Contexte. Une hypothèse développementale suggère que l’effet de la mémoire de travail sur la consommation de substances pourrait être médié par l’impulsivité à l’adolescence. Cependant, ces liens développementaux n’ont pas été examinés dès l’enfance pour prédire la consommation de substances à travers l’adolescence. Objectifs. L’étude visait à examiner les associations bidirectionnelles entre l’impulsivité et la mémoire de travail à 7, 14, 15 et 16 ans ainsi que la consommation de substances entre 14 et 16 ans. Méthode. Des analyses à décalages croisés ont porté sur 211 participants suivis annuellement depuis l’âge de 5 mois. La mémoire de travail a été mesurée par le Self-Ordered Pointing Task (ainsi que par son équivalent pour enfant) tandis que l’impulsivité et la consommation de substances ont été mesurées par des questionnaires. Résultats. La mémoire de travail à 7 ans permet de prédire faiblement mais positivement la consommation de cannabis à 14 ans et prédit négativement la consommation d’alcool à 14 ans mais seulement chez les garçons. Une relation positive entre l’impulsivité à 7 ans et la consommation de substances est spécifique à l’alcool. La consommation d’alcool et de cannabis à 14 ans prédit le changement de niveau d’impulsivité un an plus tard. Finalement, l’impulsivité ne médie pas la relation entre la mémoire de travail et la consommation de substances. Conclusion. Une composante cognitive ciblant la mémoire de travail, et ce dès l’enfance, pourrait être examinée comme complément aux interventions existantes et portant sur l’impulsivité pour mieux prévenir la consommation de substances à l’adolescence. / Background. A developmental hypothesis suggests the effect of working memory on substance use could be mediated by impulsivity in adolescence. However, these developmental associations between working memory and impulsivity have not been examined from childhood to predict substance use throughout adolescence. Objective. This study examined the bidirectionnal associations between impulsivity and working memory at ages 7, 14, 15 and 16 years old and substance use between ages 14 and 16 years old. Method. Cross-lagged analyses including 211 participants, followed annually since they were 5 months, were conducted. Working memory was measured by the Self-Ordered Pointing Task (and its equivalent for children) whereas impulsivity and substance use were measured by questionnaires. Results. Working memory at 7 years old predicted cannabis use at 14 years old weakly but positively, and alcohol use at 14 years negatively in boys. A positive association between impulsivity at 7 and substance use was specific to alcohol use frequency. Alcohol and cannabis use at age 14 years predicted change in impulsivity the following year. Finally, impulsivity did not mediate the association between working memory and substance use. Conclusion. A cognitive component targeting working memory in childhood could be examined as a complement of current interventions on impulsivity to better prevent substance use in adolescence.

A large body of research implies that modern human behaviour threatens various life – sustaining resources. The excessive consumption patterns of resources by humans has been identified as one of the main causes of the environmental crisis. Automatic and unconscious decision-making behaviours have become deeply internalized among individuals, resulting in unsustainable and unnecessary consumption patterns. Emerging literature has begun to explore the concept of mindfulness in relation to sustainable consumption, and reports on a positive relation to lower ecological footprints, connectedness to nature and sustainable consumption patterns. This particular study builds upon existing empirical findings and addresses the relationship between mindfulness, impulsivity and consumption. An extensive literature review and primary data collection method based on a convenience sample, were used as methodological approaches for this study. Based on the data gathered through an online questionnaire, the study finds that mindfulness has a negative relation to impulsive buying behaviour, suggesting a decrease in impulsive consumption among individuals with a higher level of mindfulness. Contrary to existing research, this study found no significant relation between mindfulness and pro-environmental behaviour. However, there are several limitations to this study due to method bias, measurement issues as well as due to the format of the questionnaire approach, that need to be considered when discussing the findings. Overall, this research indicated that by tapping into mindfulness, individuals may become less vulnerable to automatic processing, helping to break routines and make consumers become more aware of negative effects of consumption choices. This paper recommends continued research and suggests possible future pathways.

Current therapeutic treatment methods are ineffective in identifying at-risk sex offenders and reducing recidivism of known offenders, likely due to inadequate identification of specific traits of sex offenders. Previous research and prominent theories in the area of sex offender treatment, in terms of the biological foundation of substance abuse, behaviors of sex offenders, and the presence of aggression, helped to guide this research. Data about sex offenders were collected, as reported by mental health professionals who treat them and focused on three characteristics: maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, impulsivity, and antisocial behaviors, on which the research questions were formed to detect commonality. For this study, a phenomenological approach was chosen through a qualitative design and an 11-item open-ended questionnaire was developed with which 11 mental health professionals who treated sex offenders were interviewed. The audio was transcribed, the text was coded into the themes of the research questions, and the data was analyzed for commonality. The results indicate that all three traits in the research questions are common among sex offenders. The results of this research added to the framework of understanding of common behaviors among sex offenders and to positive social change by providing a clearer understanding of the three targeted behaviors. The information gathered from this qualitative research will guide larger-scale quantitative studies on the sex offender population, ultimately assisting sex offender treatment providers and forensic interviewers with more rapid identification of traits specific to sex offenders.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Impulsivity, or the tendency to act prematurely without foresight, has been linked to a diverse range of pathological conditions. Foresight refers to the ability to envision future rewards and events (i.e. prospectively sample) and has been associated with decreased impulsivity. One form of impulsivity is measured by the ability to delay gratification and is often studied in the framework of Delay Discounting (DD). DD provides the means to study impulsivity in a number of pathological conditions. However, whether impulsivity precedes the development of pathological states or results from the pathological state itself is not fully understood. This necessitates an understanding of neurobiological mechanisms contributing to decision making in both non-impulsive as well as impulsive populations of individuals. Animal models allow invasive techniques to be used to dissect the neurocircuitry involved in decision making. Given that the decision-making process is an ongoing process rather than an isolated event, optogenetics provide the temporal and spatial specificity necessary for evaluating brain region specific contributions to decision making in DD. In the present study, optogenetics were used to assess the contribution of the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), a brain region involved in ‘goal-directed’ behavior, in the planning of future choices (i.e. prospective plans) and subsequent measures of impulsivity in an adjusting amount DD procedure. Optogenetic inhibition of mPFC was conducted in Wistar rats during different epochs of a DD task in order to assess how mPFC affects planning behavior in a population of rat not considered to be highly impulsive. Although no direct effects on planning behavior (e.g. consistency) were observed, inhibiting mPFC after a trial has been initiated and directly before a choice was made (Epoch 2) was observed to increase measures of impulsivity in comparison to days where no optogenetic manipulation occurred in a delay-specific manner. This suggests that mPFC differentially contributes to decision making at different delays. A pattern of associations between choice latency, impulsivity, and consistency began to emerge for inactivation occurring in Epoch 2, suggesting that mPFC contributes to some aspect of planning choices during this epoch. Moreover, these results indicate that mPFC is involved in decision making in Wistar Rats. Understanding the direct role that mPFC plays in promoting choices of delayed rewards provides a neurobiological target for treatment aimed at reducing impulsivity in the clinical population.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Aim: The goals of the current studies were to (a) create a measure of affective traits that can assess both the discrete and the underlying dimensions of affective traits and (b) examine the reliability and validity of the scale in two independent samples. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students at a large, public US mid-western university (Study 1 N = 616; Study 2 N = 510). The mean age for Study 1 was 21.10 (SD = 5.05) and 21.02 for Study 2 (SD = 4.96). Design: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine internal factor structure of the scale. A series of correlational, reliability, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity of the new scale. Findings: Activation-Valence Affective Traits Survey (AVATS) had good reliability and adequate construct, convergent, and discriminant validity as a measure of affective traits. Conclusions: This study introduces a new scale for measuring affective traits that offers more information on both the categorical and dimensional conceptualizations of affective traits, which also has predictive utility in relation to problem-related alcohol consumption.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Sexting, defined as the exchange of sexually explicit materials via the Internet or mobile phones, is an increasingly common risky behavior; however, little is known about why people sext. The goals of the study were to (1) review the sparse literature on sexting, (2) identify key information yet to be answered by the current literature, (3) describe how personality and social learning might influence the risk for sexting, (4) empirically examine the factor structure of the newly developed Sextpectancies Measure, and (5) empirically examine how sensation seeking and sexual arousal-related expectancies might interact to predict sexting. Participants: Participants were undergraduate students at a large, public US, mid-western university (N = 611). The mean age was 21.2 (SD = 5.4) and the sample was 77.3% female. Design: A series of correlational, reliability, and hierarchical regressions were conducted to examine relationships between sensation seeking, sexting frequency, and sexual arousal sexting expectancies. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted based on two proposed models of the Sextpectancies Measure. Findings: Sensation seeking significantly predicted sexting frequency (β = .215, p < .001). Sexual arousal sexting expectancies significantly predicted sexting frequency (β = .428, p < .001), and sexual arousal expectancies partially mediated the relationship between sensation seeking and sexting frequency, showing a significant indirect effect (β = .085, p < .001). Although the initially proposed model for the Sextpectancies Measure examining two overarching sending and receiving domains did not fit the data well, an alternative model which identified overall positive and negative expectancies, fit the model relatively well (RMSEA = .085; CFI = .926). Conclusions: This study is the first step towards understanding the sexting risk process and how specific personality traits and social learning may increase the risk for sexting. Additionally this study provides some insight into common expectancies of sexting.

With a sample of 3,436 engaged and married couples, this study explores the prediction of relationship satisfaction using the personality traits of neuroticism, depression, kindness, impulsivity, flexibility, self-esteem, and extraversion while utilizing controls for non-independent couple data in structural equation modeling. Both actor effects (the impact of an individual's personality on his or her own satisfaction) and partner effects (the impact of the partner's personality on satisfaction) are examined, including comparisons of the relative strength of each for males and females. A comparison is also made of engaged and married couples to determine if relationship status acts as a moderator. A separate model is estimated for each personality trait, and all the models show excellent fit statistics. Findings show significant, negative actor and partner effects for neuroticism, depression, and impulsivity, and significant, positive actor and partner effects for kindness, flexibility, and self-esteem among both engaged and married couples. Extraversion has some significant positive effects but is a weaker predictor. Actor effects are generally stronger than partner effects among the engaged couples in the sample, however among married couples the actor and partner effects are more often of equal magnitude. Many paths differ significantly between engaged and married couples, and in each case the paths are stronger among married couples. These findings support the idea that a variety of personality traits are important predictors of satisfaction, and that both actor and partner effects need to be considered. Findings also give evidence that relationship status acts as a moderator, indicating that personality may be a stronger predictor of satisfaction among married couples than engaged couples. With some traits, an engaged individual's own personality may be a more powerful predictor of his or her satisfaction than the partner's personality, while both spouse's traits may be equally predictive of a married individual's satisfaction.

Thèse de doctorat présenté en vue de l'obtention du doctorat en psychologie - recherche intervention, option psychologie clinique (Ph.D) / L’impulsivité des personnes atteintes de trouble de personnalité limite (TPL) est un problème important et un critère diagnostic majeur qu’il convient de mieux comprendre. L’étude des fonctions d’inhibition permet d’appréhender ce phénomène à travers certains déficits cognitifs qui sous-tendent ces comportements. Le but général de cette thèse, composée de deux articles empiriques, était d’interroger le rôle des perturbations identitaires dans la survenue des déficits d’inhibition chez des individus ayant un TPL. Le premier article est une revue systématique de la littérature des études mesurant trois types de fonction d’inhibition (inhibition de réponse; résistance à l’interférence de distracteur; résistance proactive à l’interférence) en condition de stress ou d’émotion négative, auprès d’individus ayant un TPL. Le premier objectif était de dresser un portrait de la littérature des études ayant mesuré les fonctions d’inhibition en condition de stress ou émotionnelle chez des individus ayant un TPL ou de hauts traits de PL comparativement à des sujets contrôle. Le second était de documenter l’impact différentiel des processus de référence à soi sur les capacités d’inhibition des sujets ayant un TPL ou de hauts traits de PL versus les sujets contrôle, en lien avec (1) l’hypothèse de Winter (2016) selon laquelle une référence à soi impacterait davantage leurs processus attentionnels en raison du contenu négatif de leur identité, et (2) un aspect de la théorie de Kernberg (1976) qui fait le lien entre perturbations identitaires et impulsivité dans cette population. Sur un total de 1215 articles, 26 études ont été sélectionnées et comparées. Les résultats indiquent que l’amoindrissement des performances des individus ayant un TPL semble survenir davantage lorsque les paradigmes expérimentaux comprennent une référence à soi, et ce, pour les trois types d’inhibition. Un modèle théorique a été formulé afin d’intégrer les apports de Winter (2016) et Kernberg (1976) pour comprendre le lien entre ces variables et qui répond ainsi au troisième objectif d’apporter une compréhension théorique à ces résultats. Le deuxième article présente un protocole de recherche (quatrième objectif) permettant de tester une partie du modèle théorique proposé dans le premier article, à savoir l’hypothèse selon laquelle les déficits d’inhibition de réponse pourraient être attribuables à la disposition de l’identité à augmenter l’intensité des émotions négatives chez les individus ayant un TPL. Des analyses préliminaires (cinquième objectif) ont été effectuées auprès de 56 participants présentant différents niveaux de traits de personnalité limite. Ces derniers ont été soumis à deux conditions, soit une épreuve de description de soi (n = 29) ayant le potentiel de manipuler la cohérence identitaire ou une épreuve contrôle (n = 27), avant d’effectuer une tâche d’inhibition comportant des stimuli émotionnels d’intensité faible et élevée. Les résultats indiquent une interaction significative entre la condition, le niveau de traits limite, la valence et l’intensité des stimuli avec la performance d’inhibition. L’analyse post-hoc n’a pas révélé de différences significatives. Dans un deuxième temps, la relation entre la description de soi des participants (n = 29) et leur performance à la tâche a été explorée. Une corrélation modérée a été retrouvée entre une description de soi peu différenciée et une moins bonne performance d’inhibition. Ces résultats préliminaires soulignent la pertinence de s’intéresser à la relation entre l’identité et les fonctions d’inhibition. De façon générale, la présente thèse dresse un portrait complexe des liens entre inhibition, stress, intensité émotionnelle, et identité dans le TPL. Les implications des résultats sont discutés. De nouvelles études sont nécessaires afin d’approfondir les conclusions de ces articles. / Impulsivity among individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an important problem and a major diagnostic criterion that needs to be better understood. The study of inhibition functions allows to apprehend this phenomenon through certain cognitive deficits which underlie those behaviors. The aim of this thesis, composed by two empirical articles, was to question the role of identity disruptions in the occurrence of inhibition deficits among individuals with BPD. The first article is a systematic literature review of studies measuring three types of inhibitory functions (response inhibition; resistance to distractor interference; resistance to proactive interference) under stress or negative emotion, among individuals with BPD or high BP features. The first objective was to portray literature of the studies. The second was to document the impact of the presence of self-reference in the experimental procedures among subjects with BPD or high BP features versus controls, in relation to (1) Winter's hypothesis (2016) according to which self-reference disrupts their attentional processes due to the negative content of their identity, and (2) an aspect of Kernberg's theory (1976) which links identity disturbances and impulsivity in this population. Out of 1215 articles, 26 studies were selected and compared. The results indicate that the impairment of individuals with BPD’s performance for all three types of inhibition seems to occur more frequently when the experimental paradigms include self-reference. A theoretical model was formulated to integrate the contributions of Winter (2016) and Kernberg (1976) in the understanding of the link between those variables and respond to the third objective. The second article presents a research protocol (fourth objective) which aims to test a part of the theoretical model developed in the first article which hypothesized that the deficits in response inhibition could be attributable to the disposition of identity to increase the intensity of negative emotions in individuals with BPD. A preliminary analysis (fifth objective) was conducted among 56 participants with different levels of borderline personality features were assigned to two conditions: either a self-description task (n = 29) that had the potential to manipulate the identity coherence, or a control condition (n = 27), prior to a response inhibition task with high and low arousal emotional stimuli. The results indicate a significant interaction between condition, the level of borderline features, valence, and stimulus intensity on inhibition performance. Post-hoc analysis did not reveal significant differences. Secondly, the relationship between participants' self-description (n = 29) and their performance on the inhibition task was explored. A moderate correlation was found between a lesser differentiated self-description and a higher mean of errors of commission. Those preliminary results highlight the relevance of studying the relationship between identity and inhibition functions. Overall, this thesis presents a complex portrait of the links between inhibition, stress, emotional intensity, and identity in BPD. The implications of those results are discussed. Further studies are needed to strengthen the conclusions of these articles.

No description available.

Humans and other animals systematically discount the value of future rewards as a function of their delay, and individual differences in the steepness of this ``delay discounting'' are predictive of a range of important real-world outcomes. Episodic future thinking, the mental simulation of episodes in the personal future, is one means by which to curb delay discounting. This thesis seeks to contribute to our understanding of how this effect occurs. The account that predominates in the literature is that episodic future thinking simulates the experience of future rewards, enabling their undiscounted value to be appreciated in the present. This thesis takes this account as a starting point, formalizing it in a mathematical model and carrying out several experimental studies to test its predictions. We find that key predictions are not borne out and develop an alternative account in which simulated experience plays a less central role. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Pursuing our goals for the future usually means sacrificing immediate gratification, yet we often make decisions that are not in our best interest over the long term. This is because we assign lower subjective value to future rewards the further they are from the present. Individuals differ in how much they devalue future rewards, and these differences are related to many real-world outcomes. Our tendency to devalue future rewards is reduced when we vividly imagine the future in a process called ``episodic future thinking,'' and this thesis seeks to understand how this effect occurs. The most obvious explanation would seem to be that episodic future thinking ``simulates'' the experience of future rewards and allows us to recognize their value in the present. However, using results from several experimental studies, I argue that this may not be the best explanation after all, and I develop an alternative.