Does impulsivity influence performance in reasoning?

The influence of impulsivity on reasoning was investigated in a sample of 108 high school and university students. Impulsivity was represented by the PRF Impulsivity Scale [Jackson, D. N. (1974). Manual for the Personality Research Form (2nd ed.). Goshen: Research Psychologists Press.], the MMPI Impulsivity Scale [Gough, H. G. (1957). California psychological inventory manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.] and the FPI Impulsiveness Scale [Fahrenberg, J., Hampel, R., & Selg, H. (1994). Das Freiburger Person-lichkeitsinventar FPI. 6. Aufl. Gottingen: Hogrefe.]. Reasoning was measured by the Figural Reasoning Scale (Horn, W., 1983) and the Numeric/Alphabetical Reasoning Scale [Horn, W. (1983). Leistungs-Pruf-System. Gottingen: Hogrefe.]. Furthermore, measures of neuroticism, extraversion, achievement orientation and surgency were applied. Substantial negative correlations of reasoning with impulsivity and neuroticism were observed. Structural equation modeling was applied to predict reasoning by means of an impulsivity composite. A path coefficient of -0.33 was observed. This result suggests the interpretation that a high degree of impulsivity impairs performance in completing reasoning tasks. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.