UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale

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

Created: January 28, 2013

Last Modified: October 27, 2023 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC

Background

This script implements the original UPPS impulsive behavior scale described in:

Whiteside, S. P., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). The Five Factor Model and impulsivity: using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 669-689.

And made available by Dr. Lynam on: • https://www1.psych.purdue.edu/~dlynam/uppspage.htm

German Translations of the items based on:

Keye, D., Wilhelm, O., & Oberauer, K. (2009). Structure and correlates of the German version of the Brief UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scales. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 175-185. doi: 10.1027/1015-5759.25.3.175.

•Notes: (1) Keye et al (2009, p.185) mention in a footnote that their translation for the item (q4) "I generally like to see things through to the end. => Im Allgemeinen durchschaue ich Dinge gerne bis zum Ende." is not a correct translation of the English item.

Millisecond (K. Borchert, German native) offers the following substitute "4. Im Allgemeinen ziehe ich Dinge gerne bis zum Ende durch." (default) or as an alternative: "4. Im Allgemeinen bringe ich Dinge gerne zu Ende." This translation, however, is not tested. It can be easily changed if needed. See radioButtons.q4_PERS

(2) Other German translations availabe by:

Schmidt, R.E., Gay, P., d’Acremont, M., & Van der Linden, M. (2008). A German adaptation of the UPPS impulsive behavior scale: Psychometric properties and factor structure. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 67(2), 107–112.

Kämpfe, N., & Mitte, K. (2009). A German validation of the UPPS impulsive behavior scale: Further evidence for a four-dimensional model of impulsivity. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(4), 252–259. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.25.4.252

Duration

3 minutes

Overview

45 4-point Likert Questions regarding impulsive behavior

Scoring

According to Whiteside & Lynam (2001) impulsivity encompasses four personality facets that are
assessed in the UPPS impulse behavior scale:
the 45 questions are assigned to the following facets:

1) Urgency (URG): 2 (R), 6 (R), 10 (R), 14 (R), 18 (R), 24 (R), 28 (R), 32 (R), 36 (R), 41 (R), 43, 45 (R)
"measures an individual’s tendency to act “impulsively” under conditions of negative affect" *

2) (lack of) Premeditation (PREM): 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 40.
"assesses an individual’s tendency to act without consideration of the potential consequences of the behavior" *

3) (lack of) Perseverance (PERS): 4, 8 (R), 12, 16, 20, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38 (R)
"assesses an individual’s tendency to give up in the face of boredom, fatigue, or frustration." *

4) Sensation Seeking (SS): 3 (R), 7 (R), 11 (R), 15 (R), 19 (R), 21 (R), 25 (R), 29 (R), 33 (R), 37 (R), 42 (R), 44 (R)
"refers to an individual’s interest in and tendency to pursue activities that are exciting and novel" *

(R) = reversed scoring
• = see web site above

Summary Data

File Name: upps_german_summary*.iqdat

Data Fields

Raw Data

File Name: upps_german.iqdat

Data Fields