A study of impulsiveness as related to study habits among high school male students

The purpose of this study was to relate one personality trait, impulsiveness, to a standardized measure of study habits and attitudes. A secondary purpose was to study the relationship of the items which measure impulsiveness to scores in the study habits inventory to gain more insight into the relationship of this one personality trait to study habits. Study habits were measured by the Brown-Holtzman Study Habits and Attitudes Survey (SSHA); impulsiveness was measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). These two inventories were administered to 269 students at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas. Other inventories included in a more comprehensive project were also administered to these same students at about the same time. The test scores were inter-correlated and then factor analyzed using the normalized principle axis technique. Analyses relating the BIS items to the SSHA were achieved by using the chi square technique. The results indicate that impulsiveness is related to study habits. In general, students with good study habits like classical music, like to solve complex problems, are careful, do not have a ready answer, and they like work requiring patience and carefulness.