"Perhaps you only imagined doing it": reality-monitoring in obsessive-compulsive checkers using semi-idiographic stimuli.

Full Abstract

Memory failures reported by obsessive-compulsive (OC) checkers often seem to be errors of "reality-monitoring", or misremembering whether one performed or imagined performing an action. To examine these memory processes in the context in which such errors are said to occur, an in-home reality-monitoring experiment involving bothersome and non-bothersome actions was conducted with 21 OC checkers and 24 non-clinical controls. OC checkers reported poorer confidence in memory, but both groups performed similarly on tests of immediate and delayed free and prompted recall. Among OC checkers (but not controls), accuracy in recall and confidence in memory were correlated. Theoretical implications are discussed.

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Author information

Author/s: Cougle, Jesse R (JR); Salkovskis, Paul M (PM); Thorpe, Susan J (SJ);

Affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK. cougle(-atsign-)mail.utexas.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry (J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Sep; vol 39 (issue 3) : pp 305-20

Dates: Created 2008/06/09; Completed 2008/08/20;

PMID: 17884012, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude
Control Groups
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Imagination
Interviews as Topic
Male
Memory Disorders - diagnosis; psychology
Memory, Short-Term

Mental Recall
Models, Psychological
Neuropsychological Tests
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; psychology
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Reality Testing
Recognition (Psychology)
Retention (Psychology)
Self Concept
Task Performance and Analysis

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