BIS and BAS interact with perceived parental affectionless control to predict personality disorder symptomatology

The objective of this study was to examine if and how two basic dimensions of temperament-behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity-might interact with exposure to perceived parental affectionless control (AFC) to predict personality disorder (PD) symptomatology. Measures of BIS, BAS, AFC, and PD symptomatology were administered to a large nonclinical sample (n = 318). As predicted, exposure to AFC was positively associated with PD symptoms in general, BIS was positively associated with Cluster A and C symptoms, and BAS was positively associated with Cluster B symptoms. BIS and BAS were also found to interact with each other to predict Cluster B symptomatology. In addition, BIS, BAS, and maternal AFC interacted to predict Cluster A symptomatology. In the latter case, it was found that individuals who reported high BIS, high BAS, and high maternal AFC reported the highest overall level of Cluster A symptoms.     

Reinforcement sensitivity theory as a predictor of senior-executive performance

This paper develops and tests links between the reinforcement sensitivity theory of personality and senior-executive job performance, hypothesising that the theory’s personality traits, known as ‘BIS’ and ‘BAS’, will interact to predict performance. 167 chief and second-tier executives completed Carver and White’s (1994)BIS/BAS Scales, and had their overall performance rated by a superior or peer using four items. Structural equation modeling showed that while BAS has no main effect and BIS has a marginally significant effect on performance (p = 0.07), BIS and BAS interact to predict performance (p = 0.01), the optimal scenario being a combination of high BAS and low BIS. These results show the importance of testing traits’ interactions in applied personality research.     

Behavioral Approach System (BAS) Sensitivity and Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: A Retrospective and Concurrent Behavioral High-Risk Design

In this article, we tested the vulnerability hypothesis of the behavioral approach system (BAS) hypersensitivity model of bipolar disorders. We examined whether self-reported BAS sensitivity predicts lifetime bipolar spectrum diagnoses as well as symptoms and personality characteristics associated with bipolar disorder using a retrospective and concurrent behavioral high-risk design. Participants with high (HBAS; n=28) or moderate (MBAS; n=24) BAS sensitivity were selected and given a lifetime psychiatric diagnostic interview and self-report measures of proneness to bipolar symptoms, current symptoms, and personality characteristics relevant to bipolarity. HBAS participants were significantly and substantially more likely to have a lifetime bipolar spectrum disorder diagnosis than were MBAS participants, but did not differ from MBAS participants in their likelihood of a unipolar depression diagnosis. Also, the HBAS group exhibited higher impulsivity and proneness to hypomanic symptoms than the MBAS group, and BAS-reward responsiveness predicted hypomanic personality characteristics. Finally, high behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity was associated with proneness to and current depressive symptoms.

Coping mediates relationships between reinforcement sensitivity and symptoms of psychopathology

Limited research has evaluated whether coping strategies mediate the relationships between reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) and symptoms of psychopathology. Undergraduates (n = 293) completed questionnaires assessing RST, coping, and symptoms of psychopathology. Consistent with our hypotheses, bootstrapping analyses indicated that emotion- and avoidance-focused coping mediated the relationship between high Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and depression, anxiety, and worry. Less problem-focused coping mediated the relationship between low Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and depression. Avoidance-focused coping mediated the effects of high BIS on drug and alcohol use whereas high BAS directly predicted alcohol and drug use. Unexpectedly, emotion-focused coping mediated the relationship between BAS and anxiety and worry. These results provide support for the hypothesis that personality variables are associated with psychopathology partially through coping.     

Neuroticism,BIS, and reactivity to discrete negative mood inductions

Research has established relationships between the personality dimensions of neuroticism and BIS and broad negative emotional reactivity. However, few researchers have examined the relationships among neuroticism, BIS, and discrete negative emotional reactivities. The present study examined whether individuals scoring high on neuroticism and BIS were more reactive across four discrete negative mood inductions, relative to those scoring low on these traits. Participants (n = 166) completed personality questionnaires, measures of current mood, viewed a specific mood-inducing film clip (sadness, anger, fear or disgust) and then reported their moods a second time. Results revealed that neuroticism/BIS was associated with high reactivity to the fear and sadness inductions. Neuroticism/BIS did not predict anger or disgust reactivity, but neuroticism/BIS and extraversion/BAS interacted in predicting anger. Although further research is needed to extend generalizability, it appears that neuroticism and BIS predict negative emotional reactivity broadly, but not ubiquitously.     

Emotional reactivity and self-regulation in relation to personality disorders

Associations of both reactive and regulative temperamental features with personality disorders (PDs) are investigated in a sample of 162 normal controls and 89 psychiatric inpatients. Reactive and regulative temperamental features were assessed by means of the BIS/BAS Scales and the Attentional Control Scale. Dimensional PD scores were obtained by using the ADP-IV. All PDs were characterized by low levels of effortful control, cluster C PDs by high BIS and cluster B PDs by high BAS. For several PDs, BIS and effortful control interacted: BIS was only related to severe PD pathology if effortful control was low. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Emotional reactivity and self-regulation in relation to personality disorders

Associations of both reactive and regulative temperamental features with personality disorders (PDs) are investigated in a sample of 162 normal controls and 89 psychiatric inpatients. Reactive and regulative temperamental features were assessed by means of the BIS/BAS Scales and the Attentional Control Scale. Dimensional PD scores were obtained by using the ADP-IV. All PDs were characterized by low levels of effortful control, cluster C PDs by high BIS and cluster B PDs by high BAS. For several PDs, BIS and effortful control interacted: BIS was only related to severe PD pathology if effortful control was low. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Big-five personality and BIS/BAS traits as predictors of career exploration: The mediation role of career adaptability

Based on career construction theory, the current research examined whether career adaptability mediates the relations of the personality traits (Five-Factor Model personality traits and behavioral inhibition and activation systems (BIS/BAS)) to career exploration behavior. Results from a survey in Chinese university students (N = 264) showed that career exploration correlated negatively with neuroticism, and positively with openness to experience, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and BAS. Results of regression analyses further showed that openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness and BAS served as the strongest predictors for career exploration. In addition, career adaptability was shown to be a key mediator for the relationships between personality traits and career exploration behavior. Career concern and career curiosity were the more important dimensions in the mediation model. These findings advance current understandings on how different personality traits predict career exploration behavior.     

Facets of mindfulness mediate behavioral inhibition systems and emotion dysregulation

Behavioral motivation is regulated through the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and the behavioral approach system (BAS), which underlie responses to emotional stimuli and are thought to influence emotion dysregulation. Research shows that mindfulness may increase the efficacy of emotion regulation among those with psychological symptoms, but the relationships between behavioral motivation and mindfulness have been only minimally explored. This study examines relationships between behavioral motivation systems and emotion dysregulation as mediated by mindfulness facets. Mediation was tested in a sample of 246 college students (M_age = 19.28, 61.8% female, 81.3% Caucasian) using a multiple mediator bootstrapping method. Results revealed an indirect relationship between BIS sensitivity and increased emotion dysregulation through underutilization of three distinct mindfulness skills: act with awareness, non-judging, and non-reactivity. Mindfulness facets did not mediate relationships between BAS sensitivity and emotion dysregulation, though BAS Reward Responsiveness directly predicted increased emotion dysregulation while BAS Drive was marginally associated with decreased emotion dysregulation. Findings delineate specific relationships between BIS/BAS, mindfulness skills, and emotion dysregulation while suggesting mindfulness training may be useful for BIS sensitive individuals.     

Covering all the BAS’s: A closer look at the links between BIS,BAS, and socio-emotional functioning in childhood

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between the BIS, BAS, and socio-emotional functioning in childhood. Participants were 368 children (181 boys) ranging in age from 9 to 13 years (M_age = 10.16, SD = .95). Children provided self-report assessments of BIS/BAS sensitivity, indices of internalizing problems (e.g., depression, social anxiety, loneliness), and perceptions of their peer relations. Parents also rated child internalizing and externalizing problems. Results from confirmatory factor-analysis suggested that the three-factor solution for the BAS (typically reported in adult samples) provided a better fit of the data than a one-factor (typically employed in previous studies with children). Moreover, BAS subscales were associated differentially with different indices of socio-emotional functioning. Support for the joint subsystems hypothesis was also found, with specific BAS subscales serving as moderators of the relations between the BIS and socio-emotional functioning.     

The effects of behavioral inhibition/approach system as predictors of Internet addiction in adolescents

This study aimed to determine how the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) affect Internet addiction in adolescents. Two hundred and eleven high school students participated in this study and completed the Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT), BIS/BAS scales, and several self-administered questionnaires about depression, anxiety, and impulsivity. Hierarchical regressions showed that BIS and BAS × BIS emerged as significant predictors of IAT; however, only BAS-fun seeking subscale predicted IAT among BAS related subscales. In further analyses, the BAS-fun seeking subscale was mediated by impulsivity and anxiety, and BIS was mediated by anxiety and depression. The current findings imply that BIS and BAS interdependently influence vulnerability to Internet addiction through both shared (anxiety) and different (depression and impulsivity, respectively) pathways.     

Self appraisal and behavioural activation in the prediction of hypomanic personality and depressive symptoms

Hypomanic personality is characterised by increased positive mood and energy but also more depression and greater risk of bipolar disorder. It is linked with positive self-appraisals for hypomania-relevant events and Behavioural Activation System (BAS) sensitivity such that hypomanic individuals tend preferentially towards goal-related activities. This study investigated relationships between positive and negative self-appraisal and BAS functioning and hypomanic personality and depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 231) completed measures of hypomanic personality, mood symptoms, dysfunctional attitudes, self-appraisal and behavioural activation/inhibition.Positive but not negative self-appraisal contributed to prediction of hypomanic personality as did higher BAS fun seeking and lower Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) scores. Conversely, negative self-appraisal was positively predictive of current depressive mood, whilst BAS reward responsiveness was negatively predictive. There are specific relationships between positive and negative appraisal styles and hypomanic personality and depressive mood, respectively. The findings of complimentary contributions from appraisal style, BAS and BIS to prediction of hypomanic personality are relevant to developing a better understanding of risk factors for bipolar disorder.     

The role of BIS/BAS in the vulnerability for depression in adolescent girls

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST), the original (i.e. Gray, 1982) or revised (Gray & McNaughton, 2000), has yet to be used as a framework for investigating vulnerability to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adolescents. The present study employed a high-risk design to examine whether aberrant BIS-FFFS/BAS activity was similarly present in both depressed girls and girls at high risk for depression.MethodsN = 85 age-matched biological daughters of mothers with differential MDD status: (a) MDD (n = 17), (b) high-risk (n = 34), and (c) healthy controls (n = 34) completed measures of the BIS/BAS, depression, and anxiety.ResultsMDD girls scored significantly higher on BIS than healthy controls but not high-risk girls, and the high-risk and control groups did not differ. No group differences were found on BAS or FFFS-Fear.ConclusionsElevated BIS was not identified as a vulnerability factor for MDD; however, it does distinguish depressed adolescents from healthy controls.     

Disinhibitory trait profile and its relation to Cluster B personality disorder features and substance use problems

Certain personality and motivational traits may present vulnerability towards disinhibitory psychopathology (e.g. antisocial personality disorder, substance abuse). Cluster analysis was used to separately group 306 women and 274 men on impulsivity, Constraint, Negative Emotionality, behavioural activation system (BAS), and behavioural inhibition system (BIS) scores. As expected, a ‘disinhibited’ group with low Constraint, high impulsivity, weak BIS, and strong BAS emerged that showed elevated drug use problems, and histrionic and antisocial personality disorder features across gender. A ‘high affectivity’ group with high Negative Emotionality and strong BIS also showed elevated drug use problems and personality disorder features. Results suggested that two different trait profiles are associated with disinhibitory psychopathology and both may present vulnerability toward the development of such disorders. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional, cognitive and physiological correlates of abuse-related stress in borderline and antisocial personality disorder

Childhood abuse is an important precursor of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). The current study compared the emotional reactivity to abuse-related stress of these patients on a direct and an indirect level. Changes in self-reported affect and schema modes, psychophysiology and reaction time based cognitive associations were assessed following confrontation with an abuse-related film fragment in patients with BPD (n = 45), ASPD (n = 21), Cluster C personality disorder (n = 46) and non-patient controls (n = 36). Results indicated a hyperresponsivity of BPD-patients on self-reported negative affect and schema modes, on some psychophysiological indices and on implicit cognitive associations. The ASPD-group was comparable to the BPD group on implicit cognitions but did not show self-reported and physiological hyper-reactivity. These findings suggest that BPD and ASPD-patients are alike in their implicit cognitive abuse-related stress reactivity, but can be differentiated in their self-reported and physiological response patterns.     

Establishing construct validity for Openness-to-Experience in middle childhood: Contributions from personality and temperament

Controversy exists over the validity of child Openness-to-Experience (OE). To establish construct validity for child OE, data were collected for 346 children (51% girls) aged 9-to-10-years (M = 9.92, SD = 0.83). Parents completed questionnaires about their children’s personality, temperament, and behavioral problems and competencies. Factor analyses of relevant personality and temperament facets revealed a robust OE factor made up of three facets: Intellect, Imagination, and Sensitivity. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was established via associations with other personality traits, and behavioral problems and competencies. Results underscore the importance of drawing from both temperament and personality literatures in attempts to establish construct validity for child trait domains as well as examining facet-level associations between OE and child behavior.     

Personality and action control: BAS Reward predicts motor control accuracy

Theoretically, the processes involved in approach motivation and action control should overlap. In both cases, a person must commit to a goal, identify a goal target, and seek to reduce discrepancies between the self and this goal target on a somewhat continuous basis. These ideas motivated three studies (total N = 253) in which personality differences in the behavioral approach system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) were assessed as potential predictors of performance in an objective motor control task. People high in BAS Reward had markedly better motor control (i.e., smaller distances from targets) than people low in BAS Reward. This was true across a variety of affective priming conditions. The other components of BAS and BIS, by contrast, were inconsistent predictors. The results support both reward-based and functional perspectives of the BAS in the context of a cybernetic view of how self-regulation by approach operates.     

Associations Among Smoking,Anhedonia, and Reward Learning in Depression

Depression and cigarette smoking co-occur at high rates. However, the etiological mechanisms that contribute to this relationship remain unclear. Anhedonia and associated impairments in reward learning are key features of depression, which also have been linked to the onset and maintenance of cigarette smoking. However, few studies have investigated differences in anhedonia and reward learning among depressed smokers and depressed nonsmokers. The goal of this study was to examine putative differences in anhedonia and reward learning in depressed smokers (n = 36) and depressed nonsmokers (n = 44). To this end, participants completed self-report measures of anhedonia and behavioral activation (BAS reward responsiveness scores) and as well as a probabilistic reward task rooted in signal detection theory, which measures reward learning (Pizzagalli, Jahn, & O'Shea, 2005). When considering self-report measures, depressed smokers reported higher trait anhedonia and reduced BAS reward responsiveness scores compared to depressed nonsmokers. In contrast to self-report measures, nicotine-satiated depressed smokers demonstrated greater acquisition of reward-based learning compared to depressed nonsmokers as indexed by the probabilistic reward task. Findings may point to a potential mechanism underlying the frequent co-occurrence of smoking and depression. These results highlight the importance of continued investigation of the role of anhedonia and reward system functioning in the co-occurrence of depression and nicotine abuse. Results also may support the use of treatments targeting reward learning (e.g., behavioral activation) to enhance smoking cessation among individuals with depression.     

Reinforcement sensitivity theory and major motivational and self-regulatory processes in children

The present research explores the role of sensitivity in the BIS and the BAS as antecedents to cognitive and affective motivational processes in middle-school children. Two studies were initiated to examine the relationship between sensitivity in the behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and behavioral approach system (BAS) and several important motivational factors. The first study looked at the assumption that the BIS and the BAS are systematically linked to motives and achievement goals. The second study investigated the links between BIS/BAS and individual differences in self-regulatory processes and affect during problem-solving. The findings indicate that the motive to avoid failure, the inability to take action after failure and to initiate intended goal-directed activities, as well as the tendency to focus on avoiding misunderstanding are all grounded in threat responsiveness. Conversely, the motive to approach success, self-efficacy and the tendency to focus on comparison with others in a problem-solving setting are grounded in incentive responsiveness.     

Carver and Whites’ BIS/FFFS/BAS scales and domains and facets of the Five Factor Model of personality

Few empirical studies have investigated the relationship between Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality. In a large sample of undergraduates (N = 779), we examined the relationship between FFM domains and facets and the revised RST (see Gray & McNaughton, 2000). Regression and partial correlation analyses indicated that only FFM Agreeableness discriminates between the BIS and FFFS. Other differences at the facet level were found for Neuroticism facets of Self-Consciousness and Angry Hostility (negatively), Agreeableness facets of Compliance and Modesty, and Conscientiousness facets of Self-Discipline and Deliberation. These findings emphasize social inhibition and constraint in the BIS, compared to the FFFS.