Barratt Impulsiveness Scale - BIS-11

Technical Manual

Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Created: January 17, 2012

Last Modified: January 02, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC

Background

This script implements the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) by Patton et al (1995).

References

Patton, J.H., Standford, M.S., & Barratt, E.S. (1995). Factor Structure of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768-774.

Duration

2 minutes

Description

30 4-point Likert scale questions; self-report

Each of the questions belongs to 6 subscales (derived from 6 first order factors and 3 first order factors) 1. Attention-Attention: 5, 9R, 11, 20R, 28 2. Attention-Cognitive Instability: 6, 24, 26 3. Motor-Motor: 2, 3, 4, 17, 19, 22, 25 4. Motor-Perserverance: 16, 21, 23, 30R 5. Nonplanning-Self Control: 1R, 7R, 8R, 12R, 13R, 14 6. Nonplanning-Cognitive Complexity: 10R, 15R, 18, 27, 29R (R = reversed scoring, depends on wording)

Summary Data

File Name: bis_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
inquisit.version Inquisit version number
computer.platform Device platform: win | mac |ios | android
computer.touch 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
startDate Date the session was run
startTime Time the session was run
subjectId Participant ID
groupId Group number
sessionId Session number
elapsedTime Session duration in ms
completed 0 = Test was not completed
1 = Test was completed
Subscale Scores
aAttention Attention-Attention subscale score: questions 5, 9R, 11, 20R, 28, Range: 5-20
aCogInstabile Attention-Cognitive Instability subscale score: questions 6, 24, 26, Range: 3-12
mMotor Motor-Motor Subscale Score: questions 2, 3, 4, 17, 19, 22, 25, Range: 7-28
mPerserverance Motor-Perserverance Subscale Score: questions 16, 21, 23, 30R, Range: 4-16
npSelfControl Nonplanning-Self Control Subscale Score: questions 1R, 7R, 8R, 12R, 13R, 14, Range: 6-24
npCogComplex Nonplanning-Cognitive Complexity Subscale Score: questions 10R, 15R, 18, 27, 29R, Range: 5-20
(R = reversed scoring, depends on wording)
Total Score
totalScore The total score (sum of all subscale scores), Range: 30-120
The lower the score, the less impulsive

Raw Data

File Name: bis.iqdat

Data Fields

NameDescription
date Date the session was run
time Time the session was run
subject Participant ID
group Group number
session Session number
build Inquisit version number
q*_response Response given (in assigned values)
Scale: 1 (rarely/never) - 4 (almost always)
R = automatically reversed scored questions
q*_latency How much time (in ms) the participant spent on the surveyPage with this particular
question (the last time this particular surveyPage was visited)

Parameters

The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.

NameDescriptionDefault
instructions The instructions provided at the top of each surveypage