Definition
Irritability is a term generally used to explain an emotional state and is characterized by an excessive response to stimuli. The term is used in many circumstances ranging from a child or parent dealing with an uncomfortable environment to very serious issues such as autism and other psychological disorders, acute or chronic infection, chronic disease, brain injury, and so on. Irritability may be demonstrated in behavioral responses to physiological and behavioral stimuli such as environmental or emotional stimuli. Irritability is not a symptom of any specific illness; however, it may be used as an early sign of serious problems.
Cross-References
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Ding, C. (2005). Applications of multidimensional scaling profile analysis in developmental research: An example using adolescent irritability patterns. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(3), 185–196.
Faraday, M., Scheufele, P., Ley, K., & Grunberg, N. (2005). A shortened psychophysical task to quantify irritability: The reactive irritability scale II (RIS-II). Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28(1), 3–20.
Farchione, T., Birmaher, B., Axelson, D., Kalas, C., Monk, K., Ehmann, M., et al. (2007). Aggression, hostility, and irritability in children at risk for bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorders, 9(5), 496–503.
Godlaski, A., & Giancola, P. (2009). Executive functioning, irritability, and alcohol-related aggression. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(3), 391–403.
Paxinos, G. (1975). The septum: Neural systems involved in eating, drinking, irritability, muricide, copulation, and activity in rats. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 89(10), 1154–1168.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kolakowsky-Hayner, S.A. (2018). Irritability. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_2093
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_2093
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences