How Impulsive Are You?

 

THE BARRATTIMPULSIVENESS SCALE

©E.S.Barratt,1994

 

People differ in the ways they act and think in differentsituations.  This is a test tomeasure some of the ways in which you act and think.  Read each statement and, using the scale below, indicate howoften you act and think in the way described.  Do not spend too much time on any statement. Answer quicklyand honestly.

 

4= Almost Always

3= Often

2= Occasionally

1- Rarely/never

 

1. ______ I plan tasks carefully
2. ______ I do things without thinking
3. ______ I make up my mind quickly
4. ______ I am happy go lucky
5. ______ I don’t pay attention
6. ______ I have racing thoughts
7. ______ I plan trips well ahead of time
8. ______ I am self-controlled
9. ______ I concentrate easily
10. ______ I save regularly
11. ______ I squirm during plays or lectures
12. ______ I am a careful thinker
13. ______ I plan for job security
14. ______ I say things without thinking
15. ______ I like to think about complex problems
16. ______ I change jobs
17. ______ I act on impulse
18. ______ I get easily bored when solving though problems
19. ______ I act on the spur of the moment
20. ______ I am a steady thinker
21. ______ I change where I live
22. ______ I buy things on impulse
23. ______ I can only think about one problem at a time
24. ______ I change hobbies
25. ______ I spend or charge more than I earn
26. ______ I have outside thoughts when thinking
27. ______ I am more interested in the present than in the future
28. ______ I am restless at the theater or lectures
29. ______ I like puzzles
30. ______ I am future oriented

 

Scoring:

 

The scores for the following items must be reversed  (4=1. 3=2, 2=3, and 1=4):

 1, 7, 8, 9, 10,12, 13, 15, 20, 29, and 30.  

 

Put changes in the first column of numbers that follow. After reversing these items, you can find your scores on the three subscales as well as a total score. 

 

The first subscale is called Non-planning and consists of items 1,7,8,10,12,13,14,15,18,27, and 29.

 

The second subscale is called Motor Impulsiveness and consists of 2,3,4,26,17,19,21,22,23,25,30. 

 

The third subscale is called Cognitive Impulsiveness and consists of items 5,6,9,11,20,24,26,and 28. 

 

Add your responses for all 30 items to get your total impulsiveness score

 

 

                                     Non-planning       Motor Impulsiveness      Cognitive Impulsiveness

 

1.   _______                1.  _______                 2.  _______                 5.  _______

7.   _______                7.  _______                 3.  _______                 6.  _______

8.   _______                8.  _______                 4.  _______                 9.  _______

9.   _______                10._______                 16._______                 11._______

10  _______                12._______                 17._______                 20._______

12. _______                13._______                 19._______                 24._______

13. _______                14._______                 21._______                 26._______

15. _______                15._______                 22._______                 28._______

20. _______                18._______                 23._______

29. _______                27._______                 25._______

30. _______                29._______                 30._______

 

TOTALS                         _______                      _______                       _______                            

 

                                           TOTAL SCORE _______

 

 

NORMS

NON-PLANNING	MOTOR IMPULSIVENESS	COGNITIVE IMPULSIVENSS	TOTAL IMPULSIVENESS	PERCENTILE
35	25	22	75	85
30	23	20	70	70
27	21	18	65	50
24	19	16	60	30
21	17	14	55	15