social approach, a higher variety of opportunity for personal choices, and development of personal independence. Research on a second aspect has focused on cognition. A review of research is presented showing enhanced abilities during adolescence development for reading, abstract and logical thinking, and novel problem solving. Stress reactivity is the third aspect of reviewed psychobiological mechanisms. The stress biological system undergoes important changes during adolescence, including changes on stress-related hormones and neural architecture. An important issue is that exposure to early and/or chronic stressful circumstances during adolescence could be related to higher risk to the start and maintenance of addiction states, as suggested by research assessing the disruptive effects of stress on psychobiological homeostatic processes needed to maintain stable biological and emotional regulation. The fourth aspect is psychobiology. In this section research is reviewed related to the development of monoaminergic brain circuits underlying motivation, novelty-seeking, impulsivity, and addiction processes. Using as model the previous review integration, the effects of nicotine are discussed, the essential addictive component of tobacco, on the neurochemical systems underlying tobacco addiction. Following this, important research is introduced that describes psychobiological changes during adolescence and evidence of vulnerability to addiction during this life stage. Then, current research on both short-term and long-term effects of tobacco or nicotine administration during adolescence on the brain, behavior, and cognition is introduced. The current research advances and discussions on the psychobiology of addictions in general, and tobacco addiction in particular, have been possible to a large extent from the use of animal models and preclinical research, since animal models have become crucial to identify learning, motivational, emotional, and cognitive mechanisms that underlie addictive processes, and making possible to perform experimental procedures to discover the functioning and participation of biological components. One example of such components is the cholinergic system, which is activated by nicotine and is part of the neurochemical machinery on different brain areas important for both tobacco addiction and adolescence development such as the dorsal striatum, amygdala, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. The present review and research divulgation written in Spanish are expected to clarify modern research on addiction and encourage current scientific education on the vulnerabilities and predispositions for tobacco abuse in Latin-American countries. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2023.40.1.1

Hypersexual behaviour among young adults in Germany: characteristics and personality correlates

BackgroundHypersexual behaviour (HB) is characterized by recurring unsuccessful efforts to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses that result in sexual activities and manifest in the behaviour of the concerning individual over an extended period. This study aims to describe the characterization of HB among the target group, identify personality correlates, and associations between HB and a lack of sexual education and reflection during school time.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used to survey the participants (age 18–27; n = 609) online who were recruited via a web forum for addiction selfcare, a website for casual sex dating, Facebook and the mail distribution of the University of Applied Science Nordhausen (Germany). Standardised questionnaires were used to measure the key variables in the study. The sexual behaviour (masturbation, pornography consumption, promiscuity), several personality tendencies, and retrospective information about sexual education of the participants during school time were investigated. Correlation and binomial logistic regression were used to analyse the data with HB as the outcome variable.Results10.5% (n = 64) of the participants were identified as hypersexual. The assignment to male sex, a problematic pornography consumption, and impulsive tendencies were determined as predictors of HB. Strong correlates were identified between HB and promiscuity, and impairments in important areas of life. Weak to moderate correlates comprise between HB and all investigated personality traits, and several aspects of sexual risk behaviour. No association was found between HB and a lacking sexual education during school time. The descriptive analysis revealed further sexual problems within the sample (e.g. feelings of shame and guilt, sexual risk behaviour, sexual dysfunction). Conclusion. Young adults should get more attention as a vulnerable group for the development of hypersexuality in sexual education, prevention and therapy. Regarding to its treatment, HB therefore should be considered together with its associations with sociodemographic information, personality traits, and psychosocial factors.

The Effect of Self-Control and Ease of Transactions on Impulsive Buying Tendencies

The current era of digitalization makes people shop without using cash, this can then be related to the convenience factor that can encourage consumers to behave impulsively when shopping or without planning. At the same time consumers are also faced with a situation of ability to self control, for example when they see a new product discount and so on. Such a buying process without planning or suddenly without thinking about the benefits and functions of the item or often called impulsive buying. Another factor that can encourage is the ease of transaction. The sample was taken on students, the analysis tool used multiple linear regression analysis. The results of this study show that self-control and ease of transaction affect the tendency to buy impulsively. Therefore it is important that in the future research is carried out on all factors that stimulate impulsive tendencies both externally and internally to consumers.

Exploring the impacts of implicit context association and arithmetic booster in impulsivity reduction.

People have a higher preference for immediate over delayed rewards, and it is suggested that such an impulsive tendency is governed by one’s ability to simulate future rewards. Consistent with this view, recent studies have shown that enforcing individuals to focus on episodic future thoughts reduces their impulsivity. Inspired by these reports, we hypothesized that administration of a simple cognitive task linked to future thinking might effectively modulate individuals’ delay discounting. Specifically, we used one associative memory task targeting intervention of context information, and one working memory task targeting enhancement of individual’s ability to construct a coherent future event. To measure whether each type of cognitive task reduces individuals’ impulsivity, a classic intertemporal choice task was used to quantify individuals’ baseline and post-intervention impulsivity. Across two experiments and data from 216 healthy young adult participants, we observed that the impacts of intervention tasks were inconsistent. Still, we observed a significant task repetition effect such that the participants showed more patient choices in the second impulsivity assessment. In conclusion, there was no clear evidence supporting that our suggested intervention tasks reduce individuals’ impulsivity, and that the current results call attention to the importance of taking into account task repetition effects in studying the impacts of cognitive training and intervention.

A-121 Drinking Behavior and Impulsivity in College Students

Abstract Objective: Individuals with chronic alcohol abuse have been shown to be more impulsive. Our objective in the present study was to assess drinking behavior in healthy college students and examine potential relationships between these drinking habits and impulsive behavior. Method: College students (n = 22) completed a survey about drinking behaviors, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (assessing various subscales of impulsivity), and the Color-Word Inference Test portion of the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS). The Color-Word Inference Test is a variation of the Stroop Test, testing the ability to inhibit prepotent responses. Results: We found a significant relationship (r = 0.428, p = 0.047) between total number of drinks per week (M = 5.59, SD = 5.70) and the Barratt motor impulsiveness subscale (M = 2.12, SD = 0.455). Looking for behavioral evidence of this relationship, we examined this same group with the DKEFS Color-Word Inference Test and found total number of self-corrected errors (M = 0.909, SD = 1.02) was positively associated with total number of drinks consumed per week (r = 0.446, p = 0.037). Conclusion(s): Preliminary results show a relationship between alcohol consumption and motor impulsivity. We propose that greater alcohol consumption may be an indicator that our subjects made errors on the Color-Word Inference Test due to impulsive tendencies and are then catching and correcting their errors soon after they are made. These findings are of interest considering the population examined are young and otherwise healthy college students, suggesting fairly mild but acute effects of moderately heavy alcohol consumption.

Risky Decision-Making in Schizophrenia: Examination of association between smoking, substance use and performance on the Iowa Gambling test: Pilot Study

IntroductionThere are two common hypotheses to explain such high comorbidity between nicotine dependence and schizophrenia (SZ): self-medication for decreasing psychiatric symptoms or common environmental risk factors can predispose to both nicotine dependence and other risky behaviors in SZObjectivesLittle is known about the influence of cigarette smoking comorbidities such substance use disorder (SUD), criminal history, or risky decision among patients with SZ.MethodsThe Iowa Gambling test (IGT) was administered to thirty-nine patients with SZ of whom 69% reporting cigarette smoking. Both groups were evaluated using a socio-demographic questionnaire and clinical assessment using PANSS and self-report questionnaire the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). To evaluate decision making was evaluated with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).ResultsThe full SZ sample performed worse on the IGT then normal population. Smokers with SZ performed significantly worse than nonsmokers on the IGT primarily because they preferred “disadvantageous” decks to a greater degree. The PANSS and impulsivity tendencies (BIS-11) did not predict overall performance on the IGT. Smokers with SZ had impaired affective decision-making. Behavior suggested preferential attention to the frequency amount of gain and inattention to amount of loss suggesting impairments in risk/reward decision-makingConclusionsThis study is the first to compare IGT in smokers and nonsmokers with SZ with adjustment of SUD, criminal history, and existing tattoo to further examine IGT performance. These results support the hypothesis that comorbidities between nicotine dependence and SZ can be linked to other common factor that is associated with other externalizing behaviors in SZ.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Testing the Reliability and Validity of a Chinese Version of the Attitudes Towards School Violence Questionnaire with High School Students

We tested the validity and reliability of the Attitudes Towards School Violence Questionnaire with Chinese high school students. We translated the questionnaire into Chinese and performed exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and test–retest and internal consistency reliability tests. As for the original questionnaire, the Chinese version of the Attitudes Towards School Violence Questionnaire comprises 28 items designed to measure four attitudes toward violence: that violence is a form of fun, a way to increase selfesteem, a way to solve problems, and perceived as legitimate. There were significant positive correlations among the students' attitudes toward school violence, and both their impulsive tendency and aggressive behavior. The results show that as the Chinese version of the Attitudes Towards School Violence Questionnaire had adequate psychometric properties, it can be used to assess the attitudes of Chinese high school students toward school violence.

Effects of consumer characteristics and product presentations on online apparel impulse buying

ABSTRACT In the current study, we examined three consumer characteristics (i.e. perceived hedonic value of apparel, perceived symbolic value of apparel, and impulsive apparel shopping tendency) and ten online product presentation methods (i.e. organized product displays, attractive product displays, detailed product descriptions, large images, good quality pictures, products pictured from various angles, products pictured in all available colours, images that coordinate various items, helpful size charts, and a visual model) to understand the interactions between themselves and their relationships with online apparel impulse buying. The data were collected by an online survey that involved U.S. college students of ages 18 to 22 who had purchased apparel online within the past six months, and 262 useful responses were received. The results show that perceived hedonic value and symbolic value of apparel are antecedents of impulsive apparel shopping tendency. Impulsive tendency is a predictor of online apparel impulse buying. Three of the ten product presentation methods have both significant direct effects on online apparel impulse buying and moderating effects on the relationship between impulsive tendency and impulse buying. Four presentation methods do not have significant direct effects but have significant moderating effects, making the effect of impulsive tendency on impulse buying stronger.

A latent class analysis of intermittent explosive disorder symptoms

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED), the sole diagnosis in the DSM-5 for which the cardinal symptom is recurrent affective aggressive outbursts, is a common and substantially impairing disorder. IED is also associated with several cognitive and affective impairments. However, little is known about the heterogeneity of the disorder and how this may correspond to aggression severity and related adverse outcomes. The current study employed a latent class analysis (LCA) among individuals diagnosed with lifetime DSM-5 IED to derive distinct subgroups that differed in the quality and/or frequency of cognitive-affective symptoms. These subgroups were then externally validated on a number of adverse outcomes. Statistical and clinical indicators supported a four-class model. Classes were distinguished mainly by the level of emotion dysregulation participants endorsed, with two moderate emotion dysregulation classes differing on their emotional information processing and impulsive tendencies. The external validation analysis revealed that classes differed in terms of various adverse outcomes (e.g., interpersonal problems, life satisfaction, suicide risk). Overall, the present study suggests distinct cognitiveaffective symptom profiles among those with IED that differ meaningfully with regard to risk for adverse outcomes. These findings provide evidence of the heterogeneity within IED and may suggest a more personalized therapeutic approach to patients with IED.

A Social Intervention Approach to Rehabilitate the Health Psychology of Left-behind Children with Psychological Problems in Healthcare Settings

Background: Left-behind children are more inclined to generate psychological problems relative to non-left-behind children, thus how to rehabilitate their health psychology and promote the psychological health development of this special disadvantaged group in healthcare settings should be paid more attention to. Objective: This paper attempts to present a social intervention approach and explore its impact on the rehabilitation of rural left-behind children’s psychological problems in healthcare settings. Methods: This study firstly designed a social intervention program based on the health psychology theory and the generation causes of left-behind children’s psychological problems, and then three groups were applied to test the effectiveness of the program with comparison analysis. Results: Compared with the control left-behind children (group 2), the left-behind children in the experimental group 1 had positive changes in learning anxiety, physical symptoms, anxiety about people, loneliness tendency, self-blame tendency, allergy tendency, terror tendency and impulse tendency. And their mental health can be rehabilitated to the level of non-left-behind children in group 3. Conclusion: This study revealed positive effects of specially designed social intervention program on the rehabilitation of left-behind children’s psychological problems in healthcare settings. The results have both theoretical and practical implications.

군신체검사 대상자 중 기면증이 있는 남성의 성격 특성

Objectives The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess multiphasic personality inventory results of narcolepsy affecting mental health using military personality inventory in Korea. Method We registered the 19-year-old men who visited the Military Manpower Administration from February 2010 to January 2013. Results Among demographic characteristics, both narcolepsy and control groups are 19-year-old male. Education level and socioeconomic status are higher(χ2=4.23, p=0.04 ; χ2=17.94, p=0.001) in control group. BMI is higher(t=-3.10, p=0.002) in narcolepsy group. Parents relationship showed no difference between control and narcolepsy groups(χ2=7.57, p=0.06). Among validity scales, score of faking good subscale was higher(t=4.368, p<0.001) in control group, of faking bad subscale was higher(t=-2.497, p=0.013) in narcolepsy group, of infrequency subscale showed no difference(t=-0.466, p=0.642) between control and narcolepsy groups. Among neurosis scales, the score of somatization, depression, anxiety, and personality disorder subscales were higher in narcolepsy group, respectively(t=-4.721, p<0.001 ; t=-5.189, p<0.001 ; t=-6.068, p<0.001 ; t=-2.161, p=0.032). Among psychopath scales, the score of paranoia subscale was higher in narcolepsy group(t=-2.795, p=0.006), of schizophrenia subscale showed no difference (t=-0.687, p=0.493). Conclusion According to MPI results, we suggest that narcolepsy patients are more concerned with their somatic symptoms, more depressive and anxious, have more introverted or impulsive tendency and paranoid traits.

Do emotion regulation and impulsivity differ according to gambling preferences in clinical samples of gamblers?

Background and aimsEmotion regulation (ER) and impulsivity impairments have been reported in patients with gambling disorder (GD). However, both constructs have not been studied in depth jointly in clinical samples. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze ER and impulsive tendencies/traits in a sample of n = 321 treatment-seeking individuals with GD by differentiating them according to their gambling preference (n = 100 strategic; n = 221 non-strategic). MethodsOur sample was assessed through the DERS (ER), the UPPS-P (impulsivity), and the DSM-5 (GD severity). ResultsThe non-strategic group included a higher proportion of women and reported greater ER impairments, and more impulsive traits/tendencies compared to strategic gamblers. GD severity was associated with all DERS subscale (except for awareness) and with urgency dimensions of the UPPS-P. Discussion and conclusionsOur findings confirm that strategic and non-strategic gamblers differ in their ER processes and impulsive tendencies, showing the first clinical group a more adaptive profile. These results suggest the relevance of assessing these ER and impulsivity in order to tailor better treatment approaches.

Slower adaptation of control strategies in individuals with high impulsive tendencies

Flexible use of reactive and proactive control according to environmental demands is the key to adaptive behavior. In this study, forty-eight adults performed ten blocks of an AX-CPT task to reveal the strength of proactive control by the calculation of the proactive behavioral index (PBI). They also filled out the UPPS questionnaire to assess their impulsiveness. The median-split method based on the global UPPS score distribution was used to categorize participants as having high (HI) or low (LI) impulsiveness traits. The analyses revealed that the PBI was negatively correlated with the UPPS scores, suggesting that the higher is the impulsiveness, the weaker the dominance of proactive control processes. We showed, at an individual level, that the PBI increased across blocks and suggested that this effect was due to a smaller decrease in reactive control processes. Notably, the PBI increase was slower in the HI group than in the LI group. Moreover, participants who did not adapt to task demands were all characterized as high impulsive. Overall, the current study demonstrates that (1) impulsiveness is associated with less dominant proactive control due to (2) slower adaptation to task demands (3) driven by a stronger reliance on reactive processes. These findings are discussed in regards to pathological populations.

Borderline Personality Disorder with Paranoid Features

This paper aims to evaluate the current and dynamic profile of a 19-year-old with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) with paranoid features. The case allows us to detect how the symptoms associated with BPD evolve on a background of poor management of potentially stressful events. There is a Borderline personality structure with obvious paranoid features, which pushes the patient into dysfunctional behaviors, aggressive acts and suicidal tendencies, the patient's instability, chaotic sexuality, addictive and self-harming behavior being observed. There are elements specific to an antisocial personality with narcissistic notes, which highlight impulsive and manipulative tendencies, accompanied by recurrent conflicts and delinquency. The clinical picture of axis II pathology is highlighted, an accentuated aspect being represented by the deficient defense mechanisms, which prevent the integration of the events in an adequate way. Considering the patient's self-destructive behaviors, impulsiveness, and multiple addictions, in the absence of appropriate treatment, psychotherapy, and/or pharmacological treatment, several future complications may occur, including risks of future problems with the law, self-destructive behaviors, and suicide attempts.

Rethinking Cell Phone Use While Driving: Isolated Risk Behavior or a Pattern of Risk-Taking Associated with Impulsivity in Young Drivers?

This study examines whether cell phone use stands apart from a general pattern of risky driving practices associated with crashes and impulsivity-related personality traits in young drivers. A retrospective online survey study recruited 384 young drivers from across the United States using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to complete a survey measuring risky driving practices (including cell phone use), history of crashes, and impulsivity-related personality traits. Almost half (44.5%) of the drivers reported being involved in at least one crash, and the majority engaged in cell phone use while driving (up to 73%). Factor analysis and structural equation modeling found that cell phone use loaded highly on a latent factor with other risky driving practices that were associated with prior crashes (b = 0.15, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.29]). There was also an indirect relationship between one form of impulsivity and crashes through risky driving (b = 0.127, [95% CI: 0.01, 0.30]). Additional analyses did not find an independent contribution to crashes for frequent cell phone use. These results suggest a pattern of risky driving practices associated with impulsivity in young drivers, indicating the benefit of exploring a more comprehensive safe driving strategy that includes the avoidance of cell phone use as well as other risky practices, particularly for young drivers with greater impulsive tendencies.

Personality traits and their clinical associations in trichotillomania and skin picking disorder

BackgroundDespite being discussed in the psychiatric literature for decades, very little is known about personality features associated with trichotillomania and skin picking disorder (known as body focused repetitive behavior disorders, BFRBs); and the contribution of personality traits to their clinical presentations.AimThe present study assessed personality traits in a large and well-characterized sample of adults with either trichotillomania or skin picking disorder or both.MethodsAdults (n = 98, aged 18–65 years), with trichotillomania (n = 37), skin picking disorder (n = 32), both trichotillomania and skin picking disorder (n = 10), and controls (n = 19) were enrolled. Participants completed self-report questionnaires to quantify personality (NEO Personality Inventory), as well as extent/severity of picking/pulling symptoms, mood and anxiety, impulsive and perfectionistic tendencies, and neurocognitive functioning. Group differences were characterized and correlations with other measures were examined.ResultsIn comparison to controls, BFRBs had elevated neuroticism scores (p < 0.001), lower extraversion scores (p = 0.023), and lower conscientiousness scores (p = 0.007). Neuroticism was significantly related to both hair pulling (r = 0.24, p < 0.001) and skin picking severity (r = 0.48, p < 0.001), as well as elevated perceived stress, worse anxiety and depressive symptoms, and poorer quality of life. Introversion (i.e. lower extraversion) was significantly associated with worse picking severity, higher perceived stress, and higher depression. Lack of conscientiousness was significantly associated with more depression, impulsivity, and perceived stress.DiscussionPersonality traits of neuroticism, introversion, and lack of conscientiousness are heightened in individuals with BFRBs and show strong associations with a number of clinically relevant features of illness. The holistic understanding and treatment of these disorders is likely to require consideration of dimensional traits such as these.

Examination of the SUPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale among Male and Female Youth: Psychometrics and Invariance

The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale is one of the most used and easily administered self-report measures of impulsive traits. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the shorter SUPPS-P scale among a school sample of 470 youth (Mage = 15.89 years, SD = 1.00) from Portugal, subdivided into males (n = 257, Mage = 15.97 years, SD = 0.98) and females (n = 213, Mage = 15.79 years, SD = 1.03). Confirmatory factor analysis results revealed that the latent five-factor structure (i.e., Negative urgency, Lack of perseverance, Lack of premeditation, Sensation seeking, and Positive urgency) obtained adequate fit and strong measurement invariance demonstrated across sex. The SUPPS-P scale also demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency, discriminant and convergent (e.g., with measures of youth delinquency, aggression) validities, and criterion-related validity (e.g., with crime seriousness). Findings support the use of the SUPPS-P scale in youth. Given the importance of adolescence as a critical period characterized by increases in impulsive behaviors, having a short, valid, reliable, and easily administered assessment of impulsive tendencies is important and clinically impactful.

The cognitive and perceptual correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach.

Although human existence is enveloped by ideologies, remarkably little is understood about the relationships between ideological attitudes and psychological traits. Even less is known about how cognitive dispositions—individual differences in how information is perceived and processed— sculpt individuals' ideological worldviews, proclivities for extremist beliefs and resistance (or receptivity) to evidence. Using an unprecedented number of cognitive tasks (n = 37) and personality surveys (n = 22), along with data-driven analyses including drift-diffusion and Bayesian modelling, we uncovered the specific psychological signatures of political, nationalistic, religious and dogmatic beliefs. Cognitive and personality assessments consistently outperformed demographic predictors in accounting for individual differences in ideological preferences by 4 to 15-fold. Furthermore, data-driven analyses revealed that individuals’ ideological attitudes mirrored their cognitive decision-making strategies. Conservatism and nationalism were related to greater caution in perceptual decision-making tasks and to reduced strategic information processing, while dogmatism was associated with slower evidence accumulation and impulsive tendencies. Religiosity was implicated in heightened agreeableness and risk perception. Extreme pro-group attitudes, including violence endorsement against outgroups, were linked to poorer working memory, slower perceptual strategies, and tendencies towards impulsivity and sensation-seeking—reflecting overlaps with the psychological profiles of conservatism and dogmatism. Cognitive and personality signatures were also generated for ideologies such as authoritarianism, system justification, social dominance orientation, patriotism and receptivity to evidence or alternative viewpoints; elucidating their underpinnings and highlighting avenues for future research. Together these findings suggest that ideological worldviews may be reflective of low-level perceptual and cognitive functions.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

Inhibitory Control and Craving in Dual Disorders and Recurrent Substance Use. Preliminary Findings

Objective: In Dual Disorders (DD), which involves the co-occurrence of a disorder in substance use and a mental disorder, recurrent struggles with addictive behavior are frequent. Neuropsychological knowledge concerning the profile of inhibitory control and the irresistible urge to use substances (craving) within the DD patient group may contribute to the prevention of this recurrent addictive behavior.Methods: Inhibitory control and craving were assessed in 25 patients with DD and 25 healthy controls (HC). Inhibitory control tasks (Go/No-go task and Stop Signal Task) were performed combined with brain measurements (Event Related Potentials) mapping inhibitory control. Moreover, implicit and explicit measures concerning craving were administered. Statistical DD and HC comparisons, correlational and regression analyses on exploratory base were conducted.Results: DD patients committed more inhibitory control errors than HC when confronted with (alcohol) consumption-related picture stimuli. Furthermore, patients with DD showed higher levels of implicit and explicit craving. The number of inhibitory control errors was positively related to levels of implicit and explicit craving. Moreover, explicit craving and impulsivity (as a dimension of inhibitory control) predicted the severity of addictive behavior. Event Related Potential analyses did not show differences in inhibitory control-associated brain activity between DD patients and HC; both groups showed reduction of P300 amplitudes in response to alcohol pictures.Conclusions: Impulsivity and craving are elevated in DD patients and show predictive value for the severity of addictive behavior. One's level of impulsive action tendency may trigger less effort to control (recurrent) substance use. The findings may contribute to existing DD treatment indications by the promotion of impulse control training via “stop-think-act” methods for DD patients.