Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: March 14, 2025
Threats to moral self-perceptions trigger obsessive compulsive contamination-related behavioral tendencies
Guy Doron1, Dar Sar-El, Mario Mikulincer
1School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, P.O.Box 167, Herzliya 46150, Israel. gdoron@idc.ac.il
Background And Objectives:
Obsessive compulsive (OC) phenomena such as contamination fears may lead to significant impairment in daily functioning. In this research, we examined whether threat to moral self-perceptions can trigger contamination-related behavioral tendencies.
Method:
Three experiments examined the influence of subtle priming of morality-related information on contamination-related behavioral tendencies.
Results:
Subtle suggestions of incompetence in the morality self-domain led to heightened OC-related behavioral tendencies. These effects were specific to self-relevant (versus other-relevant), negative (versus positive) information about the morality domain (versus a morality-irrelevant domain). Findings were not related to pre-existing variations in self-esteem, stress, anxiety, or depression, and were not explained by mood fluctuations.
Limitations:
Our studies were conducted with non-clinical samples.
Conclusions:
Self-sensitivities in the moral domain may be causally linked with contamination-related concerns. Treatments addressing such sensitivities may prove useful when treating obsessive compulsive phenomena.
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