Carver, C. S. (2005). Impulse and constraint: Perspectives from personality psychology, convergence with theory in other areas, and potential for integration. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 312-333.
A behavioral dimension of impulse versus constraint has long been
observed by personality psychologists. This article begins by reviewing
processes underlying this dimension from the perspectives of several
personality theories. Some cases of constraint reflect inhibition due
to anxiety, but some theories also suggest other roots for constraint.
Theories from developmental psychology accommodate both possibilities,
by positing two sorts of control over action. These modes of influence
strongly resemble those predicated in some personality theories and
also two modes of function that are asserted by some cognitive and
social psychological theories. Several further literatures are
considered, to which two-mode models seem to contribute meaningfully.
The article closes by addressing questions raised by these ideas,
including whether the issue of impulse versus constraint applies to
avoidance as well as to approach.
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