Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Memory in sub-clinical obsessive-compulsive checkers

C S Rubenstein1, Z F Peynircioglu, D L Chambless

  • 1Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, DC 20016-8062.

Behaviour Research and Therapy
|November 1, 1993
PubMed
Summary

Subclinical checkers, individuals with mild obsessive-compulsive symptoms, showed memory deficits, particularly in recalling actions and distinguishing between real and imagined study items, potentially fueling excessive checking behaviors.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Predicting expressed emotion: a study with families of obsessive-compulsive and agoraphobic outpatients.

Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43)·2001
Same author

Effects of axis I and II comorbidity on behavior therapy outcome for obsessive-compulsive disorder and agoraphobia.

Comprehensive psychiatry·2001
Same author

Empirically supported psychological interventions: controversies and evidence.

Annual review of psychology·2001
Same author

EMDR for panic disorder with agoraphobia: comparison with waiting list and credible attention-placebo control conditions.

Journal of consulting and clinical psychology·2001
Same author

Improvement strategies in free-throw shooting and grip-strength tasks.

The Journal of general psychology·2000
Same author

Relationship of cognitions to fear of somatic symptoms: a test of the cognitive theory of panic.

Depression and anxiety·2000

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Subclinical obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by excessive checking behaviors.
  • Potential memory deficits associated with subclinical OCD require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate memory deficits in individuals with subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms who exhibit excessive checking.
  • To compare memory performance between subclinical checkers and a control group without obsessive-compulsive symptomatology.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study design was employed.
  • Twenty individuals with subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms (checkers) and 20 control participants were assessed.
  • A variety of memory tests were administered, focusing on word recall and action memory.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Contrary to initial hypotheses, checkers demonstrated equivalent memory for self-generated versus read words compared to controls.
  • Checkers exhibited a higher likelihood of false memories, mistakenly recalling words not on the study list.
  • Participants with checking tendencies showed increased confusion regarding the source (read vs. generated) of words.
  • Checkers recalled fewer actions overall and were more prone to misremembering the nature of performed actions (performed, observed, or written).

Conclusions:

  • Memory deficits, specifically in action recall and source monitoring, may play a role in the development and maintenance of excessive checking behaviors in subclinical obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
  • Findings suggest that memory impairments, rather than perseveration, are more critical in understanding the cognitive underpinnings of excessive checking.