The current study utilizes the parametric go/no-go task (PGNG), a task that examines changes in inhibitory performance as executive function load increases, to examine the link between psychopathic traits, impulsivity, and response inhibition in a cohort of healthy participants. The results show that as executive function load increased, inhibitory ability decreased. High scores on the Cognitive Complexity subscale of the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS–11) predict poor inhibitory ability in the PGNG. Similarly, high scores on the Psychopathy Personality Inventory–Revised (PPI–R) Blame Externalization subscale predict response inhibition deficits in the PGNG, which loads more on the executive functions than the standard go/no-go task. The remaining BIS–11 as well as PPI–R subscales did not interact with inhibitory performance in the PGNG highlighting the specificity of associations between aspects of personality and impulsivity with inhibitory performance as cognitive load is increased. These data point towards the sensitivity of the PGNG in studying response inhibition in the context of highly impulsive populations and its utility as a measure of impulsivity.
AldersonR. M., RapportM. D., & KoflerM. J. (2007). Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity disorder and behavioral inhibition: A meta-analytic review of the stop-signal paradigm. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 745–758.
2.
AltshulerL. L., BookheimerS. Y., TownsendJ., ProenzaM. A., EisenbergerN., SabbF., … CohenM. S. (2005). Blunted activation in orbitofrontal cortex during mania: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Biological Psychiatry, 58, 763–769.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
BaddeleyA. D. (1996). Exploring the central executive. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 49, 5–28.
5.
BaddeleyA. D., & HitchG. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 8, 47–89.
6.
BaddeleyA. D., & LogieR. H. (1999). Working memory: The multiple-component model. In MiyakeA. & ShahP. (Eds.), Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control (pp. 28–61). New York: Cambridge University Press.
7.
BarkleyR. A. (1997). ADHD and the nature of self-control. New York: Guilford.
8.
BergJ. M., HechtL. K., LatzmanR. D., & LilienfeldS. O. (2015). Examining the correlates of the coldheartedness factor of the psychopathic personality inventory-revised. Psychological Assessment, 27, 1494–1499.
9.
BrainardD. H. (1997). The psychophysics toolbox. Spatial Vision, 10, 433–436.
10.
CarlsonS. R., PritchardA. A., & DominelliR. M. (2013). Externalizing behavior, the UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale and reward and punishment sensitivity. Personality and Individual Difference, 54, 202–207.
11.
CarlsonS. R., & ThaiS. (2010). ERPs on a continuous performance task and self-reported psychopathic traits: P3 and CNV augmentations are associated with fearless dominance. Biological Psychology, 85, 318–330.
12.
ClarkD. B., CorneliusJ. R., KirisciL., & TarterR. E. (2005). Childhood risk categories for adolescent substance involvement: A general liability typology. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 77, 13–21.
13.
ConwayA. R. A., & EngleR. W. (1994). Working memory and retrieval: A resource-dependent inhibition model. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 123, 354–373.
14.
DeLisiM., AngtonA., VaughnM. G., TrulsonC. R., CaudillJ. W., & BeaverK. M. (2014). Not My fault: Blame externalization is the psychopathic feature most associated With pathological delinquency Among confined delinquents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 58, 1415–1430.
15.
DeYoungC. (2010). Impulsivity as a personality trait. In VohsK. D. & BaumeisterR. F. (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (2nd ed., pp. 485–502). New York: Guilford Press.
16.
DrislaneL. E., PatrickC. J., & ArsalG. (2014). Clarifying the content coverage of differing psychopathy inventories through reference to the Triarchic psychopathy measure. Psychological Assessment, 26, 350–362.
17.
DuchekJ. M., BalotaD. A., TseC.-S., HoltzmanD. M., FaganA. M., & GoateA. M. (2009). The utility of intraindividual variability in selective attention tasks as an early marker for Alzheimer's disease. Neuropsychology, 23, 746–758.
18.
DuncanJ., JohnsonR., SwalesM., & FreerC. (1997). Frontal lobe deficits after head injury: Unity and diversity of function. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 14, 713–741.
19.
EdensJ. F., MarcusD. K., LilienfeldS. O., & PoythressN. G.Jr (2006). Psychopathic, not psychopath: Taxometric evidence for the dimensional structure of psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 131–144.
20.
EfronB., & TibshiraniR. (1993). An introduction to the bootstrap. New York, NY: Chapman and Hall.
21.
ElliottR., OgilvieA., RubinszteinJ. S., CalderonG., DolanR. J., & ShakianB. J. (2004). Abnormal ventral frontal response during performance of an affective Go/No Go task in patients with Mania. Biological Psychiatry, 55, 1163–1170.
22.
EngleR. W., & KaneM. J. (2004). Executive attention, working memory capacity, and a two-factor theory of cognitive control. In RossB. (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 145–199). New York: Academic Press.
23.
EriksenB. A., & EriksenC. W. (1974). Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Perception and Psychophysics, 16, 143–149.
24.
FeilhauerJ., CimaM., KorebritsA., & KunertH. J. (2012). Differential associations between psychopathy dimensions, types of aggression, and response inhibition. Aggressive Behavior, 38, 77–88.
25.
FosterH. G., HillbrandM., & SilversteinM. (1993). Neuropsychological deficit and aggressive behaviour: A prospective study.Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 17, 939–946.
26.
FriedmanN. P., MiyakeA., YoungS. E., DeFriesJ. C., CorleyR. P., & HewittJ. K. (2008). Individual differences in executive functions are almost entirely genetic in origin. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137, 201–225.
27.
GiancolaP. R., MezzichA. C., & TarterR. E. (1998). Discruptive, delinquent and aggressive behavior in female adolescents with a psychoactive substance Use disorder: Relation to executive cognitive functioning. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 59, 560–567.
28.
GielK. E., WittorfA., WolkensteinL., KlingbergS., DrimmerE., SchoennbergM., … ZipfelS. (2012). Is impaired set-shifting a feature of “pure” anorexia nervosa? Investigating the role of depression in set-shifting ability in anorexia nervosa and unipolar depression. Psychiatry Research, 200, 538–543.
29.
GruberS., RathgeberK., BraeunigP., & GauggelS. (2007). Stability and course of neuropsychological deficits in manic and depressed bipolar patients compared to patients with major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 104, 61–71.
30.
HareR. D. (1991). The Hare psychopathy checklist-revised (PCL-R). Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.
31.
HareR. D. (2003). The Hare psychopathy checklist-revised (PCL-R) (2nd ed.). Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.
32.
HartS. D., & DempsterR. J. (1997). Impulsivity and psychopathy. In WebsterC. D. & JacksonM. A. (Eds.), Impulsivity: Theory, assessment and treatment (pp. 212–232). New York: The Guilford Press.
33.
HuizengaH. M., van BersB. M., PlatJ., van den WildenbergW. P., & van der MolenM. W. (2009). Task complexity enhances response inhibition deficits in childhood and adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-regression analysis. Biological Psychiatry, 65, 39–45.
34.
KaladjianA., JeanningrosR., AzorinJ.-M., NazarianB., RothM., AntonJ.-L., & Mazzola-PomiettoP. (2009a). Remission from mania is associated with a decrease in amygdala activation during motor response inhibition. Bipolar Disorders, 11, 530–538.
35.
KaladjianA., JeanningrosR., AzorinJ.-M., NazarianB., RothM., & Mazzola-PomiettoP. (2009b). Reduced brain activation in euthymic bipolar patients during response inhibition: An event-related fMRI study. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 173, 45–51.
36.
KassR. E., & RafteryA. E. (1995). Bayes factors. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90, 773–795.
37.
KeilpJ. G., SackheimH. A., & MannJ. J. (2005). Correlates of trait impulsiveness in performance measures and neuropsychological tests. Psychiatry Research, 135, 191–201.
38.
KimY. Y., & JungY. S. (2014). Reduced frontal activity during response inhibition in individuals with psychopathic traits: An sLORETA study. Biological Psychology, 97, 49–59.
39.
KimonisE. R., FrickP. J., BorisN. W., SmykeA. T., CornellA. H., FarrellJ. M., & ZeanahC. H. (2006). Callous-unemotional features, behavioral inhibition, and parenting: Independent predictors of aggression in a high-risk preschool sample. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15, 741–752.
40.
KingJ. A., CollaM., BrassM., HeuserI., & von CramonD. Y. (2007). Inefficient cognitive control in adult ADHD: Evidence from trial-by-trial Stroop test and cued task switching performance. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 3, 42. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-3-42
41.
KirisciL., TarterR., MezzichA., & VanyukovM. (2007). Developmental trajectory classes in substance use disorder etiology. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 21, 287–296.
42.
KleinerM., BrainardD., & PelliD. (2007). “What's new in Psychtoolbox-3?” Perception, 36, ECVP Abstract Supplement.
43.
KnyazevG. G., & SlobodskayaH. R. (2006). Personality types and behavioural activation and inhibition in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 1385–1395.
44.
LangeneckerS. A., BieliauskasL. A., RapportL. J., ZubietaJ.-K., WildeE. A., & BerentS. (2005). Face emotion perception and executive functioning deficits in depression. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 27, 320–333.
45.
LangeneckerS. A., BricenoE. M., HamidN. M., & NielsonK. A. (2007). An evaluation of distinct volumetric and functional MRI contributions towards understanding age and task performance: A study in the basal ganglia. Brain Research, 1135, 58–68.
46.
LangeneckerS. A., KennedyS. E., GuidottiL. M., BricenoE. M., OwnL. S., HoovenT., … ZubietaJ.-K. (2007). Frontal and limbic activation during inhibitory control predicts treatment response in major depressive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 62, 1272–1280.
47.
LangeneckerS. A., SaundersE. F. H., KadeA. M., RansomM. T., & McInnisM. G. (2010). Intermediate: Cognitive phenotypes in bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 122, 285–293.
48.
LangeneckerS. A., ZubietaJ.-K., YoungE. A., AkilH., & NielsonK. A. (2007). A task to manipulate attentional load, set-shifting, and inhibitory control: Convergent validity and test-retest reliability of the parametric Go/No-Go test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 29, 842–853.
49.
LejuezC. W., AklinW. M., ZvolenskyM. J., & PedullaC. M. (2003). Evaluation of the balloon analogue risk task (BART) as a predictor of adolescent real-world risk-taking behaviours. Journal of Adolescence, 26, 475–479.
50.
LilienfeldS. O., & AndrewsB. P. (1996). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66, 488–524.
51.
LilienfeldS. O., & WidowsM. R. (2005). Psychopathic personality inventory revised: Professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
52.
LoganG. D., & CowanW. B. (1984). On the ability to inhibit thought and action: A theory of an act of control. Psychological Review, 91, 295–327.
53.
LoganG. D., CowanW. B., & DavisK. A. (1984). On the ability to inhibit simple and choice reaction time responses: A model and a method.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 10, 276–291.
54.
LosierB. J., McGrathP. J., & KleinR. M. (1996). Error patterns on the continuous performance test in Non-medicated and medicated samples of children with and without ADHD: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 37, 971–987.
55.
LynamD. R., & MillerJ. D. (2004). Personality pathways to impulsive behaviour and their relations to deviance: Results from three samples. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 20, 319–341.
56.
MattisS., PapolosD., LuckD., CockerhamM., & ThodeH. C.Jr. (2011). Neuropsychological factors differentiating treated children with pediatric bipolar disorder from those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 33, 74–84.
57.
McCabeD. P., RoedigerH. L.III, McDanielM. A., BalotaD. A., & HambrickD. Z. (2010). The relationship between working memory capacity and executive functioning: Evidence for a common executive attention construct. Neuropsychology, 24, 222–243.
58.
McDonaldR. P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
59.
MiyakeA., FriedmanN. P., EmersonM. J., WitzkiA. H., HowerterA., & WagerT. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “Frontal Lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100.
60.
MiyakeA., FriedmanN. P., RettingerD. A., ShahP., & HegartyM. (2001). How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130, 621–640.
61.
MorganJ. E., GrayN. S., & SnowdenR. J. (2011). The relationship between psychopathy and impulsivity: A mutli-impulsivity measurement approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 429–434.
62.
MullaneJ. C., CorkumP. V., KleinR. M., & McLaughlinE. (2009). Interference control in children with and without ADHD: A systematic review of Flanker and Simon task performance. A Journal on Normal and Abnormal Development in Childhood and Adolescence, 15, 321–342.
63.
NajtP., GlahnD., BeardenC. E., HatchJ. P., MonkulE. S., KaurS., … SoaresJ. C. (2005). Attention deficits in bipolar disorder: A comparison based on the continuous performance test. Neuroscience Letters, 379, 122–126.
64.
NajtP., PerezJ., SanchesM., PelusoM. A. M., GlahnD., & SoaresJ. C. (2007). Impulsivity and bipolar disorder. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 17, 313–320.
65.
NiggJ. T., WongM. M., MartelM. M., JesterJ. M., PuttlerL. I., GlassJ. M., … ZuckerR. A. (2006). Poor response inhibition as a predictor of problem drinking and illicit drug use in adolescents at risk for alcoholism and other substance use disorders. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 468–475.
66.
PatinoL. R., AdlerC. M., MillsN. P., StrakowskiS. M., FleckD. E., WelgeJ. A., & DelBelloM. P. (2013). Conflict monitoring and adaption in individuals at familial risk for developing bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 15, 264–271.
67.
PattonJ. H., StanfordM. S., & BarrattE. S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt impulsiveness scale.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768–774.
68.
PelliD. G. (1997). The VideoToolbox software for visual psychophysics: Transforming numbers into movies. Spatial Vision, 10, 437–442.
69.
PlewniaC., ZwisslerB., LaengstI., MaurerB., GielK., & KruegerR. (2013). Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on executive functions: Influence of COMT Val/Met polymorphism. Cortex, 49, 1801–1087.
70.
R Core Team. (2015). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Retrieved from https://www.R-project.org/.
71.
ReidR. C., CydersM. A., MoghaddamJ. F., & FongT. W. (2014). Psychometric properties of the Barratt impulsiveness scale in patients with gambling disorders, hypersexuality, and methamphetamine dependence. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 1640–1645.
72.
ReiseS. P., MooreT. M., SabbF. W., BrownA. K., & LondonE. D. (2013). The Barratt impulsiveness scale–11: Reassessment of its structure in a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 25, 631–642.
73.
ReynoldsB., OrtengrenA., RichardsJ. B., & de WitH. (2006). Dimensions of impulsive behaviour: Personality and behavioural measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 305–315.
74.
RyanK. A., VedermanA. C., McFaddenE. M., WeldonA. L., KamaliM., LangeneckerS. A., & McInnidM. G. (2012). Differential executive functioning performance by phase of bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 14, 527–536.
75.
SadehN., & VeronaE. (2008). Psychopathic personality traits associated with abnormal selective attention and impaired cognitive control. Neuropsychology, 22, 669–680.
76.
SandovalA. M. R., HancockD., PoythressN., EdensJ. F., & LilienfeldS. (2000). Construct validity of the psychopathic personality inventory in a correctional sample. Journal of Personality Assessment, 74, 262–281.
77.
SchacharR., & LoganG. D. (1990). Impulsivity and inhibitory control m normal development and child psychopathology. Developmental Psychology, 26, 710–720.
78.
SharmaL., MarkonK. E., & ClarkL. A. (2013). Toward a theory of distinct types of “Impulsive” behaviors: A meta-analysis of self-report and behavioral measures. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 374–408.
79.
SmithE. E., & JonidesJ. (1999). Storage and executive processes in the frontal lobes. Science, 283, 1657–1661.
80.
SnowdenR. J., & GrayN. S. (2011). Impulsivity and psychopathy: Associations between the Barrett impulsivity scale and the psychopathy checklist revised. Psychiatry Research, 187, 414–417.
81.
SpinellaM. (2004). Neurobehavioral correlates of impulsivity: Evidence of prefrontal involvement. International Journal of Neuroscience, 114, 95–104.
82.
StanfordM. S., MathiasC. W., DoughertyD. M., LakeS. L., AndersonN. E., & PattonJ. H. (2009). Fifty years of the Barratt impulsiveness scale: An update and review. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 385–395.
83.
StrakowskiS. M., AdlerC. M., CerulloA., EliassenJ. C., LamyM., FleckD. E., … DelBelloM. P. (2008). Magnetic resonance imaging brain activation in first-episode bipolar mania during a response inhibition task. Early Intervention in Psychiatry, 2, 225–233.
84.
StrakowskiS. M., FleckD. E., DelBelloM. P., AdlerC. M., ShearP. K., KotwalR., & ArndtS. (2010). Impulsivity across the course of bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 12, 285–297.
85.
StroopJ. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662.
VaurioR. G., SimmondsD. J., & MostofskyS. H. (2009). Increased intra-individual reaction time variability in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder across response inhibition tasks with different cognitive demands. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2389–2396.
88.
Vigil-ColetA., & Codorniu-RagaM. J. (2004). Aggression and inhibition deficits, the role of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1431–1440.
89.
VotrubaK. L., & LangeneckerS. A. (2013). Factor structure, construct validity, and age- and education-based normative data for the parametric Go/No-Go test. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 35, 132–146.
90.
WaltersG. D., GrayN. S., JacksonR. L., SewellK. W., RogersR., TaylorJ., & SnowdenR. J. (2007). A taxometric analysis of the psychopathy checklist: Screening version (PCL: SV): Further evidence of dimensionality. Psychological Assessment, 19, 330–339.
Welander-VatnA. S., JensenJ., LyckeC., AgartzI., ServerA., GadmarO. B., … AndreassenO. A. (2009). No altered dorsal anterior cingulate activation in bipolar II disorder patients during a Go/No-go task: An fMRI study. Bipolar Disorders, 11, 270–279.
93.
WessaM., HouenouJ., Paillere-MartinotM.-L., BerthozS., ArtigesE., LeboyerM., & MartinotJ.-L. (2007). Fronto-striatal overactivation in euthymic bipolar patients during an emotional GO/NOGO task. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 638–646.
94.
WhitesideS. P., & LynamD. R. (2001). The five factor model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 669–689.
95.
WongI. Y., MaharD., TitchenerK., & FreemanJ. (2013). The impact of anxiety on processing efficiency: Implications for the attentional control theory. The Open Behavioral Science Journal, 7, 7–15.
