The article’s primary goal was to examine a range of possible health-damaging traits. The other objectives were to assess the relationship between the behaviors and their response to punishment. About one hundred and eight-four individuals took part in the Behavioral Approach System (BAS) and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) perceptiveness. Besides that, participants also filled food frequency questionnaire and alcohol consumption measures. Based on that, a rise in the fat intake, alcohol consumption and smoking associated with increased BAS sensitivity. On the other hand, a decline in the aspects correlated to a higher BIS sensitivity. Therefore, sensitivity to reward is linked to a lifestyle risk factor while BIS sensitivity shields against alcohol intake. The results suggest that the situation does not extend to health-related traits consistent with the views that BIS sensitivity results to higher anxiety.
The concept of sensitivity to reward and punishment are drawn from the Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (Corr, 2008). There is an argument that two independent systems namely BIS and BAS can be put in place to control an individual’s tendency to approach reward related stimuli. Besides that, there is an extra premise that the systems can be further split into three dimensions namely reward responsiveness, reward drive and fun seeking (Tapper et al., 2015). Based on that, the authors were interested in examining the efficiency of the systems and their relation to health behavior. One crucial objective of the survey was to offer an extended deliberation on the association between diet and behavioral approach using a valid measure. It was to be closely correlated to previous researches between BAS scores. Additionally, the other goal was to extend past studies using additional samples to arrive at a more conclusive outcome. It was to be possible through a community sample of participants.
Current revisions suggest that instead of restraining behavior, BIS should focus on the possible dangers of a situation and acts as a conflict resolution process (Carver & White, 1994). Based on that, the authors hypothesized that the outcome should reveal higher levels of reward sensitivity would be associated with more health damaging behaviors. The state of affair, hence, leads to individuals trying to lower the anxiety through indulging in certain activities such as smoking, drinking and overeating. As a result, the current study offers an exploratory analysis of the existent situation through examining diverse perspectives and variables to arrive at a conclusive outcome. The hypothesis formed its basis through examining of the association between BIS and total fat intake, likelihood of binge drinking, smoking frequency and total sugar intake.
In understanding how the authors arrived at their conclusion, there was the application a method that related variables against each other using varying circumstances and scenarios. With reference to that, 184 individuals were selected and they completed measures related to BIS/BAS, smoking, demographics, BMI, diet and alcohol use. Questionnaires associated to a distinct study were included in the measures. In the BAS/BIS, sensitivity to rewards and punishment was assessed using a scale with psychometric properties. The diet was examined using a food frequency questionnaire (Bingham & Day, 1987). In the BMI, the participants reported their height and weight. The smoking measured required participants to highlight their frequency, alcohol use measured the consumption rate and demographics touched on gender, education, ethnic origin and age.
In the interpretation of the results, the research provided approaches to cater for any anomaly in the data collected. Methods were put in place to enhance data validity by instituting appropriate authentic tests. Data collected from the participants was screened for omissions, which were in turn replaced by the mean score computed if any detail was found unavailable. Regression models were of significance in testing the hypothesis that the survey aimed at verifying. Additionally, they were useful in exploring the association between health behaviors and BIS. Since the analysis was limited to the effects unearthed, distinct predictors were used for the various resulting variables.
The results retrieved from the analysis of the measures highlight an interesting trend based on the aspects under review. On the diet attribute, the results were consistent with the hypothesis that higher reward sensitivity is linked with unhealthy behavior. The BAS depicted a positive association in the total fat intake since the variables accounted for a variance of their consumption rate. For total sugar intake, it was evident from the positive results. Thus, the observation was in line with the premise since the measure showed a trend towards significance for total sugar intake. From the outcome of alcohol, fun seeking considerably improved the fit of the model after age and gender. With reference to that, there was support on the hypothesis that brought to light the connection between unhealthy behavior and higher reward sensitivity (Corn & McNaughton, 2008). BIS was used as a separate model, which showed that an increase in its level resulted in lower alcohol consumption. The result was in line with the supposition.
Still on the same subject, from the regression models, the variations in alcohol consumption between individuals with high versus low fun seeking would be minimal. It would be in comparison to the difference between someone with a low BIS. The third outcome on the smoking feature resulted in a considerable improvement in the fit that relied on BAS as its individual predictor (O’Connor, Stewart & Watt, 2009). The use of BAS resulted in an average variance over age and gender. Similar to previous outcomes, it verified the hypothesis that the study sought to validate. The use of fun seeking and reward drive never improved the fit. It is due to the model and the fact that a difference in number of cigarettes smoked was low. The other model used to predict the smoking status, hierarchical logistic regression, still supported the same observations as the initial example.
What was evident from the survey’s outcome was that a more active BAS was linked to a higher fat intake. The situation was in line with the research that associated reward sensitivity to a higher BMI against overweight and normal individuals. What is more, the assessment was first to prove the correlation between reward sensitivity and food consumption (Frank et al., 2010). There was no need in using additional analysis as the results cut across both gender despite the realization of women being more sensitive to food cues. In comparison to previous researches undertaken, incorporation of a community sample provided a wide range of examination. An evident observation is how the fun-seeking component of BAS is linked to a higher alcohol consumption rate that may deteriorate to binge drinking (Cox, 2003). Furthermore, there was the realization that a more active BAS was likely to increase an individual’s possibility of being a great smoker. As a result, the state of affair was likely to reduce one’s life expectancy over certain duration.
Nonetheless, while the fun seeking attribute of BAS was predominant concerning smoking status, the overall determinants were the reward drive and BAS (Davis & Fox, 2008). The findings relate to previous studies but vary in a way that they suggest the various personality traits are crucial in influencing smoking status. The current assessment analyzed the relationship between BIS and health behavior. The outcome indicated a more active BIS was associated to lower alcohol consumption for both gender. Furthermore, an active BIS was not linked to lower fat intake and reduced the possibility of being a smoker. The absence of effects for the other health-related traits suggests that the association between BIS and alcohol consumption may be due to unrelated factors.
In conclusion, besides all that, there are limitations on the research related to the sample used. In addition, the study was restricted to common predictors of health behaviors. There is a suggestion that such factors may interact with other aspects to influence traits. Therefore, it would be fundamental to examine the premise in future researches as well as use BIS and BAS for comprehension. The situation would be crucial in coming up with customized health advice and intervention.