About Impulse Control

BrainAbouts Video

Handouts

Other Videos

Family Coaching

DEFINITIONS

Parent Coaching: Helping parents with parenting challenges by offering alternative perspectives about family situations, creating strategies to prevent youth high-risk behavior, and developing family dynamics that achieve balanced parenting goals.

Prevention Planning: Use this section to plan your prevention activities and prevention discussions regarding this topic.

TAKE A QUIZ

ACTIVITIES

Videos

Teaching Impulse Control

Techniques to Reduce Impulsiveness

Marshmallow Test

Impulsive Children

Activities

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    Family Code: Values & Impulsive Behavior Activity

    Engage young people in a values and impulse control exercise by building your Family Code. Youth are more likely to say 'no' to risky behavior when they know their own values and how their family expects them to act when faced with tempting situations.

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    Self-Talk & Impulse Control Activity

    Engage young people in a discussion about their self-talk. First, ask them what they say to them selves when triggered to engage in a behavior that may go against their values. Second, ask if their self-talk generates positive or negative feelings. Last, challenge them to create a new self-talk mantra that may increase positive feelings and impulse control. 

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    Marshmallow Test Podcast

    Listen to a short NPR podcast about the Marshmallow test.

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    Why Teens Are Impulsive

    Listen to a NPR podcast about the why teenagers are more impulsive.

Links

  • Ways to Teach Children Impulse Control

    Impulse Control Techniques That Work for Children by Amy Morin, LCSW from Very Well Family.

  • Development and Impulsivity

    Article from Scholastic.com about impulsivity at different developmental stages and ways to encourage self-control.

  • Educationl Videos for Children

    An educational channel that is designed to help parents, teachers, counselors, etc. to reduce certain behaviors that, although common at an early age, need to be tested with children to develop learning about how to avoid them.

  • 12 Games to Teach Self-Control

    Self-control games from Paths to Success for elementary and middles school children.

RESOURCES

Videos

Self-Control

Secret to Self-Control

Self-Control

Organizations

  • International Society for Research on Impulsivity

    The International Society for Research on Impulsivity is a nonprofit scientific society founded to promote research collaboration on impulsivity and impulse control disorders by scientists around the world.

  • ADDitude Mag

    Since 1998, tens of millions of readers have trusted ADDitude to deliver expert advice and caring support, making us the leading media network for parents and adults living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

  • The OT Toolbox

    Function and occupation-centered resources, tools, ideas, and activities geared toward the development of fine motor movement, executive functioning, attention, and organization skills.

Reading & Research

Student Engagement

DEFINITIONS

Definitions

Student Engagement: Engaging students in the learning process to increase understanding and motivattion to practice higher-level critical thinking skills about high-risk behavior.

Prevention Planning: Use this section to find information, activities, discussion and fact handouts, as well as access to research about this topic.

TAKE A QUIZ

ACTIVITIES

Videos

Self-Control

Five Self-Control Techniques

Think Before You Act

Integrity

Activities

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    My Code: Values & Impulsive Behavior Activity

    Build your own code of ethics to help develop impulse control by engaging in a values brainstorm activity.

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    Self-Talk & Impulse Control

    Analyze your impulse control self-talk. First, ask yourself what you say to yourself when triggered to engage in a behavior that may go against your values. Second, ask if your self-talk generates positive or negative feelings. Last, challenge yourself to create a new self-talk mantra that may increase positive feelings and impulse control. 

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    Watch Pass it On Videos

    Watch Pass It On videos to inspire your values creation.

Links

  • Rocket Kids YouTube Channel

    We make videos for kids, by kids. Our tips, lists, and lessons are used by teachers and parents, reminding us of what it takes to reach our full potential and be our best self.

  • Practical Psychology Tube Channel

    Practical Psychology is dedicated to giving high-quality and informative videos to everyone who wishes to learn.

  • Impulsive Eddie Ages 8 - 12

    Impulsive Eddie: The Fun Impulse Control Game for Kids a fun way to teach children ages 8-12 about controlling their impulses and learning self-control skills.

RESOURCES

Videos

Self-Control

Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions

Be Less Impulsive

Organizations

  • International Society for Research on Impulsivity

    The International Society for Research on Impulsivity is a nonprofit scientific society founded to promote research collaboration on impulsivity and impulse control disorders by scientists around the world.

  • Pass It On

    The Foundation for a Better Life creates public service campaigns to communicate the values that make a difference in our communities on the Pass It On website.

Readings & Research

  • Impulse Control & Self-Talk

    Tullett, M. The voice of self-control: Blocking the inner voice increases impulsive responding,
    Acta Psychologica, Vol 135, Issue 2, 2010, Pages 252-256, ISSN 0001-6918, 10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.07.008.

  • Pass It On Radio

    Get inspired by listening to radio, reading newspaper, or creating your own billboard public service announcements about people acting within their values to improve the community.

  • What Should Danny Do? Ages 4 -7

    What Should Danny Do? (The Power to Choose Series) Hardcover – Illustrated, 2017

  • What Were You Thinking? Ages 6 - 9

    What Were You Thinking?: Learning to Control Your Impulses Paperback – 2016 by Bryan Smith

Staff Topic Material

DEFINITIONS

Faculty Topic Material: Section dedicated to putting prevention topic material at faculty and school staff's fingertips. Material in these sections includes Universal (Tier I), Selective (Tier II), and Indicated (Tier III & IV) activity ideas, resources, and research relevant to a particular high-risk topic or skill.

Prevention Planning: Use the Faculty Topic Material section to help plan prevention activities for the whole school, faculty in-service, group counseling, and individual & family engagement.

ACTIVITIES

Videos

Teaching Self-Control

Teaching Impulse Control

Activities

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    Journaling with Teens

    Engage teens in a values and impulse control journaling exercise. First, create a values list. Second, journal about times when acting out impulsivity was contradictory to values. Last, journal about how to act differently next time.

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    Use a Response to Intervention Technique

    Explore the RTI resources at Invervention Central.

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    Self-Talk & Impulse Control Activity

    Engage young people in a discussion about their self-talk. First, ask them what they say to them selves when triggered to engage in a behavior that may go against their values. Second, ask if their self-talk generates positive or negative feelings. Last, challenge them to create a new self-talk mantra that may increase positive feelings and impulse control. 

Links

RESOURCES

Videos

Marshmallow Test

4 Types of Impulsivity

Self-Control

Organizations

  • International Society for Research on Impulsivity

    The International Society for Research on Impulsivity is a nonprofit scientific society founded to promote research collaboration on impulsivity and impulse control disorders by scientists around the world.

  • Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences

    Stanford University's Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences where the original Marshmallow study was and is still currently conducted.

  • Brainwise

    The BrainWise Program, a non-profit organization, that teaches children, youth, and at-risk adults essential emotional, social, and cognitive skills through an innovative structured approach called the “10 Wise Ways.”

  • The OT Toolbox

    Function and occupation-centered resources, tools, ideas, and activities geared toward the development of fine motor movement, executive functioning, attention, and organization skills.

Reading & Research

  • The Marshmallow Test

    Mischel, Walter. (2019) The Marshmallow Test. Hachette USA.

  • Resisting Drugs

    Bechara, Antoine. (2005)  “Decision Making, Impulse Control and Loss of Willpower to Resist Drugs: a Neurocognitive Perspective.” Nature Neuroscience, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 1458–1463., doi:10.1038/nn1584

  • Involvement of Frontal Cortex

    Goldstein, Rita Z., and Nora D. Volkow. (2002) “Drug Addiction and Its Underlying Neurobiological Basis: Neuroimaging Evidence for the Involvement of the Frontal Cortex.” American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 159, no. 10, pp. 1642–1652., doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.10.1642.

  • Brain Development

    Romer, Daniel. (2010)  “Adolescent Risk Taking, Impulsivity, and Brain Development: Implications for Prevention.” Developmental Psychobiology, doi:10.1002/dev.20442.

  • Neuroscience Perspective

    Steinberg L. (2008). A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Developmental review : DR, 28(1), 78–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002