Can the distinction between intentional and unintentional interference control help differentiate varieties of impulsivity ?

Abstract

It has recently been shown that perseverance specifically relates to resisting proactive interference [Gay, P., Rochat, L., Billieux, J., d’Acremont, M., & Van der Linden, M. (2008). Heterogeneous inhibition processes involved in different facets of self-reported impulsivity: Evidence from a community sample. Acta Psychologica, 129, 332–339]. The aim of this study was to replicate and extend this finding by investigating the relationships between unintentional control of interference (in a recent-negatives task), intentional control of interference (in a directed-forgetting task), and the four facets of impulsivity. The performance of 71 volunteers indicated that the relevant variables of the two tasks shared very little or no variance. In particular, regression analyses showed that lower perseverance (i.e., higher impulsivity on this facet) predicted more interference-related errors in both tasks and less time dedicated to resolving proactive interference; however, lower perseverance did not predict directed-forgetting cost. Higher urgency predicted higher interference time due to response-conflict.