After viewing the motivation lecture slides titled, "Impulsivity & Control," it really made me think about how many people act on impulse and what causes it. For example, in one of the slides, Justin Bieber is driving recklessly through a NFL star's neighborhood. Sure, he must have had an awesome time doing that, but he definitely was not thinking straight, or just did not care about any negative consequences. There are four dimensions of impulsivity. One is urgency, which is someone wanting something now, so you act quickly to get it, not thinking about negative consequences. Another is Lack of Premeditation, not thinking about the future carefully. Lack of Perseverance, acting without discipline, following through poorly, giving up easily. Lastly, Sensation Seeking, which is craving excitement, and feeling the need to be risky with your actions (Propst, 2001). All in all, there are many people, including myself, who are guilty of taking part in some kind of risky action without completely thinking it over. It all comes down to mind over mood.
Propst, Stephen. Mind over mood: Acting on impulse. Retrieved from:
http://www.bphope.com/Item.aspx/693/mind-over-mood-acting-on-impulse
I just wrote a post about impulsivity too! Mine was concentrated on alcohol use so I am going to relate m post to what you are saying: I believe that we drink alcohol out of urgency. We want to feel pleasure now instead of thinking of the consequence of a hangover the next day! Good post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Most of the time children do things and say things with out thinking them through, simply out of impulse. Adults a lot of the time have the same problem and do things like Justin Bieber had done. Who in their right mind would drive in a development where there are children that could potentially get hurt. I am guilty on going off impulse when I am angry about something. Sometimes when I arguer with my boyfriend I will say something I do not mean because I did not think my thoughts through I just went on impulse. You made great points and agreements!
ReplyDeleteTo add another dimension to the specific example of impulsivity displayed by Justin Bieber, the history of severely diminished consequences for the rich and famous have created a culture where punishers do not exist as they do for the average person. Throughout the last century examples of this were seen in many high-profile people from politicians (Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick tragedy) to pro-athletes (OJ Simpson murder trial). As we further the ability to provide instant gratification in this century, the opportunities for reckless impulsivity only increase.
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