Responsibility causes reassurance seeking, too: An experimental investigation

Publication date: Available online 1 November 2017Source: Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related DisordersAuthor(s): Mark W. Leonhart, Adam S. RadomskyAbstractExcessive reassurance seeking (RS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been conceptualized as compulsive checking by proxy. Manipulations of responsibility augment a range of OCD symptoms; however, their impact on RS behaviour has not been examined. We hypothesized that under conditions of high responsibility (HR), participants would report greater urges to seek reassurance and more actual reassurance seeking (RS) compared to low responsibility (LR) participants. Participants (N = 72) were randomized to HR or LR conditions, completed a dishwashing task with a confederate, and were given an opportunity to seek reassurance. HR participants reported feeling more responsible for the task, t(64.105) = 5.091, p < .001, d = 1.27., and greater urges to seek reassurance, t((70) = -2.891, p = .005, d = -0.69). HR resulted in more RS than LR, according to confederates, F(1, 70) = 11.603, p = .001, ηp2 = .142, and coders, F(1, 70) = 7.725, p = .007, ηp2 = .099. LR and HR participants’ overt RS was similar, F(1, 70) = 3.752, p = .186, ηp2 = .025, but HR resulted in more covert RS than LR, F(1, 70) = 19.328, p < .001, ηp2 = .216 . HR participants had longer conversations than LR participants, t(57.414) = -4.259, p < .001, d = -1.124. A significant interaction between whether or not participants sought re...
Source: Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research