Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 7, 2025

Applying Incongruent Visual-Tactile Stimuli during Object Transfer with Vibro-Tactile Feedback
Published on: May 23, 2019
Inducing and manipulating sensations of incompleteness
1Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Understanding and Treating Anxiety (CUTA), San Diego State University, San Diego, California.
This study explored how expectancy violation in inhibitory learning impacts obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) dimensions. Articulating predictions during exposure therapy improved outcomes for induced incompleteness (INC).
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Incompleteness (INC) and Harm Avoidance (HA) are core dimensions of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
- Inhibitory learning (IL) and emotional processing are proposed mechanisms for exposure therapy in OCD, particularly for HA.
- The specific role of INC in these mechanisms requires further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differential manipulation responses to induced INC.
- To test if targeting expectancy violation, a key component of IL, improves outcomes for INC.
- To examine the relationship between HA and INC reduction strategies.
Main Methods:
- Induced INC in undergraduate participants (N=68) using behavioral tasks.
- Applied exposure manipulations with and without articulated predictions to reduce INC reactions.
- Assessed changes in induced sensations and the mediating role of prediction articulation.
Main Results:
- Modest improvements were observed following INC reduction manipulations.
- Higher levels of HA predicted changes in induced sensations.
- Articulation of predicted sensations mediated the reduction in INC ratings from pre- to post-manipulation.
Conclusions:
- Targeting expectancy violation through articulated predictions shows potential for reducing INC.
- HA may influence responses to INC reduction strategies.
- Findings support the role of IL mechanisms in addressing INC within OCD.
More Related Videos
05:22Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: May 9, 2019
09:07Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations
Published on: September 16, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Structuralism
Titchener's approach to structuralism was unique. He...
Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the...
Subliminal Perception
Somatosensation
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Sensation
Absolute thresholds can quantify the sensitivity of sensory...