Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2025
09:29
Signal Attenuation as a Rat Model of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Published on: January 9, 2015
15.6K
Transdiagnostic compulsivity is associated with reduced reminder setting, only partially attributable to
Annika Boldt1, Celine Ann Fox2, Claire M Gillan2
1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Elife
|May 29, 2025
Summary
Compulsive individuals show reduced use of external reminders, partly due to overconfidence. This suggests a higher risk for inadequate memory support, impacting cognitive goals and potentially OCD.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Compulsive behaviour and intrusive thought (CIT) is a transdiagnostic trait linked to metacognitive deficits.
- Metacognition influences cognitive offloading behaviors, like using external reminders, to achieve cognitive goals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between compulsive behavior, metacognition, and external reminder usage.
- To understand the cognitive and behavioral correlates of the transdiagnostic trait CIT.
Main Methods:
- An online study involving 600 participants.
- Assessed individual differences in compulsivity, metacognition, and external reminder usage.
Main Results:
- Compulsive individuals exhibited a lower preference for external reminders.
- This reduced preference was partly explained by overconfidence, but not by impaired metacognition-action linkage.
- Compulsive individuals utilized metacognition for offloading guidance similarly to non-compulsive individuals.
Conclusions:
- Compulsive individuals may face an elevated risk of insufficient external memory support due to reduced reliance on cognitive offloading.
- Findings highlight implications for understanding transdiagnostic variations and clinical conditions like OCD.
Related Concept Videos
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
18.5K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
18.5K
01:28Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
216
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by recurrent obsessions, compulsions, or both, which consume significant time and interfere with daily functioning. Obsessions involve persistent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that evoke anxiety. Common examples include irrational fears of contamination or harm. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to reduce the anxiety caused by obsessions. For instance, individuals...
216
01:25Self-Regulation
9
Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
9
01:29Self-Serving Bias
1
Self-serving bias is a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals attribute positive outcomes to internal factors such as their abilities, intelligence, or effort while attributing negative outcomes to external circumstances. This cognitive distortion helps maintain self-esteem but can also impede objective self-assessment.Theoretical Explanations of Self-Serving BiasTwo primary theories explain the self-serving bias: the cognitive explanation and the motivational explanation.The cognitive...
1
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
40.6K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
40.6K
01:25Motivational Bias
1
Cognitive bias results from limitations in thinking and information processing, leading to systematic errors in judgment. Conversely, motivational bias stems from personal desires or emotions, causing distortions in perception to align with self-interest. Motivational bias influences how individuals perceive and attribute causes to events, often shaped by personal needs, goals, and self-esteem preservation. This bias can distort judgment, leading to inaccurate assessments of success, failure,...
1