In the wake of a possible mistake: Security motivation, checking behavior, and OCD

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Previous research indicated individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have difficulty inhibiting anxiety responses during hand-washing.
• This suggests a potential deficit in the brain's stopping mechanisms in OCD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an experimental paradigm to investigate checking behaviors in OCD.
• To test the hypothesis that a faulty stopping mechanism also contributes to OCD checking.

Main Methods:

• A novel pill-sorting task was used to simulate potential errors and trigger anxiety.
• Participants underwent periods of checking, with security motivation assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and confidence ratings.
• Experiment 1 refined the paradigm, while Experiment 2 compared OCD checkers, OCD washers, and non-patients.

Main Results:

• OCD checkers, similar to OCD washers, showed no difference in initial anxiety levels compared to controls.
• However, OCD checkers were significantly less able to reduce their anxiety through checking behaviors.
• Physiological and subjective measures of security motivation in checkers mirrored findings in washing behaviors.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the security-motivation theory of OCD.
• A faulty stopping mechanism appears to be a key factor in OCD checking behaviors.
• Further research with larger patient groups is warranted.