Why do we make impulsive choices?
By Sheila Bernal
My entire life, I have been a pretty bold person. I say random things that most people wouldn’t expect me to say. I used to say I did it to make people laugh but I think it goes deeper than that. While I recognize that I’m naturally a bold person, I would say that i’m not one to make impulsive decisions, or so I thought up until a couple months ago. I did something so out of pocket, that afterwards it had me questioning my entire life and what my life experiences meant to me that had led me to this point in my life. You’re probably dying to hear what I did. Well I got a tattoo, and let me tell you the funny part; I have never even seriously thought of getting a tattoo, whenever I did the feeling did not last more than 10 minutes.
What pushed me to get this impulsive tattoo? For the next 5 days afterwards I told myself it was because I truly did think I wanted that for myself. I thought to myself that in that specific moment I wanted a permanent tattoo on my upper thigh. Now that I think of it, the fact that all my best friends were ALSO getting tattooed at that moment, may have influenced me in a major way. I may have fallen into peer pressure. I assured myself that getting a tattoo is certainly not something someone can get peer pressured into, no one can pressure me into doing something like that right? It took me a hot minute to fully face it, but I believe the reason I did it was to try and fit in. I gave into that little voice in my head saying, “You’re gonna regret not doing this later.” I wanted to be so bold and out of pocket, while also craving the feeling of something new. The rush of adrenaline is what I was craving, and Im dealing with the consequences now.
Social Media:
Something interesting that I noticed while researching is that social media plays a larger role in the ideas of impulsivity than we know or even notice in our everyday lives. Social media platforms that are the most popular right now (Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook) all have one common characteristic. All big production apps in the market are unethically being produced to make its users become fully addicted to its app. They form teams who market and strategize ideas to make apps more and more addicting for their audience. A perfect example of this is TikTok.
The addictive patterns in which the app Tik Tok is based on, makes its users become slowly more and more dependent on it. You may be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with impulsive choices?”. Well I believe that the way that Tik Tok first presented itself to the market made it seem innocent and very friendly, but once you are on the app daily you will notice you can not put your phone down. The algorithm that Tik Tok follows is a very specific one, not like Instagram or Twitter, this platform is unique in its own way. The app consists of having to scroll every 15 seconds to 1 minute, having to physically tap your screen to keep scrolling and look deeper into your explorer page that is made specifically FOR YOU. The idea that the page is made particularly for you and no one else is quite smart actually. The algorithm of TikTok varies every single day, every time that you are on it. It changes subjectively to what you are engaging to and enjoying the most. I have first-hand experienced moments where if I watch a TikTok video over and over again, my next couple recommended videos will most likely be very similar. All of these behaviors become muscle memory over time, something that I am also guilty of. It makes you think, “What if I just look at one more video”, and then that video turns into 15 more and so on. I have noticed from personal experience and discussing with my friends, that because of using Tik Tok so excessively, our attention spans have noticeably decreased. Meaning that whenever we watch YouTube or try to enjoy watching content that is more than 5 minutes long, we get very easily distracted and bored. I have noticed that I switch from app to app constantly now in comparison to before I used this app consistnetly. Instead I will search for something that will entertain me greatly for a matter of seconds because I prefer it that over the feeling of being bored while watching a lengthy video.
What does this sound a lot like? Impulsivity. Craving impulsivity comes from the feeling of stillness in life patterns or simply wanting to feel a “rush” without necessarily thinking of the consequences that will arise later. I believe that the way in which Social Media platforms is curated in this generation has completely lost its morality. Large corporations take what they know about human behavior and they use it to their advantage for money. In the documentary, The Social Dilemna by Jeff Orlowski explains this idea really well. They explore the worlds of the most popular social media applications and the reasons as to why they are so successful.
Mental Health :
During the time in which I studied impulsivity, this particular interaction that I had with a doctor names Juan Cuervas (family friend) really opened my eyes about how multifacedted impulsivity truly is, it can have many definitions for specific personas. Some of the characteristics of impulsivity that are most common he says, lack of forethought, risk taking, inattention, lack of control, failing to plan, excitement and novelty seeking, and quick decision making. With all of these ideas of what impulsivity is, it makes up the construct of the word itself. The number one type of impulsivity is based on mental disorders like mania. The Dr. talks about manic episodes and how mania can make somebody feel really confident and euphoric, feeling like they can’t lose. So they go to a casino and gamble with thousands of dollars, this is an example of a positive emergency type of impulsivity. The emotion of euphoria was positive but the outcome of course is still negative and aligns with impulsivity. This is when somebody acts on a negative emotion again regardless of the type of impulsive outcome. Disruptive mood disregulation disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder all three of those really have a fairly pronounced relationship with impulsivity spell impulsivity can also be understood from a personality perspective.
Substance Abuse:
So what exactly is impulsivity? According to the article I found, it has to do with the tendency of making rash decisions, like saying things you wish you hadn’t, and indulging in risky behaviors. In the article ,“Why can’t some people put the brakes on impulsive behavior?”, posted on Vanderbilt News by Jenniffer Johnston written July 29 2010, it goes into detail about a study done by a group of Vanderbilt researchers who analyzed the role of the brain chemical dopamine in impulsivity to discover more precisely what makes some people more susceptible to rash behavior. These results show a significant relationship between impulsive personality traits and deficits like hyperactivity and antisocial personality disorders. Researcher candidate in neuroscience, Joshua W. Buckholtz, even compares the regulation of dopamine by autoreceptors to the action of a thermostat “The brain has a number of different thermostats, which sense the levels of certain brain chemicals and adjust the output of those chemicals accordingly. We show that one particular thermostat-like mechanism — midbrain autoreceptor regulation of striatal dopamine release — is out of whack in people with high levels of trait impulsiveness,” he said. What he is referring to here is quite interesting. When dopamine is made in certain regions of our brains, it is automatically associated with happy feelings that are motivating. The excess of dopamine may lead to enhanced motivation to get rewards without necessarily thinking of the consequence of their actions.
In the Scholarly journal ,”Binge Drinking, Trait Impulsivity, and Decision-Making in Undergraduate University Students” By Rebecca Preston Campbell (2013), she goes into detail about how alcohol and substance abuse in general has a bigger impact on the way that young people make high risk decisions then we might think. The author highlights how, “ Binge-drinking episode frequency has been linked to impaired decision-making, and has been correlated with dimensions of trait impulsivity.” The case study in this journal consisted of examining the relationship between trait impulsivity, binge-drinking behaviors, and decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Task in undergraduates. It is clear to see from the study that results suggest that a better understanding of the relationship between binge drinking, impulsivity, and decision-making depends on recognizing the need for standard criteria for defining a binge drinker. It is also imperative to continue to explore maladaptive decision-making and how it relates to future alcohol use disorders.
Another major factor of impulsivity is sensation-seeking and this is when somebody has a preference for stimulation and excitement and this particular factor lines very closely with the excitement seeking facet of extroverts. In ADHD it is common to see all of these different types of impulsivity. An interesting point about sensation-seeking is that it’s also associated with increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behavior as specifically related to substance use in a way that’s different from what we’ve seen with urgency. This time it’s related to the variety of substances used as opposed to the rate of substance used. So sensation-seeking has kind of a special role here. When it comes to substance use, this for Factor model captures fairly it all very well but it still doesn’t fully captivate all of the aspects of impulsivity. With impulsivity being so prominent in especially younger generations that we have more and more signs of ADHD, it is important to have these conversations openly and freely with those around you.
Takeaways:
After researching all about impulsivity, I learned exactly what I needed to. This topic hit very close to home for me. During the time in which I researched this, I learned a great deal about myself and it gave me the courage to see the reality on many of my past actions. Although it was a vulnerable moment for me, I think its very important that as times begin to become more advanced in regards to medicine, we become more aware about speaking out and reaching for help. It is so easy to fall into wormholes like patterns of addiction that no one ever tells you about or warns you. Some things that we as members of society can do in order to help ease impulsivity in our personal lives is to be more thoughtful when making choices. Remembering to stop and truly think of what it is that you are going to do and how it will affect you, since it is important to be ready for the consequences that will come afterward. Another important tip is to allow an alternative outlet for your own impulsivity. By doing something that is not as risky as a regrettable choice, but still satisfies the craving for a “rush” you can easily avoid doing something that will affect you later. Its the little details that you must think about when taking care of yourself, because it is highly important to do so. Taking good care of your mind, body and spirit is not always easy but we can at least try when we can.
