Positive and negative urgency are personality traits that represent individual differences in the tendency to engage in ill-considered, rash action when experiencing intense emotion. The tendency to engage in rash action increases the likelihood of repeated involvement in potentially harmful or risky behaviors (Fischer et al., 2005) in the following way. Both rash actions spurred by negative emotion, such as yelling at one's boss, and rash actions spurred by a positive mood, such as excessive celebratory drinking, provide immediate reinforcement.
