Abstract

One of the most common compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is repeated checking. Although individuals often report that they check to become more certain, checking has been shown to have the opposite effect - increased checking causes increased uncertainty. However, checking may also be thought of as beginning because of memory uncertainty. Beliefs about memory were manipulated to test whether or not they affected urges to check. Ninety one undergraduate participants received (positive or negative) false feedback about their performance on aspects of a standardized memory test, and then completed three additional tasks. Their urges to check and levels of memory vividness and detail following these tasks were assessed. Results were generally consistent with our hypotheses, as individuals in the low memory confidence condition had greater urges to check on most tasks than those in the high memory confidence condition. Low memory confidence led to reduced memory vividness and detail for only one of the memory tasks. Results and implications are discussed in terms of cognitive-behavioural models of and treatments for OCD.