Differential Effects of Reward and Punishment Cues on Response Speed in Anxious and Impulsive Individuals

Four groups of subjects-neurotic extraverts, stable extraverts, neurotic introverts, and stable introverts-were instructed to trace a circle template as slowly as possible. The tracing task was performed under one of three conditions: Condition Rw entailed the presence of reward cues, Condition Pn entailed the presence of punishment cues, and Condition G (while involving the presence of goal stimulus) entailed neither type of conditioned stimulus. As predicted, high impulsive (neurotic extravert) subjects exhibited inappropriately rapid tracing speeds (i.e. behaved impulsively) to a greater extent than did low impulsive (stable introvert) subjects in Conditions Rw. Although, as expected, high anxious (neurotic introvert) subjects manifested the fastest tracing speeds among the four subject groups in the presence of punishment cues (i.e. in Condition Pn), they did not trace significantly faster than low anxious (stable extravert) subjects. Finally, replicating earlier research in which the presence of a salient goal stimulus was sufficient to engender rapid responding, high impulsive subjects traced significantly faster than did low impulsives in Condition G. These results are discussed in the context of a model of impulsive behavior that is primarily a synthesis of Eysenck’s (The biological basic ofpersonoliry, 1967) personality theory and Gray’s (Elements of a two-process theory of learning, 1975) three arousal model. This synthesis maps the extraversion dimension onto the relative strengths of Gray’s behavioral activation and inhibition systems, and identifies the neuroticism dimension with Gray’s nonspecific arousal system.