Exploring the Disposition of Conditionability in Impulsivity and Compulsivity from Neuropsychological Perspective

Nag M, Dogra AK and Mukhopadhyay P

Published on: 2025-12-31

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the neurocognitive natures of specific interaction of impulsivity and compulsivity with neuroticism and conscientiousness in shaping the conditionability. In this regard, participants were classified in two groups; high impulsive low compulsive which resembles to their high neuroticism and low consceintiouness personality trait and high compulsive low impulsive which resembles with high conscientiousness and low neuroticism as revealed from a chi-square test. The measures of impulsivity-compulsivity was taken by the constructed checklist by ROC analysis and Neuroticism and Conscientiouness domains of personality were measured by NEO-PI-R personality inventory. Participants aged between 18-25 years from middle-class socio-economic status females and males, non-obese normal weight as per the norm of Body Mass Index (BMI) rate were recruited in the present study [1]. After the classification, participants were exposed to fast food images with positive messages for 45 minutes. 30 minutes after the intervention a recognition task to identify the original fast food presented in conditioning trial from the distractors was conducted from signal detection paradigm. Result suggests that both the high impulsive low compulsive and high compulsive low impulsive groups have liberal bias to say yes, leading to more hits but at the same time false alarms. But there is different neural pathways for impulsvity and compulsivity result in the same behavioural outcome. Impulsivity includes ventral striatum the reward pathway, results in an emotional outburst; whereas, compulsivity includes dorsal striatum, makes the response toward that frequent reward; fast food into a habit. This result can be implacable in understanding the personality disposition of conditionability from a neuropsychological perspective.