Not all checking decreases memory confidence: Implications for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Repetitive checking is a common behavior in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
• Previous research suggests checking actions reduce memory confidence, leading to memory distrust.
• The necessity and sufficiency of the checking component in this process remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the checking component is essential for decreased memory confidence.
• To determine if checking is sufficient to cause memory distrust.
• To explore the underlying mechanisms of memory distrust in repetitive tasks.

Main Methods:

• Five experiments were conducted using a virtual stove-checking task.
• Participants repeatedly performed actions (turning burners on/off) with variations in checking conditions.
• Memory for actions and confidence were assessed at the beginning and end of trials.

Main Results:

• Memory confidence decreased across repeated trials, irrespective of the checking component.
• Eliminating the checking action did not prevent the decline in memory confidence.
• Increasing the frequency of checking within a trial did not further reduce confidence.

Conclusions:

• The checking component is neither necessary nor sufficient for memory distrust to accrue.
• Proactive interference across repeated trials is a likely cause of memory distrust.
• Findings challenge the direct causal role of checking in memory distrust associated with OCD behaviors.